Bill Hatch believes that a Corvette is a car that you own for a lifetime.
Photo: Cary Thomas
On August 12, 1957, Bill Hatch, accompanied by his father, Lloyd, walked into Bates Chevrolet in Arcadia, California intending to buy a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. 25 years old, a recent college graduate, and a high school teacher and coach, Bill was ready to transition from his 1950 Ford convertible by purchasing his first new car.
The salesman greeted Bill cheerfully and showed him the choices on the Bates sales lot, including three Corvettes – white, red, and black. Bill chose the black one with the red interior. The car had minimal options – three speed, 230 HP standard engine, no heater, but it did have the Wonderbar radio. Bill was sold.
Next came the negotiations. Bates offered the car to Bill for the price of $3,430.72, and gave him a trade-in allowance of $200 for the Ford. Bill would make a down-payment of $1,863.72, leaving a balance of $1,367.00, which Bill would pay at the rate of $83.03 per month. The deal was closed and Bill drove his dream car home that day. For the next 69 years, Bill and his car have been inseparable.
It is one thing to “own” a Corvette, and quite another to make it an essential part of your life. The Corvette was Bill’s daily driver – both to work and at night to earn his master’s degree as well as his General Administrative credential. He took his girlfriend, Marylyn, on their first date in the Corvette, and when they got married in 1962, they drove the Corvette on their four-week honeymoon up the California coast to Monterey, Carmel, San Francisco, then on to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Bill’s first career step was a move to Newport Harbor High School where he worked as school administrator, English teacher, and varsity basketball coach. This change provided Bill with many beautiful ocean view mornings commuting from South Laguna Beach to Newport Beach.
A receipt for the first engine overhaul in 1965 at Tommy Ayres Chevrolet indicates that the car had been driven 88,858 miles in eight years. Bill and Marylyn used the car for weekend trips to the beach, and this true “survivor” Corvette was an integral part of their lives and the lives of their children, grandchildren and great grandson. The car has never been in storage and has never been restored. Now 94 years young, Bill still regularly drives his Corvette on errands near his home in Carlsbad California and to Corvette club meetings.
In February of 2026 Bill’s close friends from his local Corvette Club, North Coast Vettes (NCV) of Carlsbad, California, did a little research on longevity of vehicle ownership. They realized that Bill’s ownership had exceeded the current Guinness World Record (GWR) for “Longest ownership of a vehicle from new”. With enthusiasm, they applied to GWR to establish a new record. Soon word came back that their “record attempt” had been officially approved. With Bill, the club decided to use the 69th anniversary of the purchase to make their record attempt.
On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, the NCV sponsored a birthday party for Bill’s Corvette – exactly 69 years since the day Bill purchased it.
The day began at 8:20 AM as TV station KUSI interviewed Bill and Marylyn on live television. TV celebrity Ed Lenderman and a film crew captured the history of Bill’s Corvette for the TV audience.
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Photo: Cary Thomas |
Photo: Cary Thomas |
A second interview was aired at 9:00 AM. By the end of the day, Bill and Marylyn had been interviewed and appeared on: Good Morning San Diego, KUSI; KUSI News at 10; FOX 5 News at 4PM and 11PM; CBS News Live at 11PM; KFMB CBS News Channel 8 San Diego; and CHSTV - Carlsbad High School TV Channel.
The event was held at the Shoppes at Carlsbad, the local shopping center, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. In attendance were Bill, his wife, Marylyn, their family, his Corvette club members, members from six additional local Corvette clubs, the Mayor of Carlsbad, Keith Blackburn, and interested members of the community. About 175 people were in attendance.
The NCV team had striped the parking lot with two concentric circles – an inner circle of the NCV club members and an outer circle for all the other Corvettes. By 3:00, all the cars were parked and awaiting Bill’s arrival.
Bill and Marylyn drove the short distance from their home to the shopping center. The DJ played the theme from the movie “Rocky” as Bill’s car entered the circle of Corvettes to thunderous applause.
Photo: Dave Schilke
Bill was engulfed by family, friends, former basketball players, members of his church, and anyone who wanted to meet this special man and see his now legendary Corvette.
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Photo: Dave Schilke |
Photo: Juliana Scoggins |
Scott White, the President of NCV, and Mayor Blackburn delivered moving speeches, followed by remembrances by Bill and his wife, Marylyn.
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Photo: Vladimir Medvinski |
Photo: Vladimir Medvinski |
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Photo: Vladimir Medvinski |
Photo: Vladimir Medvinski |
Interviews continued throughout the day and in the days that followed the event.
Photo: Vladimir Medvinski
The NCV club members – 56 of them – posed for a group photo with Bill and Marylyn.
Photo: Vladimir Medvinski
The Corvette community celebrated the event as well, with recognition by “Corvette Mike”, “Corvette Store Online”, “Corvette Blogger” (with 6,100 thumbs-up, 614 comments, 409 repostings), Facebook, and many more postings. Other media coverage included: San Diego Union-Tribune (front page), The Vista Press /North County Daily Star.Com; Carlsbad Patch; North County Pipeline and others.
After months of planning, the event met the final requirement for a new Guinness World Record. Bill and Marylyn’s meticulous records provided proof that the car was purchased new (not used); the VIN number on the sales contract, and vehicle registrations matched the VIN on the car; photographs of the car, Bill’s family, and many Corvette events visually demonstrated continuous ownership through the years, and much more. Four witnesses in attendance certified the authenticity of all the documentation. Everything went according to plan, and Bill’s application package was submitted to GWR August 14, 2026.
Through this process, the Hatch family, and all of us who participated in this quest, came to have a rich appreciation of the amazing life this couple, and the car, have had together.
This Corvette ownership has lasted a lifetime.
Photo: Nelvin Cepeda, San Diego Union Tribune
