1968 "Vette"

The classic, stylish Corvette, "C3," is an iconic sports car, which was manufactured from 1968 through 1982, in St Louis, Missouri.

1968 "Vette"

In 1968, Car and Driver Magazine wrote: "The small-engine Corvettes are marginally faster and extraordinarily civilized. The large-engine Corvettes are extraordinarily fast and marginally civilized."

In short, the 427's were beasts.

The cars were modeled after the Mako Shark II, a concept car designed by Larry Shinoda in 1964.

Pretty similar, right?

There was a guy in my home town. He was a few years older than me. I believe his name was Steve something, but everybody just called him "Stud."

This was not only due to his reputed prowess with the ladies, but also related to his car of choice: A silver, 1968 Corvette convertible.

He could be seen any night of the week, tooling around town in his always freshly washed and waxed wheels, usually with a sexy girl sitting next to him.

One night, I was sitting in my Sunbeam Alpine, waiting for a light to change, when Stud pulled up next to me, and immediately began revving his big 427 V8 engine, lake pipes rumbling and roaring like a Harley on steroids.

Without a glance, I revved my engine, positioning both hands on the wheel at the 10 o'clock, 2 o'clock position.

The light turned green, and he floored it, squealing his tires, and laying rubber for a block, oblivious to the squad car parked at the curb another block ahead, which I had spotted earlier.

I eased my own sports car down the street, giving plenty of space to the officer, still in his car, red lights flashing, sitting behind the silver "Vette."

As I passed, I waved, and smiled a friendly smile. "Hi Stud," I shouted.

A few months later, I began dating a girl who had previously been involved with Stud. One night she mistakenly called me "Stud," at a very inopportune moment.

I never saw her again.