Design
Although the style of a car can be important for certain how the car runs, automobile manufacturers did not start paying attention to car designs until the 1920s. It was not until 1927, when General Motors hired designer Harley Earl, that automotive styling and design became important to American automakers. What Henry Ford did for automobile principles, Harley Earl did for car design. Most GM flamboyant "dream car" designs of the 1950s are directly attributable to Earl, leading one journalist to comment that the designs were "the American psyche made visible." Harley Earl loved sports cars, and GIS returning after serving overseas World War II house MG, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, etc.. Earl convinced GM that they needed to build a two-seat sports car. The result was the 1953 Corvette, unveiled to the public at this year's show Motorama car.
The original Corvette emblem incorporated an American flag design, which was abandoned due to a combination of the flag of a product is obsolete.
Taking its name from the corvette, a frigate small, maneuverable fighting (credit for the nomination goes to Myron Scott), the first Corvette virtually handmade in Flint, Michigan, Chevrolet Customer Delivery Center, became a building University Kettering University. The outer body is made of a revolutionary new composite material called fiberglass, selected in part because of steel quotas left by the war. In this new body components of standard radical Chevrolet, as the "Blue Flame" inline six-cylinder truck engine, two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission, drum brakes and the line of "auto Chevrolet. Although engine power be increased somewhat, thanks to a triple carburetor exclusive consumption of the Corvette, the car's performance was decidedly mediocre.
GM is seriously considering shelving the project, leaving the Corvette to be a little more than a footnote in automotive history, and would have done if not for two important events. The first was the introduction in 1955 the first Chevrolet V8 engine (a 265 in ³ {4.3} L) since 1919 and the second was the influence of a Soviet immigrant in GM's engineering department, Zora Arkus-Duntov . Arkus-Duntov simply took the new V8 and backed by a three-speed manual transmission. This modification, probably the greatest in automotive history, helped turn the Corvette from a two-seat curiosity into a real artist. He also earned Arkus-Duntov the rather inaccurate nickname "Father of the Corvette."
The first generation is generally regarded as a rigid axle, based on the fact that independent rear suspension (IRS) was not available before 1963.
Fuel Injection
The first generation began in 1953 and completed in 1962, and a significant addition to the optional fuel injection in 1957. This new system first saw regular use of a gasoline engine two years before the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster "Gullwing". Although the Corvette GM-Rochester injection used a constant flow style fuel system, contrary to the diesel style nozzle measuring system is the Mercedes' six cylinders, the system nevertheless produced about 290HP. The number was reduced to an advertising agency for the Chevrolet 283HP/283 ³ (4.6 l) hp Fri ³ slogan, so it is' one of the first series engines in history to reach 1 hp / ³. In 1962, GM Small Block 327 has been extended ³ (5.4 L) and increased to 360 hp (268 kW). Other early options included Power Windows (1956), Hydraulic Power Roof (1956), four-speed manual transmission (mid 1957), and heavy brake and suspension options (1957).
Compared with British sports cars and Italian of the day was low-power Corvette, has required a great effort and the way to end, and even missed a pass-through "good" manual. Until now, the Chevrolet division of GM brand entry level, known for excellent car, but without frills. Nowhere is that more evident than in the Corvette. A compressor Paxton became available in 1954 as a dealer-installed option which greatly improves the performance of the Corvette in a straight line, but sales continued to decline.
