Ever wonder how "Save the Wave" started
This is a reprint of an article, titled "SAVE THE WAVE" that appeared in
the August / September 1969 issue of the Corvette News.
SAVE THE WAVE
Ever since Corvette No. 00001 first met Corvette No. 00002 on
the road, their drivers saluted each other with waves. Today,
unfortunately, this grand and glorious tradition is wavering.
There's one item of standard equipment that comes as a
pleasant surprise to every new Corvette owner. It's an instant
wave of recognition he or she receives when he meets one of
their likes on the road. The first time it happens, they will be
taken by surprise. He immediately thinks:
1. He has been mistaken for Sterling Moss
2. His lights are on.
3. He has just been given the bird.
Soon, however, the new Vette owner anticipates, indeed even
relishes, encountering other Vettes as he drives. During this
period, he experiments with his waves, running the gamut from
the gaping "yoo hoo" to the ultra cool "two finger flip." He
perfects his timing, making sure he affects neither a too-early
wave, nor the jaded "oh brother" too-late variety. Determined
not to be one upped, he even develops a defense mechanism
for non wavers, usually settling on the "Wave? My hand was just
on the way to scratch my head" approach. (This is especially
useful when you're not driving your Vette, but you forget, and
like a dummy, you wave anyway.)
Indeed, one of the most perplexing problems facing a would-be
waver is what to do when driving next to a fellow Vette owner.
Passing him going in opposite directions is one thing. Greetings
are exchanged, and that's that. But what happens when you pull
up next to a guy at a light, wave, nod, smile and then pull up to
him at the next light, a block later? Wave again? Nod bashfully?
Grin self-consciously? Ignore him? Or take the chicken's way out
and turn down the next side street? If you're expecting an
answer, you won't find it here. Sad to say, some questions don't
have any.
Girl-type Corvette drivers also have a unique problem: to wave
or not to wave. This miss or misses who borrows her man's
Corvette for the first time is immediately faced with this
quandary. Should she wave first and look overly friendly, or
ignore the wave and look like a snob? Most ladies who drive
their own Vettes prefer to suffer the latter rather than take a
chance of being misread. For this reason, all girls are excused
for occasionally failing to return a well-meaning wave. So are
new owners who are still learning the ropes.
There is no excuse, however, for a guy who refuses to return the
wave, not out of ignorance, but of arrogance or apathy. While
this type of behavior is the exception to the rule, it seems a few
owners of newer models [remember this article was written in1969] refuse to recognize anything older than theirs, while some
others simply won't wave, period. Boo on them. These ding-alings
don't seem to realize that they are helping to squash a
tradition that had its beginnings back when most of us were still
driving tootsie toys.
So now you know the meaning of:
"SAVE THE WAVE"