At $11,900, Will This 2001 Chevy Corvette Come Through For A Win?

The C5 Corvette was the last in the line to offer pop-up headlamps. Today's Nice Price or No Dice convertible has a custom nose that replaces the pop-ups with fixed glass. Let's see if its price can atone for that desecration.

Years ago, an executive at Nissan offered an explanation as to why the styling of Japanese cars of the time tended to be more ornate than their American or European counterparts. The claim was that Japan's streets were so crowded that people didn't often get the chance to see a car in its entirety, meaning that the designers had to make every angle count. The 1970 Datsun 510 (nee, Nissan Bluebird) wagon we looked at yesterday didn't exhibit any such flourish of style or quirky design element save for its full vinyl roof. Maybe that's part of the reason why the early 510s have become wildly collectible while the succeeding 610 and 710 models never caught on. Our 510 had a decent appearance and all that charm, but it came with a hefty $13,500 asking price, and that didn't float many of your boats. Ultimately, the Datsun fell in a 64 percent No Dice loss. At least it looked good while doing so.

Speaking of auto companies and years ago, there was a time back in the mid-1970s when General Motors' big gun Chevrolet attempted to capitalize on the national pride surrounding America's bicentennial with the ad slogan "Baseball, Hotdogs, Apple Pie & Chevrolet." This implied—and not so subtlety, mind you—that Chevy tops all other car makers as America's brand."

While it could be argued that an auto brand named after a French race car driver is not the best banner-waver for our nation's auto industry, there's no doubt that Chevy's Corvette is America's premier sports car. First introduced in 1953 in answer to a rising tide of open-top roadsters arriving from post-war Europe, the Corvette quickly carved out a niche as a solid and lust-worthy entrant into that burgeoning sports car market. By the time the second generation arrived, the Corvette hadn't just risen to wear the crown of the top American sports car; it was also the ground transport of choice for America's greatest heroes of the time, NASA's astronauts.

The 2001 Chevy Corvette we're considering today comes from the model's fifth generation and represents a number of firsts and lasts for the line. With the C5, Chevy moved the transmission to the rear, adopting a transaxle and torque tube design for better weight distribution. Ahead of that was an equally new LS1 V8. Still rocking 5.7 liters of displacement and a tried and true pushrod valve train, this year's model makes 350 horsepower and a substantial 375 lb-ft of torque. On this particular car, that's matched with a Tremec T56 six-speed manual.

Another first for the C5 was the introduction of a third body style, the hardtop coupe, which joined the bubble-back hatch and convertible for the 1999 model year.

As far as lasts go, there's a big one. The C5 was the last Corvette to sport pop-up headlamps. Regulations in a number of countries requiring daytime lights and pedestrian safety standards spelled the end for pop-up lights across all car makers' lines, and ensuing Corvette models have made the best of their fixed-light faces. This 'Vette, however, gave up that feature for a fixed-lamp look that's part of a larger reimagining of the car's style. That includes an all-new nose that replaces the factory bumper cap. The aftermarket facia lends the car more of a C6 look and less of the original design's Pontiac vibe.

There are more mods as well. Both the rear side marker lights and the taillamp lenses have been fitted with embellishments, which are probably more likely "leave it" than "take it" in the general consensus. Aftermarket wheels underpin and are more successful. Appealingly, those are fitted with new-ish Goodyear meats. According to the ad, the car has 100K on the clock, and it looks to be in pretty good shape for that number. There are a few scrapes on the extremely low under-nose aero-element and a chunk of paint is missing from the bumper just ahead of the left front wheel, but other than those minor issues, it all looks ready to rock.  

Craigslist

The interior is also apparently up to the task, with no significant wear on the seating surfaces or other tactile elements. There is some weird puckering going on with the sill plate covers, but with the door closed, who is going to know? The convertible top appears solid, and this is one car that looks good with the top up or down.

The seller notes that the car comes with a lot of bells and whistles and says that it's "pretty steady and smooth on the road!" It comes with a clean title and an asking price of $11,900.

Holy smoke, I just realized the asking price makes this 'Vette fully sixteen hundred bucks less than yesterday's ancient Datsun. Which car would you rather have? Ha! I think we all know the answer to that one. This is, after all, a lot more car for the money, even if it's a good bit more common than an old 510 these days. Plus, it's America's sports car and not just a Japanese wagon. That alone has got to be worth some extra credit. More to the point, though, should anyone actually spend $11,900 for this modded Corvette? Or should interested parties just keep looking for another, more original one to pop up?

You decide!

Nice Price or No Dice:

Portland, Oregon, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

Don R. for the hookup!

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