Main Street Rides

I’ve earned a reputation for being easy to please. Friends and family joke that I’ve never met a movie I didn’t like. A gross exaggeration, but there’s some truth to it. If my wife had a dollar for every time she’s heard me say, “I think this might be my favorite car I’ve owned so far,” she’d be rich—or at least $50 richer.

So, sue me… I’m a romantic and an old soul. That doesn’t change the fact that the hero of today’s epic is truly—really, really—one of my favorite cars. I have always loved the Chevrolet Corvette. It’s a car that is as synonymous with American culture as apple pie, baseball, and blues music. The Corvette has stood the test of time, originally debuting in 1953 as the C1, a white convertible with red interior, the only way you could get the first 300 that came off the line.

Now, seventy-three years later, the C8 Corvette is available in a rainbow of color options, four different performance models, and 12 trim options. From 150 horsepower in 1953 to as much as 1,250 horsepower in the current Corvette ZR1X, America’s favorite sports car has endured. While the Mustang, Camaro, and many a Mopar have come and gone and come back again, the Corvette has never ceased production since the first one rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan in 1953.

I had been searching specifically for a C5 Z06 Corvette in 2025 when I bought an AP1 Honda S2000 instead—another favorite. Then came a brief detour: my fifth Datsun 240Z, which I later sold to fund an unexpected bathroom remodel.

Eventually, a listing for a 2001 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 caught my eye. That model year marked the return of the Z06 performance badge, first used on a rare, track-focused version of the 1963 split-window Corvette. I usually avoid first-year models because later versions tend to have fewer quirks and gremlins, but this car checked enough other boxes to persuade me to take the chance.

I found the Z06 on Craigslist in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin—I was half hoping to meet the polka kings of the Midwest—and decided to pull the trigger when I realized that, three weeks later, I would be working just a few hours southeast of the car. I booked a one-way flight to Milwaukee and mapped out the drive home, making sure the route passed through Bowling Green, Kentucky, home of the National Corvette Museum and the city where Corvettes have been built since 1981.

The Caretaker

I spoke only briefly with the Corvette’s owner, a widow who was unfamiliar with selling a car privately. Most of my conversations were with Joe, the car’s caretaker and a fellow member of her local Corvette club. The Corvette was staying in Joe’s shop, where he had restored many classics over the years and owned roughly 30 Corvettes himself. He was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and share the story of one of the most remarkable Corvettes he had owned for 15 years.

Joe had long wanted a silver 1967 convertible with a red interior. After years of searching, he learned that the color combination had not been offered on Corvettes sold domestically. That made his discovery at an auction even more intriguing: a tired, faded example that was unmistakably silver with a red interior—and had a 427 under the hood.

The car, it turned out, had been sold overseas and owned by the King of Belgium. Joe restored it and kept it for 15 years before selling it to Mr. Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports, though he retained the original hood for his man cave. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had already seen Joe’s Corvette in person while touring Hendrick’s private collection in 2025.

Joe informed me that the Corvette I was purchasing was a special car as the late owner and his wife had been meticulous with its care. He had been an engineer and was very particular about how he cared for the car. With 65,500 miles on the odometer when I picked up the car, it was clear the Z06 had been driven and enjoyed but also equally babied. You can shake a bush and 10,000-mile C5 Corvettes start falling out so it’s refreshing to see one that was driven but still treated as a prized possession.

The Reliability Test

After saying goodbye to Joe and Sheboygan Falls, I drove back toward Milwaukee, where I planned to spend the night. Because the Z06 was still riding on tires from 2009, I wasn’t willing to make the trip home on expired rubber.

I used Discount Tire’s convenient buy-online, pick-up-in-store service to order a new set and scheduled installation for the following morning. Once the new tires were fitted, I continued through Chicago and on to northern Indiana, where I had business to conduct over the next several days.

If the Corvette was going to reveal any problems, this week would have done it. Temperatures in Indiana climbed above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, yet the car never overheated. The air conditioning performed almost too well, cooling the compact but surprisingly roomy cabin so effectively that I often had to turn it down.

Performance Without the Fuel Penalty
C5 Corvettes are also known for their surprisingly good fuel economy. With the LS6 under the hood, the Z06 is rated at 28 mpg on the highway—an impressive figure for a car that can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about four seconds and produces roughly 400 horsepower.

As a 2001 model, my Z06 makes 385 horsepower. The 2002–2004 cars received a bump to 405 horsepower; a figure proudly displayed on their updated Z06 fender badges. Still, the 20-horsepower difference did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm; 385 was more than enough to put a silly grin on my face.

South to Bowling Green
I wrapped up the workweek in Indianapolis at the NHRA U.S. Nationals after several days of “commuting” across Indiana and western Ohio. With several hundred miles already behind me, it was time to point the nose of the sleek Vette south and head home. But first, a pit stop was in order in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

After a quick four-hour drive to Bowling Green from Indianapolis, I stayed the night at the Embassy Suites there. I wasn’t surprised to see close to a dozen Corvettes in the parking lot of the hotel, all of them C8 models. I assumed at least some of them were new owners, just completing their delivery experience at the National Corvette Museum. The hotel itself had a Corvette motif with Corvette artwork adorning the walls of the halls.

The National Corvette Museum

I’ve loved cars since I was a toddler and have visited quite a few automotive museums. For a short time, I volunteered at LeMay—America’s Car Museum and helped with its grand opening after it moved to its current location in Tacoma, Washington. Among the museums I’ve explored, the National Corvette Museum ranks near the top. It also serves as a service and detailing center.

My favorite part of the museum is its curated journey through Corvette history, from the C1 to today, with plenty of fascinating facts along the way. Have you ever noticed how often astronauts drive Corvettes in movies and television shows set during the space-race era? I had always assumed the car was simply a status symbol for astronauts and fighter pilots. As it turns out, Chevrolet offered astronauts Corvettes for just $1—a brilliant marketing strategy. I’d certainly drive one for a buck, even after adjusting for inflation.

The museum is also home to rare concept cars, famous race winners, and the only 1983 Corvette still in existence. In 2014, several of these vehicles plunged into a massive sinkhole beneath one of the main showroom floors. Although some were damaged beyond repair, they remain on display; the museum was able to restore several others.

A Corvette show was also taking place in the parking lot that day. I shamelessly pulled in with my bug-covered Z06, spent a little time admiring the other cars, and then continued on my way home.

The Tail of The Dragon & Cherohala Skyway

I’ve made the pilgrimage to Highway 129 several times, driving it in both a 2008 Nissan 350Z and a Honda S2000. Because the route was reasonably close to my way home, I wanted to experience it in the Corvette. Candidly, though, the Cherohala Skyway is better suited to the Corvette—and it was the road I was most eager to revisit.

The Tail of the Dragon is an 11-mile stretch of Highway 129 with 318 curves, many of them banked, and a buttery-smooth road surface. It is a compact route best suited to smaller cars. The Dragon was a lot of fun in the S2000, and I’m sure a Miata would be equally entertaining.

Highway 129 is a popular destination and often hosts large events that attract motorcyclists and car enthusiasts in force. The road can become congested, and it turns dangerous when careless drivers cross the double yellow lines around blind corners.

Beyond the scenery and the broader car culture, my favorite feature is the group of professional photographers stationed at select corners. They post their images online for sale, and I enjoy finding shots of my car and usually purchase a few. The two prominent players are www.killboy.com and www.129photos.com.

The drive from the Dragon to the Cherohala Skyway is scenic and entertaining on its own, but the main event begins in Robbinsville, North Carolina, and ends in Tellico Plains, Tennessee. The roughly 43-mile route winds up and down through the Cherokee and Nantahala national forests. Scenic overlooks line the road, and the sunsets can be especially breathtaking.

The Corvette is larger than the S2000 and felt a bit oversized on the Tail of the Dragon, but it was perfectly suited to the Skyway. Its abundant power made carving through the corners especially enjoyable and allowed me to make quick work of slower drivers in the passing zones.

The Final Miles Home
Once I cleared the “fun roads,” the remaining three-and-a-half-hour drive home was still enjoyable; North Georgia has plenty of rewarding roads of its own. The Corvette soaked up the miles and left me wishing I had more ground to cover.

All told, I covered roughly 1,300 miles on my honeymoon with the C5 Z06—and came away a big fan.

A Performance Bargain
At 25 years old, the C5 Z06 remains a performance bargain. Depending on the model year, it produces 385 to 405 horsepower and roughly the same amount of torque—an ideal balance for a performance car, in my opinion. The power feels strong and accessible in everyday driving, yet there is enough of it that exploring the car’s full potential is best reserved for the track.

The C5 Z06 was built for track use, with a weight-saving fixed-roof coupe design, a titanium exhaust, light weight wheels, and stout brakes. Combine those features with the LS6’s legendary reliability and surprisingly good fuel economy, and it would take very little to convince me to daily-drive one.

C5 Corvettes are plentiful, and many remain in very good—even showroom-quality—condition. Their age means maintenance is inevitable, but the LS powerplant is not known for major systemic problems. Some issues, such as a failing harmonic balancer, can become serious; fortunately, warning signs are well documented, and owners have access to proven replacement procedures and upgrade options.

With the average C5 Z06 listing price hovering around $30,000, values are clearly rising, yet the car still qualifies as a performance bargain. My hot take: it is a sports car you can drive every day while enjoying strong performance and respectable fuel economy, and you’ll likely not lose money when it is time to move on to something else if you buy it right. Then again, you may not want to move on at all.