Today's Corvette is an outright bargain when compared to sports cars from Europe, offering the performance of an all-out exotic at a quarter to a third of the price

From the 430-horsepower basic 'Vette to the $105,000, 638 horsepower ZR1, this machine is arguably the best American sports car ever built. True Corvette connoisseurs treat their rides as part of the family, not just four-wheeled friends. When the 'Vette was introduced in 1953 it was an instant sensation. Original production models carried a $3,498 sticker price and all 300 were sold. But it didn't become a true favorite among car buffs until the classic Sting Rays emerged in the 1960s. (Did you know that "Sting Ray" was originally two words? It didn't become one until the '70s.) After suffering long fallow periods in the '70s and '80s, the Corvette roared back with the fifth-generation C5 model of 1997, and it's improved ever since. Today's Corvette can go toe-to-toe with the typical Ferrari — at a fraction of the price.