People often say that Corvette owners don’t ever drive their cars. Mark Blackwell is here to make sure you know that’s bullshit, because he’s racked up the equivalent of 277 LA-to-New-York road trips in his Corvette. This man is a real Corvette lover who just donated his 773,000 mile C5 Corvette to the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY.
Mark purchased this C5 Corvette brand new in 1999. Living in Florida and commuting to Georgia nearly daily, he has racked up over three quarters of a million miles of Corvette driving. That averages out to just under a thousand miles a week for 18 years. This is pretty serious mileage by anyone’s measure.
I have to say, as much flak as GM occasionally gets for Corvette build quality - especially true of the C5 generation - this car looks to be in remarkably good shape for the mileage it’s racked up. There’s a bit of fiberglass damage, and the seats have seen better days, but it’s all intact and seems to remain functional by all counts. They even show it driving into the museum in the video below.
It is cool that Mr. Blackwell was thoughtful enough to donate his well-used Corvette to the museum for preservation, but we’re curious what he’s going to get to replace it. Perhaps a new ZR1?
The best part of the whole video? The Check Engine Light at the 0:41 mark. Thanks, Mr. Goodwrench!