"They call her Corvette, and she belongs to the highway, just for the sheer and simple joy of driving".

So says this 1953 TV advertisement, watchable below, for Chevrolet's new and exciting venture into the sports car market. Or new and 'fun' I should say, as this video makes numerous references to it being a fun car, as opposed to a family car.

The Corvette had begun as a Harley Earl concept car, and for the first production year 300 cars were made, all convertibles, and all Polo White in color.

The first generation of Corvettes, or the C1 to give them what was become its official designation, ran through to 1963. The first 15 Corvettes produced were hand-made, the rest via a production line in a new factory in St. Louis.

The initial purchase price for the first Corvette was $3,498, including tax and shipping. Of the original 300, it is thought that something like 225 of the original batch of Corvettes is known to be still with us.

So sit back and enjoy how Chevrolet first marketed what has become an automative icon.