The 1967 Corvette Sting Ray is the most beautiful American car ever built and I'll die on that hill. The Coke-bottle body, the hidden headlamps, the side exhaust, the shark-gill vents on the fenders — every line serves a purpose and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The convertible is the more desirable configuration for the concours crowd. The coupe is the one I'd drive. The removable top panel, the hardtop structural integrity, the visual proportion with the roof in place — the coupe is a better car.

I've owned a '67 coupe for eight years. It's never let me down on a road trip. That is the highest praise I can give a 55-year-old machine.