Back in 1950's General Motors was one of the largest Automobile manufacturers on the world map with very few companies coming close to its size, its profits and the sheer scale of their entrepreneurial growth. It was dubbed to be the largest company. With business ranging from insurance, home appliances, and automobile production of some of the best-sellers during the 50's Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac and locomotives, GM was the picture of the fast paced post-depression modern America.

The brain-child of Harley J. Earl, GM's chief designer, Corvette was the dream sports-car for GM to break into the Sports car arena and compete against the big names. Harley Earl was the person in- charge of the corporation's ambitious flight. Though his idea was rather too fanciful for most of the critics, Earl handed the concept over to Robert F. McLean, a Cal Tech graduate, to develop the concept prototype. The drafting of the car began under the code name - 'Opel'. Later it was christened as Corvette, named after a speedy pursuit ship in the British navy by Myron Scott.

Corvette was an inspiration based on a restructured Jeep. According to one of the stories, it all began when an Air Force Major presented his wife with a Jeep. With the wife not very pleased with the gift, the major approached a boat- production company to work on the chassis and the looks of the vehicle. The company fitted the Jeep with a fiberglass body, a concept used in those days for building boat parts. Fiberglass bodies were not used for automobile chassis during the 1950's. The end product of the endeavor turned out to be a beautiful two-seater with feline looks and a powerful monster under its hood. Later the modified Jeep was produced as Brooks Boxer automobile.

This caught the fancy of GM and the concept was used to produce the Corvette. GM wanted a car that was a speed demon on the race circuit and a show-piece of luxury and comfort when parked in front of a house. The concept vehicle was showcased at the New York Auto Show as a part of GM's Motorama exhibit in 1953. The concept vehicle left an impressive affect on the viewers who were eager to get more details about the vehicle. They were able to turn their dream into reality on 30th June, 1953. GM's Corvette sports car was available for the public for a little over $3000, against a price dreamt by Harley Earl. It was beauty when it came to looks but it left much to be desired in terms of performance. However, Corvette made a strong impact to revolutionize the use of fiberglass or more specifically GRP (glass-reinforced plastic) for body frame work and design.

It also earned the distinction of being the first all-American sports car built by an American car manufacturer. Corvette is a dream that has lasted for over six decades now with a new Corvette C7 slated to be launched in 2010, a dream that has only become better with the passing time.