Photo: Chevrolet
In a follow up to the amazing story of a Detroit man who found his 1979 Chevrolet Corvette after it was stolen 33 years ago, General Motors made good on its word to reunite man and machine. The reunion between George Talley, 71, and his beloved ’79 ‘Vette took place at a small ceremony at the GM world headquarters.
Talley’s Corvette was stolen while parked on Jefferson Ave. in 1981, and while he had filed a police report, there is no way he could have expected the recent turn of events to unfold. Last month, AAA had contacted Talley to let him know that the stolen Corvette had been located in Hattiesburg, MS. Not only did Talley find out that he’d be getting his beloved ’79 ‘Vette back, but there was another surprise in store. After seeing the report on the local news, Mark Reuss, executive vice president for GM Product Development, offered to have it shipped back to Detroit.
In that news report, Talley had told WXYZ Detroit that “"I was sitting at home … looking at Judge Mathis, and I get a call from AAA telling me you have a Corvette in Mississippi, come and get it. And, uh… I said, ‘what?’”
After pulling back the cover, Talley got to see and sit in his prized Corvette for the first time since in 33 years. Based on pictures released by Chevrolet from today’s ceremony, the ‘79 Corvette is probably in rougher shape than Talley last saw the car in, but aside from the scrapes, scratches and faded paint, the silver-on-black Corvette looks to be a fine example of a C3 ‘Vette. On top of that, it still runs and it has just 47,000 miles on the odometer.
Ironically, the theft had occurred just three miles from where today’s reunion took place.
In that news report, Talley had told WXYZ Detroit that “"I was sitting at home … looking at Judge Mathis, and I get a call from AAA telling me you have a Corvette in Mississippi, come and get it. And, uh… I said, ‘what?’”
After pulling back the cover, Talley got to see and sit in his prized Corvette for the first time since in 33 years. Based on pictures released by Chevrolet from today’s ceremony, the ‘79 Corvette is probably in rougher shape than Talley last saw the car in, but aside from the scrapes, scratches and faded paint, the silver-on-black Corvette looks to be a fine example of a C3 ‘Vette. On top of that, it still runs and it has just 47,000 miles on the odometer.
Ironically, the theft had occurred just three miles from where today’s reunion took place.
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