Corvettes still in existance

[Dino L.]

As a follow up to two earlier threads.........I spoke with RL Polk today, here is what is available to us based on internal NCRS club usage only and not for general publication to the world.

They have two databases available, they have Corvettes registered as of 1980 which has Corvette Model years from 1966 through 1980. Because coupe and convertible are part of the VIN they can split that percentage out. The total cost of US data by year is $800.00 if we want to purchase it by state it is $2,500.

The second database is current from 2007 back to 1974 Corvette's registered and the cost is the same.

RL Polk has internal database guidelines on years they cutoff on the database, that is why the data does not go back further. They just choose to delete it.

I asked how many 1966 Corvettes were registered in 1980, he stated the number is somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 total...if I wanted more detail send him a check for $800. Obviously individual VIN data cannot be shared without written consent from General Motors...which I found to be a very unusual statement?

I trust the powers at be within the NCRS can determine if this information is worth purchasing for the club membership. If I can be of further help, email me.

thanks

[Robert Willis]

Re: Corvettes still in existance

So I take it that he has US ownership only ? There are a lot of Vettes in Canada and elsewhere.

Bob

[Mark J.]

Hmm.....

Let's do the math:

$800 per year for the entire U.S.?

1980
1990
2000

$2400 divided by 24000 interested NCRS members would cost me $0.30. for three snapshots of my 1966 VIN. Where do I sign up?

Mark

[Terry M.]

Re: Hmm.....

"Obviously individual VIN data cannot be shared without written consent from General Motors..."

Sounds to me like no one gets to see a snapshot of their individual VIN. I think for $800 we will hear that in 1980 Y number of 19xx Corvettes were registered, Y number of 19xx + 1 Corvettes were registered, and so on. But then maybe I am reading the first post wrong.

[Chris H.]

Re: Corvettes still in existance

What is VIN data? Perhaps it is actual owners or something to do with the car itself?

[Tracy C.]

Re: Corvettes still in existance

If I interprete correctly we have 2 choices:

registered data for 1966 thru 1980 cars that is current only to the year 1980.

or

resistered data for 1974 thru 2007 car that is current to present day 2007.

As I see it, the first option is a total waste of money, and the second option would be a hard sell to anyone with a car older than 1974.

tc

[Tracy C.]

Re: Corvettes still in existance

If I interprete correctly we have 2 choices:

registered data for 1966 thru 1980 cars that is current only to the year 1980.

or

resistered data for 1974 thru 2007 car that is current to present day 2007.

As I see it, the first option is a total waste of money, and the second option would be a hard sell to anyone with a car older than 1974.

tc

[Myron Sleeva]

Re: Corvettes still in existance

Going from Corvettes registered to Corvettes in existance is a big leap in logic. Since individual VINs are sacrosanct and for the eyes of GM only, what value is there in knowing bulk numbers?

Anecdotally, know of one 69 that has not been registered since 1975 BUT rest assured, still exists! Off the radar but is INTACT!

[Myron Sleeva]

Re: Corvettes still in existance

Going from Corvettes registered to Corvettes in existance is a big leap in logic. Since individual VINs are sacrosanct and for the eyes of GM only, what value is there in knowing bulk numbers?

Anecdotally, know of one 69 that has not been registered since 1975 BUT rest assured, still exists! Off the radar but is INTACT!

[Joe R.]

Re: Corvettes still in existance

Hi Dino:

Thanks for looking into this. I'm not sure I understand your description of the options. Could you clarify this for me?

I think what we want, and what RL Polk could theoretically provide, is the number of Corvettes of each model year that are currently registered in 2007. As some posters have pointed out, this is not a perfect measure of all Corvettes still in existence, but it's still pretty valuable information.

As I recall from speaking with them a few years ago, they have the VIN numbers of every car registered in every state, by year, going back to the 1930s. It's amazing to realize that the registration history of all of our Corvettes is buried deep within the RL Polk data base.

Unfortunately, information on specific VIN numbers must be kept private. However, the statistical information on the total number of Corvettes currently registered would not violate the privacy restrictions.

[Philip C.]

Is that 800 per year

$800 for 66 and $800 for 67 and so on for each year up to 1980, Or $800 for 1966 thru 1980???????????? Phil 8063

[Dino L.]

Re: Is that 800 per year

Let me clarify a couple of things. The $800 is for all years of Corvettes 1966 through 1980 as of 1980. Looking at the responses makes me laugh...from the this data is worthless to wanting to see it. From my perspective, they have a database of Corvette VIN's (vehicle ID numbers) as a polaroid picture taken in 1980...of course this wont have all the non registered Corvettes up on blocks or in junkyards or wrecks etc, nor will it have Europe exports etc etc (they may have Canada)...but it will give perspective to our hobby. Furthermore it begs the opportunity for further investigation to determine possibilities. Say for example the club buys the $2500 by state database. So we know all the VINS registered by state in 1980...and through some miracle we have access to the VINS (of course a big leap) but how many of us would like to submit our VIN to someone in the club who manages the database and he could tell us which state our vehicle was registered in 1980, could help tracking previous owners. As many of you know, the VIN started to identify more than coupe and convertible in the early 70's, this data can be sorted by engine type if the VIN discerns that data...I think small & big block is part of the VIN decode later? I did not spend a lot of time working on this project, but I can tell you the database records contains a multitude of records besides registration...who knows where it could lead. It is also important to the vehicle owners of 70,80, and 90 corvettes for the future I would think....sounds like the stuff the Corvette Museum would be interested in. The bottom line is RL Polk has it at a price.

[Frank C.]

this raises another question

about 15 years ago I got a recall notice for a Qjet problem on my '66 325/396 Biscayne. I'm the fourth owner. How'd they do that???

[Gary H.]

Re: this raises another question

VIN = "Vehicle Identification Number" = that's how a vehicle is registered no matter how old it is. GM tells Polk they are looking for a certain range of VINs and Polk does a VIN search of all currently registered vehicles. Since the VIN in 1966 did not designate engine option, probably anyone with a '66 registered at the time got that notice.

And, as I stated in another post a few minutes ago, I used to work for Polk and I can tell you that they cannot sell specific vehicle info to just anyone. They might sell you some statistical data, but, IMHO it is not worth much.

[Robert S.]

Re: this answers another question

Gary, I think you just answered another question someone asked, "why do they need to get GM's approval to release VIN number information?"

I sounds like Polk does/did this research and collected the data under contract with GM. Since GM paid for them to collect the information, I'm sure the contract would restrict Polk from selling the data again willy-nilly.

My 2cents