One great thing about writing about historic Vettes is discovering the stories behind them. So it was with "Misterl's Midyear," a special '63 Sting Ray that we brought you in 2009.

The feature that appeared on this car in the July '09 Corvette Fever--as well as the cyber version of it in this website's "Featured Corvettes" section--begins this way: "Think of it as the continuation of the line of “dream cars” that started with the Y-Job and LeSabre. Think of it as a daily driver owned by the man who turned mass production of passenger cars into an art form." That's because it is...this car was built for legendary GM VP and Styling chief Harley Earl. Check out our conversation with his son, Richard Earl, about the car, its history, and the special hardware that you see on it.

That includes those should-have-been-RPO side exhausts, designed by Misterl himself...

...and that interior with the most complete set of gauges ever seen on a Chevy this side of an Engineering prototype!

Richard Earl was also kind enough to open the family photo album up and pass along some photos of his father with this car, seen here at their Florida vacation home (with Michigan "Water Wonderland" plates on it!) 

On that note...MERRY CHRISTMAS!