Practical Car Care for Corvette Owners: Car Covers

© 2010 text and images by Hib Halverson
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Over the years, I've used a bunch of different car covers. A couple from Sportscar Products. One from Wolf. Others from Costco and, in the last year or so, two from California Car Cover.

The Wolf was the worst. We bought it for a C5 Z06 and, because of the Z's fixed-mount radio antenna we needed to put a hole in the cover. Rather than giving the customer a plastic grommet and instructions on how to punch a hole in the material, we got an iron-on reinforcement with a hole in it. While installing this thing according to some less-than-specific instructions which came with the cover, we melted a hole in the material. Worse yet, the Wolf people wouldn't fess-up to their crappy instructions which told us to use heat to apply the iron-on transfer. Wolf covers? Never again.

The two from Sportscar Products were ok, but they were entry level offerings and, because of their low price, were only one layer of thin poly-cotton. Because dust would drop through them, eventually, even with the covers on, the cars got dirty. They were good only only indoors and only if the car was washed once a month.

The covers from Costco, also made by Wolf (but with "Sentrex" a thinner fabric than used in the one we fried) worked well on cars which were garaged most of the time. One problem was that they weren't vehicle-specific and were universal fits for many vehicles about the size of the Vettes I was using them on. After a while I grew tired of the sloppy look. Also, both developed tears at several of their seams. I've decided that universal fit covers are not worth the savings in price.

During the preparation of the first four parts of the CAC series on car care, I tested several products marketed by the California Car Duster company which worked quite well. Details are in the stories at: Practical Car Care for Corvetters.

After those articles were posted I learned that the people who own California Car Duster, also, own California Car Cover, so, back in late '08, when I was shopping for new covers for a C3 and C4, based on my positive experience with their other car care products, I decided to step up tohigher-end covers from "CCC".

We ordered a pair of covers made with CCC's "Plushweave" fabric which is uncommon in the cover market in that it's 100% cotton. I've discovered that many manufacturers carry a poly-cotton material (some call this "cotton") which isn't as soft or breathable, but few have a true all-cotton product. This cover, also, has a cotton flannel lining for paint protection and the flannel's density cushions against scratches and dings. While it's intended for indoor use, so far I've found the Plushweave covers seem do an ok job against sun, dew, pollutants. This two-ply construction allows the fabric to remain breathable, which aids in air-drying and heat reduction to keep your Vette cooler. These covers are Scotchgarded so they are somewhat water repellent. That said, Plushweave is rated for use as an indoor and fair-weather-outdoor cover material. California Car Cover does not recommend these covers for use on cars stored outdoors for extended periods or in bad weather. They are guaranteed to never scratch and carry a two-year limited warranty. This cover is available in two colors. We ordered gray but black is a $50.00 extra cost option.

Plushweave covers performed quite well in our year-long test. They fit both a '95 Coupe and an '82 perfectly. They kept the cars clean. We like the softness and the scratch-resistance of the flannel lining a lot. These covers are, also, pretty darn tough. In fact, we did some stuff to one of them which is not recommended by its maker, such as drying it in a clothes drier before we read the instructions-well...duh. Plushweave covers should be line-dried as California Car Cover says the fabric shrinks during machine drying. As ours still fits fine, it seems no worse for wear for its one-time abuse. Also, due to the temporary loss of garage space due to a remodeling, we were forced to store the car outside for awhile. While this cover was overwhelmed during one heavy rainstorm, during the rest of its outdoor test it faired quite well. After a year, it was hard to tell the cover had been subjected to use outside of its design envelope.

In short both these products exceed our expectations. If we needed another indoor cover, no question-we'd go back to California Car Cover for one made of Plushweave because of that fabric's durability and CCC's high quality manufacturing.

For more information on Plushweave covers or other Corvette cover solutions, contact:

California Car Cover Co.
9525 DeSoto Av.
Chatsworth CA 91311
800-423-5525