The "Who Wouldn't Love A Vette?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Headed to Mt. Joy on busy Route 283W to pick up a few boxes of envelopes that I intend to print this coming weekend for the Manheim Township School District.  On my way home I decided to take a more scenic route and headed through the town of Mt. Joy which lies perhaps 12 miles from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

Row of Vettes that caught my attention in Mt. Joy.

I had just about reached the eastern end of Mt. Joy when something caught my eye.  A racing yellow 2018 Corvette at Whitmoyer Chevrolet.  Got into the left turn lane and headed into the lot to see the car that was one of six Vettes lined up side by side.  

Vette Magazine photo and story about
my '87 red Vette.  

It was back in the late 1990s that I bought a 1987 bright red Corvette.  At the time I was going through some medical problems and my wife, Carol, suggested we buy a Corvette.  Thought it might make me feel better.  Boy, was she right.  I wrote a story about the Vette and sent it, along with a photo she took of me next to it, to Vette Magazine which they published in their "Me and My Vette" section of the magazine.  We spent a few years touring with the Lancaster County Corvette Club and entering weekly car shows as well as taking trips to the shore in our dream car.  Eventually the thrill wore off and the insurance as well as the cost of maintenance grew harder to pay, so we sold the car.  

Carol and I riding on the Ocean City, Maryland Boardwalk.

Sold it to my next door neighbor who told me I could still use it whenever I wanted to take it for a spin.  Took him up on it many times.  Almost like still having it, but without the responsi- bility of owning it.  Every year when the next Vettes arrived, I usually stopped at a Chevy dealer to take a look at the new models.  Well, the 2018 model focuses on challenging the greatest supercars in the world.  I pulled into an empty space and headed to the racing yellow Vette.  

LDub with his new dream car, the 2018 Vette.

The Z07 package it carries features Brembo ceramic brakes, special suspension, Grand Sport black aluminum wheels, a carbon flash badge package and carbon flash painted mirrors which added $16,530 to the price.  List price with options was $81,980.  Add the destination charges to it and the total cost was $82,975.00.  Made my used 1987 at a cost of $12,500 seem like a bargain.  I went up and down the row of Vettes, admiring each one with their different add-ons and paint jobs.  

Exhaust pipes and neat taillights highlight the rear of the Vette.

Just then a salesman arrived and we began to talk.  Asked me why I was driving a Honda CRV instead of the Vette in front of me.  I was at a loss for an answer for him.  Asked him if he could take a photo of me in front of the yellow Vette and he obliged.  After a few photos I reluctantly got back in the CRV and headed home.  One more look at my photos with Carol and I was ready to put the car on the back burner.  They are certainly a fabulous piece of mechanical engineering, but just wouldn't fit in the driveway of a retirement community home.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Drivers side of the Vette.

Even from the rear the car looks like it is motion.