The United States has several world-class cities, but when it comes to enjoying your world-class Corvette year-round, some cities are just better than others. Every year, major publications such as U.S. News & World Report publish articles on the “Best Cities in America to Live.”
They use metrics such as housing costs, taxes, public transportation, employment rate, etc. Granted, those are all essential areas to consider when choosing a city, but what if your “Corvette Experience” was also a significant factor in your decision-making process? How would Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, fare?
For the sake of this discussion, let’s narrow our definition of the “Corvette Experience” to the following five criteria: 1 – Access to multiple established Corvette clubs, 2 – Weather, 3 – Road surface quality, 4 – Proximity to points of interest, 5 – Spirited driving.
Access to Multiple Established Corvette Clubs
Metro Atlanta has several established, vibrant clubs to choose from today. Often it comes down to proximity to where you live in the metro area and the type of activities you enjoy. Are you looking for a purely social club with no dues, no officers, a Board of Directors, or By-Laws with only fun as the goal?
Check out the Amazing Corvettes Club. A simple definition of a club is a group of people with a shared passion. Dues, Officers, Board of Directors, and By-Laws do not make a club, as you know. It’s the people within the club that ultimately form the character and quality of a club.
The Amazing Corvette Club’s goal is to have fun, and that’s the reason they attract fun-loving people to their club.
Classic Glass Corvette Club (CGCC) is one of the largest in Georgia. Established in 1983, it closed out 2023 with over 300 members. It is a proud business member and supporter of the National Corvette Museum.
The group has a very active calendar of events throughout the year, including day trips, overnight cruises, and activities. They also make at least four trips to the National Corvette Museum annually and participate in The BASH, work weekends, and Anniversary Celebrations.
If you enjoy participating in parades, this is the club for you. They are a part of the Marietta 4th of July Parade, the Dunwoody 4th of July Parade, the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl Parade, the Atlanta Veterans Day Parade, as well as a couple of local high school homecoming parades every year.
Their annual VetteStock car show at Miller’s Ale House in Alpharetta is always a highlight of the year.
Established in 1971, Corvette Atlanta was established by like-minded Vette owners in the Atlanta Metro area. They are supporters of the National Council of Corvette Clubs (NCCC) and the National Corvette Museum.
If you enjoy autocrossing, consider this club. They travel to Roebling Road near Savannah, Huntsville, Nashville, Knoxville, Pensacola, and others.
Their autocross events include both low-speed and high-speed competitive events. The club membership roll includes drivers who are nationally ranked and want to share their knowledge of how to win. They also have several current and past national NCCC autocross champions.
Corvette Cruisers of Atlanta is a club of dedicated Vette enthusiasts who take pride in their cars and are active in giving back to the community. They seek to identify individuals in need or charitable organizations that they can help through their generous fundraising efforts.
As a responsible and dedicated Corvette club, they maintain a 100% individual membership in the National Council of Corvette Clubs (NCCC) and their Club membership with the National Corvette Museum. If you are looking for a very active, involved club, you should look here.
The 100 or so members are always on the go with fun events, and they put on an all-Corvette show every year. Day trips, three – and four-day excursions, informational events with local Chevrolet dealers, and Saturday afternoon meetups are just a sample of what they provide to their energized membership base.
Lanier Corvette Unlimited is always on the go. Trips to the factory at Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Corvette Expo in Pigeon Forge, and caravans down to the Concours d’ Elegance in Amelia Island, FL, are just a sampling of what’s available with this great group of Vette-loving people. Giving back to their local community is in the very essence of their DNA.
Visits to senior living centers and their annual all-Corvette car show at Buyavette aim to be good ambassadors of the brand. In between events, they also keep the discussion going on the LCU Facebook page.
Weather
Yes, you can drive your Vette in the snow, I know, I lived in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and just outside of Philadelphia. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
It’s not the experience you’re looking for when you put your hard-earned money down for a new fiberglass sports car. Ok, those of you living in southern California and a few other places have us beat.
When compared to a large portion of the country, Atlanta has fantastic year-round motoring weather. With 217 sunny days, there are more than enough days to enjoy your convertible or take the roof out of your coupe.
Atlanta is situated on the Piedmont Plateau at an elevation of 1,050 feet. Because of this elevation, the city tends to be less hot and humid than most southern cities. Fortunately, the first year for factory air conditioning in Vettes was 1963.
Road Surface Quality
The average ground clearance in recent generation Vettes is about 4 inches. In many states, potholes are the bane of our existence.
Even when the weather is beautiful up North, you still have to contend with rough roads and potholes due to freezing rain and snow. Few things can make your blood boil quicker than the sound of your front splitter or, worse, scraping the asphalt.
Trust me, the entire driving experience is significantly better on excellent roads. For the most part, the highways in Atlanta are table-top smooth because we don’t get the freezing and subsequent thawing.
Proximity To Points Of Interest
From nightlife and festivals to health clubs and parks, Atlanta sits at #6 for most fun cities in the United States in a new WalletHub list. While that’s important, for lovers of America’s finest sports car, there are many more reasons to choose Atlanta.
For starters, the city of Atlanta is home to the Caffeine and Octane car show. As you know, Caffeine and Octane is a nationally recognized all-make, all-models car show that regularly attracts over 2000 vehicles and 15,000 fans monthly.
The event is held (rain or shine) on the first Sunday morning of each month from 8 AM to 11 AM. Caffeine & Octane has grown to be the largest monthly gathering of car enthusiasts and fans in the United States. Season Four of C&O is airing on NBC Sports Network.
Atlanta is central to many points of interest. Bowling Green, Kentucky, for example, is only 311 miles from Atlanta. Savannah and the Georgia coast are just 248 miles down the road along some of the smoothest, straightest highways I’ve seen.
May I say, umm, your trip times could vary significantly from Google Maps’ initial estimate. The Gulf of Mexico, with the sugar-white beaches of Pensacola, Fl is a hair over 300 miles away. In my book, 300 miles one way or less makes for a perfect “leave Friday morning, come back Sunday afternoon” getaway.
Spirited Driving
While we’re talking about “spirited driving,” we should point out that the “Tail of the Dragon” is just 171 miles from Atlanta. Many consider it one of the most exciting drives in America. Here are some numbers that make Vette owners salivate: 318 often banked curves that stretch over 11 miles.
You experience mountainside wilderness, often with a rock wall or hill on one side of the road and a sheer drop on the other. Devil’s Triangle is another adrenaline-pumping Vette drive. The nearby Cherohala Skyway is quickly becoming a destination, too, with its remote 60 miles of breathtaking scenic mountain highway.
Along with those same driving experiences, we have to mention Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Road Atlanta, located north of the city of Braselton, Georgia, on 750 park-like acres, is recognized as one of the world’s best road courses.
With more than 320,000 annual visitors, Road Atlanta draws visitors from 33 states and 18 countries for its high-energy race schedule. The track is home to the Skip Barber Racing School, Drift Atlanta, and The Mitty. The Petit Le Mans is held annually at Road Atlanta, an endurance race that lasts for 1,000 miles or 10 hours – whichever comes first!
Live your life a quarter-mile at a time? Atlanta Dragway is a drag racing facility located in Banks County, Georgia, just north of Commerce, Georgia, about 69 miles from Atlanta. It is currently home to the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Southern Nationals.
The Evidence Is Compelling
At the end of the day, several great cities could make a strong argument for being one of the “Best Corvette Cities in America.” Granted, those of us at Vettes of Atlanta Magazine could easily be seen as biased in this regard, but we think the facts stand for themselves.
We hope you’ll send us your comments about your city. Who knows, we might add your city to our nationwide list of the “Top 10 Best Corvette Cities in America” that we’re compiling.
Articles We Recommend:
Dale Earnhardt And Daytona Corvette Racing
The Tail Of The Dragon – A Voice That Drives My Heel
Don’t Miss Out
Subscribe To Our FREE Newsletter