Cathy Palmieri’s ’94 Corvette

Of all the divas on the CF staff, the most rabid just might be Art Director Cathy Palmieri, if the number of Corvettes owned per year of life and hours spent talking about them were the criteria, anyway. In her brief 30 years, this enthusiast has owned six—count ’em—six Corvettes, and she talks of little else.

Her first Corvette was a 40th Anniversary model, which she drove daily. Two months later, she fell for a ’94 Bright Aqua Metallic coupe and bought that one, too. A year later, she sold the Anniversary model for a Daytona Yellow ’69, trading that for a ’77 the following year. Her “most favorite,” a Black ’88 named (get ready) “The Precious” captured her heart next, and she quickly brought its mileage up to 99,000. In Florida, that isn’t hard.

Now she’s moved on from even that one, much like a butterfly in a summer garden. This ’94, her most recent treasure, was purchased from a friend, Robert Petty, the owner of Ridge Quality Motors in Dundee, Florida. It won’t be the workhorse the ’88 was, though. Cathy’s bought a reliable driver to keep the Corvette’s mileage down, and this Corvette comes out mostly for shows (the photos in this issue’s coverage of the St. Armand’s Circle event are hers). She also drives it when she “needs a Corvette fix,” which seems to happen fairly often.

Cathy finds the C4’s lines irresistible, particularly when bathed in shiny black paint, and she’s firmly committed to that body style. This ’94, dark and threatening on the outside, is wild Torch Red within. That combination is what got to her. “Torch Red—ouch!” was her reaction. It’s a six-speed, of course. Cathy has no use for automatic transmissions, preferring to experience the hands-on thrill of dispensing that LT1 power. The only shifts from stock, though, are the Breathless Performance air system and the polished factory rims. She does plan to buy a new glass top and install new carpeting and leather seats. Longer-range plans include an upgraded exhaust and a Hypertech chip. But for now, this Corvette meets all her requirements. Till she falls in love again.

Good thing the Fever is legal.