Car Girl: Twisted Michelle

Location: Orange County, California (Irvine specifically)
Car: 2016 Chevrolet Corvette C7 Z51 3LT Carbon Package

Michelle grew up working on cars with her dad, she can remember back as young as 5, hanging out with dad in the garage while he worked on his jet boat engine or repaired the family car. The sound of open headers, the smell of high octane fuel, and that special time with dad was all it took to turn Michelle into a full-on car girl. You might remember Michelle from a feature we did with her last year with her 2015 Ford Mustang GT. But as much as she loved her Mustang, Michelle has always dreamed of owning a Chevrolet Corvette.

Before the Vette Michelle has had a number of performance cars, Chargers, Challengers, Mustangs, even a few custom trucks, but the Corvette has always been at the top of her dream car list. So when the opportunity came to for her to own her dream car, she took it. Like all her performance cars before the Corvette, this will not be a trailer queen or just used for Sunday car shows. As one of the original members of the 70-Mile-Saturday and Co-Founder of Drive Together Michelle racks up miles of spirited driving on all her cars.

Michelle's Vette is a 2016 C7 Z51 3LT Carbon Package Daytona Sunrise Metallic, a car she has dreamed of owning for years. Michelle shares her story about what fueled her passion for the Corvette brand.

"I fell in love with corvettes the first time I saw a 1967 Corvette when I was about 8 years old. The body lines and aesthetics of the car were just simply beautiful. I had watched the body style change over the years as well as the horsepower rising.

To be honest I thought it would just stay a dream to own one of my own being a single mom all of my children's lives. Although I liked the C6 body style, when the C7 came out in 2014 I fell in love all over again just like I did the first time I saw the 67.

After having the Mustang for 3 years and all the work I put into modifying that car, it was hard to let it do. But when the C7's dropped into my budget range it was just too many things that were lining up at the right time to ignore that something was telling me I needed to make my move and pull the trigger.

After test driving the base model, the Z51 and the Grand Sport submodels I decided on the Z51 because of what I knew I would be doing with the car (i.e. some "spirited driving", canyon driving as well as daily driving). With the magnetic ride suspension, dry sump and Brembo racing brake system it just seemed like the logical choice.

Then it was a 3-month journey with my brokers Kelly and Kurt at Ken Grody Ford Carlsbad to find the car I wanted with the right specs, in my budget and low miles. I have to say though, I could not be happy with what they found. It is still surreal every time I walk out to her and look at her. To know that after everything I have been through in my life and all my struggles; dreams do come true."