BOWLING GREEN, KY—Source: Bowling Green’s National Corvette Museum kicks off 70th anniversary of first car rolling off assembly line by Don Sergent

The National Corvette Museum recently celebrated the car's seven decades in production with an exhibition called "An American Love Affair." General Motors introduced the Corvette in 1953, and the iconic sports car has been manufactured in Bowling Green since 1981.

Held the evening before the 70th anniversary of the day the first Corvette rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Mich., the celebration showcased a collection of some five dozen vintage Corvettes that trace the evolution of the sports car from that 1953 model to the brand-new hybrid E-Ray that goes into production later this year. The theme – accentuated in the eight-minute video displayed on the new $800,000 "Skywall" wrap-around video screen in the museum's Skydome – throughout the exhibit is how the Corvette has tied in with popular culture through those seven decades.

Kai Spande, recently retired as plant manager at the General Motors Corvette Assembly Plant and is now chairman of the museum's board of directors, said he hopes the Mulders' car and others are appreciated at a museum that has undergone a number of additions and renovations since Brawner took over as CEO in 2021.

"With the recent renovations to the Skydome, we're trying to bring new technology to the museum and keep younger generations interested in coming here," Spande said. The exhibit celebrating the Corvette's 70th anniversary will continue for at least a year.