What do you do when you've owned a total of 16 Corvettes over the past 36 years and the new millennium rolls around? You buy another Corvette to celebrate the occasion!
Manny Montgomery bought his first Corvette in 1964, just about the time he became old enough to drive. Since then, his Corvette fascination has seen him through a career in the military and a total of 16 different Corvettes. As a veteran of the Corvette hobby, Manny is affiliated with many Corvette organizations. When we shot these photos at the 2000 NCRS winter meet, he was a member of the North Florida Corvette Association, the membership director for the Florida Region NCCC, and a Life Member of the National Corvette Museum.
With all those years of Corvetting, Manny knows a good thing when he sees it, and when he saw this Millennium Yellow convertible, he recognized it as one of the best Corvettes yet.
Like most C5s, this fine machine doesn't sit under a dust cover. Manny drives it nearly every weekend, and even autocrosses every now and then. He loves the way it performs and handles. This Corvette has every available option, and Manny didn't see any need to fiddle with the stock components. His three-car detached garage in Jacksonville, Florida, is fully equipped with a car lift, though, in case he ever changes his mind.
The 2000 model boasts several refinements over earlier C5s: Both the standard wheels and seats were engineered for more long-term durability, the Performance Handling Package was upgraded, and manual transmission models were improved to give drivers a better sense of gear location and selection. All this proves that Corvettes just keep getting better and better each year. Witness the additional refinements of the 2001 model, including the Z06 package! Poor Manny. What will he do now?