by Mike –

In 1966, 30-year-old Don (Donnie) McNamara of Colorado Springs, Colorado bought this 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe new after retiring from the US Marine Corp. Since then he put only 2,996 miles on his Corvette. No one ever sat in the passenger seat.

According to Hemmings,

Donnie died in July of 2011, and with no spouse, relatives or close friends to speak of, his estate passed into the hands of a neighborhood couple that he’d befriended in his later years.

It is now at auction by Mecum in Houston in April 2014, who said,

“When the Corvette’s odometer approached the 3,000-mile mark in the mid-Eighties, he retired it from the road for the rest of his life.”

Not good for Donnie

Clearly something was not normal in Don McNamara’s life. He had no family or friends and never took anyone for a ride in his special Corvette. That is a great shame that someone would love a classic car like he apparently loved this Corvette but not share that passion with anyone, ever.

Not good for the car either

And this type of treatment of a car is not good for the car. They need to be started and driven or else things deteriorate and eventually engine fluids wind up in places they don’t belong among other ills.

But for me the real pity is the personal one – Donnie McNamara, the ex US Marine, did not fully enjoy the thrill of owning a 1967 Corvette.