How the registry works

The principle: each car is recorded as built

The registry records every car as GM built and invoiced it: its configuration, Build Date, Order Type, Originating Dealer, Original Market and window-sticker price. That record is the car's birth certificate and does not change.

Anything that happened later goes into the car's History instead: parts added or removed, stripes taken off, wheels changed, damage, title brands, owners. GM itself makes the same distinction. Its dealer vehicle-history screen carries this warning: "IVH is not the definitive source of GM Vehicle RPO information … please refer to the original vehicle invoice or window sticker."

Some Collector Edition parts never left the factory on the car. The ground effects and several loose parts shipped to the dealer separately for installation. A car can therefore be missing an option it was ordered with, or wear one it was not. The registry shows the option as ordered and notes the difference in History when an owner reports it.

Identity

Car Number. The number on the car's dash plaque, 001–940. It is the key for everything in the registry. 935 cars were built. Numbers 246–250 were never built (see Never Built), and 941–1000 were never assigned to a car. A few plaques read differently from the car's number, usually replacements from GM; the car page notes it.

VIN. The 17-character vehicle identification number. For every Collector Edition the last six digits are 300000 plus the Car Number (car 043 is …300043). Position 6 is the body (2 coupe, 3 convertible). Position 5 is 9 on export cars; on US and Canadian cars it is 1 for the automatic and Z for the manual. Position 9 is a check digit. Every VIN in the registry passes these checks.

Records and sources

GM Build Record. GM's own record of a car (GM's public documents for the 2017 model are on GM Documents): VIN, model, order codes, Build Date, Order Type, Originating Dealer and Original Market. The registry reads it from GM dealer and parts systems: order inquiries, vehicle-history and build screens, and the parts catalogue's VIN decode. Those were pulled by an inside dealer source in 2017–18 and by a GM-data contact in 2025. The GM Build Record is the registry's first source for every build field.

Window Sticker. The price label (Monroney label) on the car when it was new. Each car page has a simulated window sticker built from its record, and How the price was built walks through one. It lists the base price, each option with its price, and the destination charge. For Canadian cars the registry uses the GM Canada invoice sticker in Canadian dollars.

GM Invoice. GM's invoice to the dealer. Each car page also has a simulated factory order sheet built from its record. It shows the order number and Order Type, the dealer GM charged, where the car was shipped, and the invoice, ship and price dates.

Sources. Every value in the registry names its source, and every change is logged: what changed, from what, when, and on what evidence. People who supplied inside data are cited by role, for example "GM dealer records via an inside dealer source, 2017–18".

Dates

Build Date. The date GM records the car as produced. It is the date on the car's Certificate of Origin and on the assembly-line build sheet, and GM's own export of these cars labels it "BUILD DATE". This is the registry's date standard.

Invoice Date. The date on GM's invoice to the dealer. For most cars it is the same day as the Build Date. Car 043's invoice is dated 11/10/16, which is also its ship date, its price-effective date and its Build Date. Where the two differ, the car page shows the Build Date and adds the Invoice Date in a note.

Ordering

Order Number. GM's number for the order, for example car 043's "TVCKSC".

Order Type. How the car was ordered, as GM records it. The registry shows the Order Type as ordered. If GM later re-coded a car, for example a GM car released to a dealer as used, the later code is noted on the car page.

How many cars of each Order Type: see Statistics.

Originating Dealer. The dealer GM invoiced for the car: the "charge-to" dealer on the GM Invoice, identified by GM's dealer code (car 043: 17-092, Campbell Chevrolet). The car may have been shipped elsewhere, as museum deliveries were, or sold by a different dealer after a dealer trade. When a GM record and another source disagree, the GM record wins (Ken, 2026-10-10). Every dealer, by state and province: Where they went. Museum deliveries are invoiced differently: see Museum Delivery.

Original Market. The country or region GM built the car for, from GM's country code: EF7 USA, Z49 Canada, C4E Europe, CU9 United Kingdom, CU7 Kuwait, CV5 Japan, CW2 Middle East (Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, UAE), CX9 Lebanon. GM's totals: 793 USA, 61 Canada, 81 export (by market, by dealer location).

Configuration

RPO code (option code). GM's three-character Regular Production Option code for each piece of equipment, for example Z07 (performance package) or CFZ (Carbon Flash ground effects). The GM Build Record lists them all. The registry tracks the 36 that vary between Collector Editions; the rest are standard on every car. Every code, its price and how many cars have it: Options and codes. The package that makes a car a Collector Edition is Z25 with 3LT: see What Makes It a Collector Edition.

LPO (dealer-installed). Limited Production Options. These are GM accessories the dealer installs, such as car covers, cargo mats and the underhood liner. They appear on the GM Build Record and Window Sticker when ordered with the car.

Body / Transmission / Z07. Coupe or convertible; A8 (8-speed automatic) or M7 (7-speed manual); with or without the Z07 performance package. GM's published 2017 totals match the registry exactly (Statistics).

Prices

MSRP (window sticker total). The car's total price on its Window Sticker, including destination.

Model & Options. The same sticker total without destination: the base price plus every option.

Destination Charge. GM's delivery charge: $995 for US cars. Canadian stickers carry CAD $2,000 freight.

US Equivalent. A computed figure, used for statistics: the car's 2017 US base price plus each option at its 2017 US price, without destination. It lets Canadian and export cars be compared with US cars. The full price build-up is on How the price was built.

Status of a value

Each part of a car's record carries a badge. Select it to see what stands behind the value and when each source dates from. The number on a badge counts the independent sources: two pulls from the same contact count once.

GM verified. Two or more independent sources agree, and at least one is a GM record (build record, order data, window sticker or invoice).

GM record. From a GM record, with no second, independent source yet.

Corroborated. Two or more independent sources agree, none of them a GM record.

One source. Backed by one source so far. Shown, and marked as such.

Validated. The registry's word for the first and third: two sources that don't derive from each other agree, for example the GM Build Record and the Window Sticker.

Disputed / field note. Where credible sources disagree, the car page shows the registry's value and, in a note, the other value, its source and why one was chosen.

Production and fate

Never Built. Car Numbers 246–250 were scheduled, but GM did not build those five cars when they were scheduled. Each order was built later as another car in the run, with a new VIN and the same configuration: 246 → 663, 247 → 669, 248 → 665, 249 → 559, 250 → 648. Each pair matches code for code in GM's order data. The full story: The Missing Five.

Fate. What became of a built car that no longer exists: destroyed, parted out, or stolen and not recovered. A car keeps its Build Record. Damage, total-loss or salvage titles on a car that still exists go in History, not Fate.

Survivors. Built cars with no Fate recorded. Statistics shows the current count.

History (coming next)

Owners (shown anonymously as "Owner 2, 2019–2022"), service, modifications, sightings, listings and sales. Owners can submit History for their own car; nothing is published until the registry has checked it.