1997
Return to the Road
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1997 |
Note: All photos are copyright 1997, Kenneth A. Monroe, Evanston, IL. They can be reused for any personal or non-commercial use, beyond this posting on Barbara Spear's Yankee Lady Gazette. Please give photo credit if these are used. For commercial use, please contact Ken Monroe at kamonro@compuserve.com. Thanx for your cooperation.
Chevrolet sponsored a marketing roll out of the 1998 Corvette Convertible following the entire Route 66 from Chicago to California. I had the opportunity to drive one of those 20 Corvettes. This is a report of my experience.
What is Return to the Road?From 9 September until 21 September, Chevrolet sponsored a marketing roll out program for the 1998 Corvette Convertible called "Return to the Road". This project consisted of driving TWENTY (20) Red, White and Blue Corvettes along Historic Route 66.
Various other Corvettes followed along through parts of the journey, with four actually completing the entire run, including another 1998 Convertible purchased at Carlisle in August, 1997 by Bonnie, who joined us with her Welsh Terrier, Haggis (yes, named after the Scottish National Dish).
I first heard of this tour through a posting in the CARS forum of CompuServe. I summarized it for the VetteNet and called the 1-800 phone number for further information. Near the end of August, I finally received the information.
This is simply a matter of standing in the right place at the right time. I met a couple of friends at Galleria Marchetti in Chicago, where the tour started, and asked how they were picked to drive. They indicated they just needed drivers.
At Joliet, I met Mike Ross, our leader, and asked him if he needed drivers. He responded, "Yes!" I signed on and drove from Joliet to Springfield, IL and then rejoined at Joplin, MO and drove to Flagstaff, AZ.
These people and groups made the tour REALLY enjoyable. Unfortunately, I do not have ALL the names and will undoubtedly miss a few people. My apologies in advance.
First, thanks for a great trip and good leadership to Mike Ross of Jack Morton, the firm who dreamt up this idea and sold it to Chevrolet. Also, thanks to his support staff, including Gayle, James, Shannon, Lynn and the others whose name my aging memory has forgotten. Second, thanks for the "purple shirts" of Shows and Shoots, led by Laura. These people were GREAT! In all the days of driving, I don't think I ever had to use reverse. These people parked the cars, washed them at night, gassed them up. All we had to do was show up, put our luggage in the TRUNK and drive. They even started the cars and turned on the headlights! At our stops, we just left the cars. The "purple shirts" re-parked them so all we had to do was climb in and drive! Third, thanks to Total Travel Management for making our continually changing reservations, doing the necessary laundry, and retrieving and returning us to airports, as required. Rick, Brian, Ron, Taylor and gang: you were VERY MUCH appreciated!
What a great car to drive. I thought it would be similar to my 1995 Z/28. NOT! What a difference. Starting with the view out the window, you now have a better idea of where the front is compared to the C4.
Wind noise is minimal. The stereo worked fine with the top down. Bernard, Craig (my co-drivers) and I were able to have conversations without shouting at each other. Craig taught me a little trick: roll up the windows about four (4") inches and the wind noise all but disappears!
The engine is VERY quick. Probably the "fly by wire" actually helps the performance. And the brakes are incredibly sensitive: just touch the pedal and you slow down.
While we were not carrying golf clubs, the trunk did hold our two suitcases and briefcases with room to spare. And the tops were down for most of the trip. My 6-foot tall frame fit very well in the car with the top up. The side sill is gone, so you don't "fall into" the car. The passenger actually has foot room.
We heard no rattles, but the cars had only a few hundred miles on them. Looks like Chevrolet fixed most of the negatives in the C4.
Day 1: 9 Sept.: Chicago to JolietI began the day by driving from home to the Galleria Marchetti in Chicago in my 1965 Corvette Coupe. The program encouraged any Corvette drivers to join the caravan for whatever distance they wanted.
I met Martin Milner, who autographed my read and annotated copy of "All Corvettes Are Read". A side-note to meeting Mr. Milner: most of the time he was left quite alone. He was very approachable. Sometimes I wondered if he was wondering what he was doing there. I expected a Hollywood star to have a continuous contingent around him.
I followed the
main body of 20 Corvette Convertibles in my 1965 Coupe. I was quite excited as we drove
down Ogden Avenue through the near Southwest Side of Chicago with a police escort so we
could run redlights. We had about 50 cars in the complete parade.
The ride to Joliet was relatively short. We stood around the parking lot for awhile. During this time, I met Mike Ross and asked him if I could drive. He said, "Sure. I need a driver from Joliet to Joplin. Just be here by 6:30 am tomorrow."
We (Don, my
"navigator" for the day) left Joliet and discussed whether I could cancel a
client meeting to take advantage of THREE days, rather than just one. I decided that in
the best interests of my business, I would not be greedy and take the one day as driver.
Don agreed to be a "chase car" in my 1995 Camaro Z/28, stay overnight in Springfield with us and drive back with me on Thursday morning.
This
day started much too earlier: about 3:00 am so that I could pick up Don and make the 6:30
am Drivers' Meeting, a ritual that occurred daily on this trip. We could always tell who
partied the hardest by how they looked at breakfast!
When we left the Holiday Inn, the air was still cool, but it was a Chicago convertible day: sunny, who cares about the temperature. We all took the tops down and headed south for our first stop: Lynn Chevrolet in Pontiac.
Throughout the journey, our hosts always fed us well. I am surprised I did not gain more weight than I did on the trip.
This was a marketing excursion for Chevrolet, so everywhere we went, we were greeted with a warm reception of some sort. As well as crowds of people ogling the Corvettes.
After our Pontiac
stay, we drove off to Lexington, IL.
As we approached Lexington, we turned off the main road and entered a short section of the ORIGINAL 18 ft wide Route 66.
Lexington keeps
this section chained off and opens it for special events only. The stretch of road has old
Route 66 signs, billboards and a Burma Shave series!
After completing this short stretch, we found ourselves ushered onto Main Street and parked there for the 2 hours or so that we were in Lexington.
After leaving
Lexington, we drove I-55 past Bloomington, IL and exited past Bloomington and followed old
Route 66 to Springfield.
As we were driving, the sun set. This provided one of the best scenes for me: twilight, with 20 Corvettes (and followers) with their lights on, paralleling I-55.
As the sun set, we started feeling the evening chill. When a couple drivers asked to stop to put up the tops, the response came: "That's why you have a heater!" So we cruised into Springfield topless.
Copyright 1997 Barbara Spear