Motorama II is now History !

Celebrating GM's 100th Anniversary 1908-2008

(And Pace Car Registry Members were there !)

9/11/2008 - Scroll down for updates !

What was the Motorama II ??

A 55-car Corvette caravan — one model from each year, except 1955 and 1983 — left the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., on Wednesday 9/10 en route to St. Louis, said Roc Linkov, the museum's events manager. The two missing cars are due to the fact that a 1955 could not be located to participate, and Chevrolet never made a 1983 model to sell to the public. The caravan made its way to Detroit to take part in General Motos's 100th anniversary Celebration on Tuesday, 9/16.

"St. Louis was where Corvettes were made from 1954 to 1981, so the city has a special place in the hearts of Corvette owners," Linkov said. The city successfully orchestrated a photo shoot in 2003 to mark the 50th anniversary of America's first sports car using the St. Louis Arch as the backdrop.

A recreation of that photo shoot was scheduled to occur, however due to a scheduling snafu, the city was unable to accomodate the request this time around, and instead a group photo was taken in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn in Collinsville, Illinois. Linkov said he had all the details worked out, however the city had it penciled in to occur the following week.

Linkov said it was especially disappointing for several reasons. He said the photo couldn't be rescheduled because the caravan was slated to make stops in Indianapolis and Flint, Mich., before arriving in Detroit.

"And some of these older Corvettes probably won't be making any more road trips," Linkov said.

Rich and Theresa Luebcke of Chesterfield drove in the caravan — in the 2003 anniversary edition Corvette that Rich gave Theresa for her 50th birthday. They pointed out the positive aspects.

"It's just a blast, heading down the highway and hearing truckers blow their big horns and watching kids hang out the windows and wave like crazy," Rich Luebcke said.

He concluded, "There is no other car like the Corvette."

Several of our own Registry members were lucky enough to be selected to participate, and Indianapolis 500 Pace cars represented the years '78, '86, '95, '98, and '07.

The National Corvette Museum's Historical Motorama II was well represented by members of the Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Registry. Larry and Donna Boyd drove their 2007 Pace Car and Lavelle Hunt rode with Andy Wolf in a 1958 beauty.

Jerry and Bev Kohn cruised in their 1998 Pace Car. They also shared with the group of over 110 people a tour of their business, Corvette Central, while treating all to a wonderful dinner along with a "goody bag" and T-shirts. Check out all of the event photos taken while on this stop at the Corvette Central Motorama II Gallery!

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Those who also participated were office holders Bruce Bryan, 1978 Year Director driving his 1978 Pace Car, Gary Artis, the 1998 Year Director, with his yellow 1986 Pace Car, and Jim Egan, Public Relations Director who enjoyed the trip in his 1995 Pace Car.

"This has been a great experience, one we will all remember for many years. We have made many new friends from across the country - cars from California to Florida." Visits to extensive private collections such as Andy Wolf's and Bob Parshall's were icing on the cake up until now. They generously shared their Pace Cars, memorabilia, and knowledge.

Below are some great photos contributed by Bruce Bryan. Photos were taken at the various stops on the trip, including St. Louis, the Sloan Museum, The Studebaker Museum, The Henry Ford Museum, several GM stops, and the final big event at the 100th Anniversary celebration.