Bill Hatch bought a black Corvette convertible in 1957, when he was 25. He took his girlfriend, Marylyn, on their first date in it five years later.
Soon after, they got married and took the Vette on their honeymoon up the coast and out to the mountains. They started in Malibu, drove up to Monterey, Carmel and San Francisco, then out to Yosemite and Sequoia National Park. At first, the two-seater was the couple’s daily work commuter and their weekend ride to the beach. But later it became a more special ride. Kids and grandkids and a great-grandson have all driven in it. Their life together of more than 64 years is tied up with the car.
The Corvette is known in auto lingo as a “Survivor,” a classic car that hasn’t been altered from its original factory condition. That has Hatch, now 94, set to break a world record for “Longest Ownership of a Vehicle from New” and gain a spot in the Guinness World Records.
1957 Corvette slated to break world record for longest ownership
The odometer reading, which rolled over at 99999, on the dashboard of Bill Hatch’s 1957 Corvette lists the mileage as 171259.4 miles. Bill purchased the Corvette brand new for $3,400 when he was 25 years old and working as a high school teacher. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
On Aug. 12, it will be exactly 69 years since Hatch bought his Corvette for $3,400 at Bates Chevrolet, a dealership in Arcadia, where he lived at the time. The current record is 67 years, 314 days, set in 2024 by Harold Lehman of Monticello, Ind., for his 1956 Chevrolet 210. The North Coast Vettes, a Carlsbad-based Corvette car club, submitted an application to Guinness World Records to best that, and it was approved.
1957 Corvette slated to break world record for longest ownership
The dashboard included a tachometer and an original AM radio. Bill Hatch, 94, purchased the Corvette brand new for $3,400 when he was 25 years old and working as a high school teacher. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
As part of the process of establishing that Hatch’s 1957 Corvette qualifies for the record, the North Coast Vettes is holding a community event — a birthday party for the car. It will be held in the west parking lot of The Shoppes at Carlsbad on Aug. 12, and it is expected to draw civic leaders and Corvette enthusiasts from throughout San Diego County and beyond.
“Thinking about how long people typically own a car, it is astonishing to think that a young man, 25 years old, buys his dream car, and at the age of 94 he still owns it,” said Cary Thomas, a longtime member of the North Coast Vettes and organizer of the Guinness World Records event. Thomas is author of “Beltsville Shell: You Are What You Drive.”
“Most young people who buy a Corvette, or any sports car, sell it after children come along,” Thomas said.
1957 Corvette slated to break world record for longest ownership
The dashboard included a tachometer and an original AM radio. Bill Hatch, 94, purchased the Corvette brand new for $3,400 when he was 25 years old and working as a high school teacher. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“Other club members have owned and rehabilitated their Corvettes, but not for the length of time that Bill Hatch has owned his car. And it has never been restored — it is totally original. That’s Corvette love,” said Yvonne Finocchiaro, board member of North Coast Vettes.
When Hatch first went to the dealership to buy a car, he had his mind on a Bel Air. But after the salesman showed the Corvette — his dream car — he figured he could make payments on the additional $600 with the extra money he made from coaching.
At the time, Hatch was an English teacher at Monrovia High School, a suburb of Los Angeles, where he coached basketball, baseball and track. Later in the early 1970s, the Hatches moved to Carlsbad, where he served as an administrator in the Vista Unified School District. Marylyn Hatch also was a teacher, tutoring and substituting, but her focus was on raising their two daughters.
Hatch thought about selling the car after their daughters were born, but his wife talked him out of it.
“There are a lot of memories connected with this car and when we’re driving it, we’re reliving it all — it reminds us of how God has blessed us over the years,” Marylyn Hatch said.
1957 Corvette slated to break world record for longest ownership
Bill, 94, and Marylyn, 83, Hatch inside their 1957 Corvette at Tamarack State Beach on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Carlsbad, CA. Bill purchased the Corvette brand new for $3,400 when he was 25 years old and working as a high school teacher. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
It’s become a tradition for the couple to drive the Corvette on their anniversary and get burgers at In-N-Out, like they would when they went to the beach. They still like to cruise by Tamarack Beach in Carlsbad and Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, where they used to play two-man sand volleyball.
“The story of owning this Corvette is actually a love story – the love of a man for his family, and their love of his car,” said Thomas, a neighbor and longtime friend of the family.
Soon after Hatch bought the Corvette, he felt he had to see what it could do. He dropped off his date at her house one night and went out on an empty road.
“I had to test the car. It went to 82 miles per hour in low gear, 95 in second gear and 118 in high gear. The car started to shake. I never did that again,” Hatch said.
1957 Corvette slated to break world record for longest ownership
Bill Hatch, 94, looks under the hood of his 1957 Corvette at Tamarack State Beach on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Carlsbad, CA. Hatch purchased the Corvette brand new for $3,400 when he was 25 years old and working as a high school teacher. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A fraternity buddy from the University of Southern California, who had a 1957 Porsche, wanted to compare the two cars. “We drove from Los Angeles to Lake Arrowhead and then down the mountain; it was a challenge,” Hatch said. The Porsche did better with the turns, but the Corvette came out ahead on straight stretches.
The Hatches’ first-generation Corvette has a fiberglass body and metal frame, making it light. Hatch bought the basic model — no air conditioner or heater, no power brakes, steering or windows, and no seat belts. He hasn’t added any features since. The car has more than 171,200 miles on the odometer and still has the original engine block.
“I didn’t have the money, so I didn’t add anything,” he said.
1957 Corvette slated to break world record for longest ownership
The original purchase contract between Bill Hatch and the car dealership. Bill Hatch, 94, purchased the Corvette brand new for $3,400 when he was 25 years old and working as a high school teacher. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
They repainted the car and maintained it, replacing with original factory parts. The Wonder Bar radio still works. One of their favorite features is the car’s emblem on the hood and trunk: a checkered racing flag crossed over a red flag along with a fleur-de-lis.
1957 Corvette slated to break world record for longest ownership
The front end of the 1957 Corvette. Bill Hatch, 94, purchased the Corvette brand new for $3,400 when he was 25 years old and working as a high school teacher. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Marylyn Hatch recalled that when they were on their honeymoon driving through Yosemite’s gravel roads, her husband drove slowly to keep from scratching the car’s paint.
The couple lent the car to their granddaughter on her wedding day in Temecula so she could take off for her honeymoon in the same vehicle as her grandparents had, decades earlier.
“To us the car has been a gift from above — we still drive it to church, the beach and local errands,” Marylyn Hatch said. “It’s always been part of our life — the celebrations and the challenges.”
“It’s almost like a family friend — we talk to the car and sing in it,” she said.
The North Coast Vettes Corvette Club’s Guinness World Record Challenge for the Corvette will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Aug. 12 in the west side of the parking lot at The Shoppes at Carlsbad.
Damn! I had wondered how those guys kept them running after all this time. Didn't realize they're "Frankenstein" cars with cobbled together parts. But they do look good at initial impressions....especially considering they've been in such a humid salty environment for so long.
Bad teacher bad 
. Ftr, a '57 Vette and a teen bride make him the coolest English teacher ever. 