[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

The One And Only 1983 Corvette on display at the National Corvette Museum is in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Yeah, that one is all about the wording. None were officially made/sold for the '83 model year, but that one in the museum was never actually titled either, it is (or at least was) owned by GM corporate. I would imagine it still is? and just "on loan" to the museum?

The early 80s were bad times for any and all performance vehicles. It was a dirty word back then. Fuel mileage and emissions were the thing and they didn't have a damn clue about how to do either. Tiny, underpowered motors with high gear ratios and overdrive transmissions made for lousy performance and drivability and didn't do much for mileage. Until electronic fuel injection came along, it just wasn't gonna happen, but even then the first few years they still kept up with the gear ratio foolishness.
I remember a single-cab dually (imagine that today) that belonged to the company where I worked. I'm not sure of the year anymore but it was the '88 -up pointed nose body style. That thing would roll down the road at 60+ mph and only rev about 1400 rpm. In a 1 ton truck? It was a gutless pig on the highway especially with the 24' enclosed trailer we made deliveries with. Those were the ones that would constantly shift in-out of OD when the cruise control was running on the highway. Not enough power to stay in OD but revved too high for it's sensibilities in 3rd.
I also remember a friend's dad's truck (early 80s Chevy 4x4) that had 2.56-1 gears. I know what they were because I replaced them for him. It was an expensive PITA because it required new carriers too, because of that ratio. To be fair, it needed a rear anyway because the Gov-Loc exploded.
Why did it take them so long to figure this out?