$15,000 Question: The Corvette C3

Built between 1968 and 1982, the third generation of America's sports car suffers from a reputation of being a plaything for middle-aged guys who dress in Hawaiian shirts and have hair like Ern McCracken.  It is the most bombastic of all the Corvettes.  Where the 1963 to 1967 Sting Ray conjures up images of the early Space Age, and the 1984 to 1996 C4 packed some legitimate performance cred, the C3 comes off like a lo-fi disco parody.   Google "Corvette Summer" if you're not sure what I mean.  That movie makes the Smokey and the Bandit sequels look like The Godfather in comparison.

The C3 Corvette was built on top of a modified C2 chassis.  Starting in 1971, it was steadily gelded until it reached its nadir in 1980 with a 305 cubic inch V8 and an 85 MPH speedometer.  At 182 inches in length, and weighing a hefty 3,500 lbs, it cuts the same swath as a midsize car.

Still, there's something about the C3.  It looks good, all curvy and low slung in a way that stood out against the Brutalist styling of that era.  It was also more comfortable, more practical, and better performing than the Ferrari 308 or Lotus Esprit.  Even as late as 1979, the L-82 Corvette's 0-60 times were in the mid 6-second range.  The small block Chevy 350 offered bullet proof reliability and plenty of torque.  It's also easy to find parts, and there are no shortage of performance upgrades.

I've driven several C3s and can attest to all of the vices.  They are crude and ride like every chassis bolt needs to be tightened a full turn.  The car was victimized by cost cutting and primitive emissions controls.  It is very much a car of the Malaise era, Prog-Rock on four wheels.  

However, like Prog-Rock, there is a lot of good things about the C3.  You sit low in the bucket seats, peering down the valley of the hood, between the sharply creased fenders.  The dashboard slants away from you with two large gauges for the tach and speedometer in front of you, and five smaller gauges in the center console.  The exhaust burbles somewhere behind you, a throaty sound that modern cars can't imitate.  If you're lucky enough to row your own gears, the four speed manual is smooth and positive and the engine provides enough torque to lope around town in third or fourth gear without lugging. 

If you're looking for the sprite-ness of a British sports car, or the precision of a Porsche Boxster, you'll be disappointed.  It's more of a grand-tourer than Gran Turismo Omologato, a car you can use to commute or travel long distances.  If the C2 competed with the Jaguar E-Type, the C3 is a Chevrolet XJ-S, only more rough around the edges and better to drive.