When the first Corvette came out in 1951, it barely would reach 180 miles per hour, newer models reach up to 200 miles per hour. With the help of new technology the Corvette's V8, 6 cylinder, 150 horsepower has been raised up to 405 horsepower. This is a huge difference. This change in horsepower made the speed and popularity of the car boom. Changes like these continue to happen all through the years.

The option for the color of the body of the Corvette became more broad. It went from being just white to having the option of white, blue, red, and black. This was the year that the first Corvette made its premier.

The assembly line car factory was moved to Missouri. Chevy came out with 3,640 cars this year. The automatic transmission of the car was changed to stick shift.

This year the Chevy's first V8 engine came out. The speed of the car increased 10 miles per hour to 118.

Zora Arkus Duntov (known to be the father of the Corvette) bumped up the engine to 240 horsepower. Sales were beginning to rise. then in 1957, the carburator was replaced with the first fuel injected system. This design's engine reached an output of 283 horespower and a top speed of 140 miles per hour. Then in 1958 when the thunderbird added an additional backseat, it was no longer considered a sports car and the Corvette sky rocketed in the sports car market.

The power engines didn't stop there, in the 1962 Corvette model, the engine was revved up to 360 horsepower. Although the motor was changed drastically, the outer body of the car still resembled earlier models quite closely. This was the last body design of the 

Sting Ray model was almost just as successful as the 1963. The only difference was it did not have a backbone which made this much less valuable. In 1965, all Corvette models were installed with four-wheel disc brakes. This also brought many many options for which engine buyers wanted. Then in 1967, the L-88 engine was released. These engines were made for racing. Therefore, only 216 L88's were sold to the public from 1967, to 1969. This makes Corvettes with the L-88 engine very high on collectors lists. Only three of these prized cars are known to exist today. This design ended the second generation Corvettes. The Corvettes in this generation, were known to be the most valuable. In the early 70's, and energy crisis occurred, when gas supply became very scarce. This made the Corvette sails drop. This Crisis forced Chevy to create an engine reduced in size. This small sized engine continued all through the Corvette's designs in the early 70's.

One March 14, 1977 the Chevy Corvette reached their famous milestone. The 500,000th Corvette left the St. Louis assembly line. Then in 1978, the Corvette got even more attention when the Indianapolis 500 honored the Corvette by making it known as the pace car. Chevy then decided to build the black, silver limited edition pace car.

After the 70's, the Corvette got a few bad reputations from complaints of bad performance. Because of these complaints, newer, lighter models were released. Handling was improved and anti-lock brakes were installed. Then new anti-theft systems and six-speed manual transmission were introduced. The improvements that the corvette have made are unforgettable. Always aiming to please the people. Now with new technology the Corvette is getting faster and more convenient. Who knows where it will be 50 years from now.