Being a car geek, it's almost obligatory for me to visit some automobile assembly line. It just so happened that the Bowling Green, KY Corvette factory was right on our route to Niagara Falls, so Daddy-o and I decided to take an inside look.
GM really makes a show of their prized Corvette. From the Interstate 65, the National Corvette Museum with its colorful roof and giant sign is unmissable. Across the street from the museum are some signs guiding plant visitors down a small road to where Corvettes are born. Once you approach the buildings, you're greeted by a parked Corvette and a painted water dome.
As you drive further, there's another Corvette display with some visitor parking spaces in front of the administration building.
GM really makes a show of their prized Corvette. From the Interstate 65, the National Corvette Museum with its colorful roof and giant sign is unmissable. Across the street from the museum are some signs guiding plant visitors down a small road to where Corvettes are born. Once you approach the buildings, you're greeted by a parked Corvette and a painted water dome.
As you drive further, there's another Corvette display with some visitor parking spaces in front of the administration building.
Finally, near the end of the road, you reach the parking lots for plant visitors. Be careful if you're driving a foreign car; the closest lots are reserved for American vehicles.
Unfortunately, that's where the photos end. As the signs and employees will remind you over and over again, no photography of any kind of allowed once inside.
After a long walk from the import car lot, we arrived at the doors to the tour. If you didn't reserve a spot, you have to first visit the ticket office by following a trail of footstep stickers on the ground. It was a Tuesday morning when we went and the place ended up being fairly crowded, so I would advise you to reserve spots if you plan to visit on a weekend. Ticket prices and tour information can be found here.
We were an hour early for the tour session we wanted, so we had to sit in the "Tour Room" waiting for a long time. There were some pictures, awards and brochures on display in the 80s-tastic lobby, but it quickly got boring. Most ended up just sitting in the reclining plastic chairs of the Tour Room.
Eventually, they put up some videos about the Corvette. On the third re-run, the tour guides were finally ready for the now-overflowing crowd in the Tour Room.
Being one of the earlier ones to arrive, we were part of the first group to start the tour. We and about another twenty people went with a nice intern with a Kentucky accent to begin the tour in the lobby, where she talked about paint colors.
After that, we entered the assembly area. The tour was a slow walking tour with frequent stops where the tour guide would explain what was happening and answer any questions. It only encompassed assembly and quality control, so we didn't get to see any welding or painting.
Nonetheless, the experience was super informative and entertaining. The workers were friendly as well, and one even gave the little kid in front of me a model Corvette to keep. If you're interested in seeing and hearing about how cars are made, the Corvette plant isn't a bad place to start!
By the way, I also passed GM's Tonawanda engine plant (where the Corvette's engine is made) near Buffalo, NY later in my trip. Just a fun fact.
If you have any questions about my time in the tour, comment below and I'll try to answer them the best I can!
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