Chevrolet builds the 1,500,000th Corvette, prices 2010 Grand Sport

Building 1,500,000 of just about any complex machine is a serious milestone, but it's much more than that to the motoring spirit of America when it's the Chevrolet Corvette. Today General Motors announced the production of the 1,500,000th Corvette at its Bowling Green Assembly plant.

Along with the announcement of the sales landmark, Chevrolet released pricing on the 2010 Corvette Grand Sport. The standard coupe GS starts at $55,720 and the GS convertible starts from $59,530.

"The Corvette Grand Sport achieves a 0 - 60 time in less than four seconds, pulls 1.0g on the skid pad and still boasts an impressive 26 highway mpg," Chevrolet product marketing director Karen Rafferty said. "These numbers are unmatched by any of Corvette's competitors." The 2010 Grand Sport was unofficially priced just over a week ago, but the official announcement today confirms those numbers.

Looking back on the nearly 60 years of Corvette production that got them to the Grand Sport, Z06 and ZR-1, Rafferty remarked, "The 1.5 millionth Corvette is a great example of how Chevy is America's Brand. For nearly 60 years we have built America's Sports Car and this milestone is a solid proof point."

Obviously, GM will be leveraging its most iconic products to help rebuild the company's image in the wake of its massive bailout and bankruptcy. The new Grand Sport sport is a step in the right direction, however, adding performance and value to an already impressive American sports car.