Corvette History Through Ads: Superiority Complex

? 6-19-2013 All rights reserved

Simple but effective. This ad summed up what most new C3 Corvette owners had, a superiority complex. With the introduction of the new generation in 1968 several new features and options were offered to the enthusiastic Corvette buyer. And with the $4320 convertible base price the ?Superiority Complex? came at no additional cost. Unlike the cost difference between the convertible and the coupe on the current models the coupe actually cost more than the topless version. The MSRP for the coupe cost $343 more than the convertible, MSRP $4663, and was more than double the $148 premium for the 1967 coupe.

Perhaps GM was looking at the history of the 1968 Corvette when they decided to add Lime Rock Green and Laguna Blue to the new C7’s color palette. In 1968, 4779 Corvettes were sold in British Green and just edged out the number two color, Lemans Blue which sold 4722. Though the 1968 and the 2014 colors have different names they are remarkably similar. The Rally Red pictured in the ad turned out to be the sixth best color of the ten colors offered for the first C3 model year.

With the interest in and emphasis on rock and roll music during the 1960’s and 1970’s remarkably few, only 3311, buyers opted for the stereo AM/FM radio out of the 28,566 total Corvettes produced for 1968. Maybe it was the $106.65 additional cost over the monophonic AM/FM radio option.

Aside from being the first production car to offer the innovative removable dual roof panels, T-tops, the coupe also had a removable rear window to improve airflow when the roof panels were off the car. The removable rear window also contributed to the convertible feel of the coupe without the T-tops in place. But most buyers in 1968 chose the convertible due to the limited availability of the coupe. The actual convertible offered the optional hardtop and amazingly 8735, almost 88%, of the convertible buyers chose this $237 option and another 3050 of those paid another $57 to have the hardtop covered in vinyl.

The sleek 1968 Corvette got a lot of looks, whether sitting at a stoplight or cruising the highways, it got a lot of attention and as a result so did the driver. Just like the ad says, ?It does all the work, you get all the credit.? And with a car like the 1968 Corvette you can see how the driver just might develop a Superiority Complex.