No, not that one ... think Chevette, General Motors' thrifty little import fighter known for being long on mileage yet somewhat short on charisma. Pre-production examples of the General Motors hatchback started rolling off the line at GM's Flint, Mich. plant back in May 1975. And for those thinking that the only things the Chevette and Corvette share are a suffix and a bowtie badge, take note: The former was actually assembled at the same plant that originally birthed the latter more than 20 years earlier. Want more? Both were available as two-door, two-seaters (one for the sport of it, the other for cost-saving reasons).

Interestingly, the Sloan Museum in Flint has retained Chevette No. 00001, which has accrued a grand total of 14.4 miles on its odometer -- and the historic hatch is available for viewing.

Click on the link for more details on the history of Chevrolet's other 'Vette.

[Sources: The Flint Journal; McLellansautomotive.com]

Chevrolet's 'Vette celebrates 30 years originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.