Two Lane Desktop

1:18 scale diecast-metal cars did not appear in full-swing until the 1990's, right at the time I was old enough to buy these castings.  So the first 1:18 Corvette was not the early ones, sadly, but a Quasar Blue 1993 Corvette ZR-1. King of the Hill In 1989, Chevrolet launched an all-out attack on the exoticars at the time, by dropping in a new, all-aluminum engine into the standard C4 Corvette.  The styling remained C4 Corvette except the rear end was rounded out, a feature that would appear on all Corvette's in 1990.  The biggest change to the car was the engine: a 5.7 LT5 DOHC V8.  With help from Lotus, the small-block was transformed into a more powerful, lighter beast.  Output was 375 hp. and 370 Ib-ft. torque, later increased to 405 and 385.  Since the workload of the engine was massive, GM had to outsource the manufacturing to Mercury Marine in Stillwater, OK, and then the finished engine's shipped to Bowling Green, KY for f...

As much as I like the Corvette, the C6 generation had styling that was great when new, but got old after a few years.  I was hoping the 2014 C7 Corvette would return some sculpted styling and a smaller size to boot.  Well that did happen, though the results were mixed among people: Either they loved it or hated it.  Either way the 2014 Corvette Stingray will make heads turn more than what the C6 could do, and of course Maisto jumps onto it immediately after the 2013 Detroit Auto Show debut to replicate one just like what they did to the SRT Viper in 2012. The major styling changes The C6 Corvette was best described as smooth, wide, but lacked any character surfacing to break up the long, flat body panels.  Plus it was still recognizable to the C5 Corvette.  The 2009 Stingray Concept Car showcased the Corvette styling to the extreme with sharper surfaces, split window, and the return of the billet grille last seen on the 1962 Corvette.  The ...