CORVETTE MACO vs MAKO: SHARK ATTACK!

Posted on August 23, 2026August 23, 2026 by MartynL

Arguably the most attention-getting, crowd-pleasing Concept Car of the 1960s, GM’s Mako Shark II caught the eye of Motion’s Joel Rosen, resulting in CORVETTE MACO vs MAKO: SHARK ATTACK! Neither Joel Rosen, above, nor I had ever met Bill Mitchell, top, General Motors’ VP of Design, or any of the stylists who contributed to the design of the first Mako Shark II Concept that broke cover at the 1965 New York International Auto Show. But we were familiar with their previous head-turning Conc...

PONTIAC TEMPEST MONTE CARLO

Posted on April 13, 2023April 13, 2023 by MartynL

Built on a shortened prototype ’62 Pontiac Tempest convertible, the PONTIAC TEMPEST MONTE CARLO was a hit at auto shows and major road racing events. It shared the spotlight with GM design chief, William Mitchell’s Corvair Sebring Spyder. One thing was a given at GM in the 1960s. Chevy’s Corvette was a sacred cow and no other division could bring a two-seat sports car to market. The only way Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile or Cadillac could reveal branded two-seat, high-performance sporty ve...

ZORA DUNTOV & MID-ENGINE CORVETTE MYSTIQUE!

Posted on June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 by MartynL

Ken Kayser’s latest tome - Corvette Legend Or Myth & Zora’s Marque of Excellence, Volume II, Zora’s Fabulous Mid-Ship Corvette History - is actually a 750-page, portable Corvette research library. If you consider yourself a Corvette aficionado and/or a student of American automotive history, your bookshelf should have Corvette-centric published works penned by Kenneth W. Kayser. A retired GM engineer, Kayser spent years at the Tonawanda Engine Plant (think big-blocks, L88, ZL1, etc) and la...