By Jonathon Ramsey, Autoblog.com - Edmunds has worked up a piece that tries to figure out just how much the global Chevrolet Corvette economy is worth, a spitballed guesstimate putting the number at more than US$2.5 billion with the proviso that the number is probably low. It starts by taking Corvette's new car sales of 14,132 units last year, which would equate to US$714,725,900 (including destination) assuming every car sold was a base coupe with no options. In the final tally a little extra padding gets that number up to US$750,000,000.
Many of the almost 1.4 million Corvettes produced over the model's history are still on the road, and from there it's onto the much-loved and reincarnated lives that those Corvettes lead. There are new parts and aftermarket companies like Mid-America Motorworks, that single Illinois company doing more than US$40 million a year in sales. There are the Corvette events large and small, restorers who do nothing but Corvettes, salvage yards that deal only in used Corvette parts and the Corvette magazines where owners find all this stuff.
And then there are the Corvette-themed knick-knacks, every single one of which provides a tiny contribution to the huge licensing royalties that General Motors collects every year. The article admits there's no way to come to an accurate number, but just the figures Edmunds does add up show that the 2014 Corvette Stingray will be the newest small-block icon revving up a sea of money.
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