How about a 4-door Corvette???
05-14-2007, 11:14 AM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
How about a 4-door Corvette???
Straight from the pages of Automotive News Magazine:
======================================== =
Why not build a 4-door Corvette?
It can be done; just ask Porsche and Aston Martin
If the world were a little different, there might be a Corvette four-door sedan.
Maybe even a Vette crossover!
I can almost hear Corvette purists muttering that those are two of the most ridiculous ideas they have ever heard.
"It would severely hurt the car's reputation if the Vette were stretched," they are probably whining. "Two extra doors, four seats, let alone talk about a dirt-grinding crossover! What's wrong with you?"
The thought of a four-door Corvette sedan occurred to me in the past several months as a tidal wave of Porsche Panamera spy shots and computer-enhanced images hit my e-mail directory. The Panamera is Porsche's sleek four-seat sedan that debuts in 2009. It will have a front-mounted engine and a coupe-styled body with four real doors.
The bottom line: a true four-seat, four-door Porsche sports sedan that likely handles as well as the cars that made Porsche an iconic brand. Porsche's strategy makes a lot of sense, as would a four-door, four-seat Vette sedan.
Porsche was criticized -- mostly by Porsche enthusiasts -- when word of the automaker's interest in an SUV surfaced in the mid-1990s. Of course, a new group of buyers embraced the brand once the Cayenne SUV hit the road. And a new group of buyers who found the previous Porsche coupes too small for their lifestyle or family needs now will have a realistic option, the Panamera.
I believe the same would be true for a four-door Vette sedan if it were developed.
Lutz is interested
Porsche isn't alone out there. Let's not forget about one of the stars of the 2006 Detroit auto show. The international and national press tossed truckloads of accolades at the four-door Aston Martin Rapide sedan, basically a stretched DB9. That beautiful car arrives next year.
Also, the four-door Maserati Quattroporte sedan is one hot ride that's available today.
In case you've forgotten, each of those brands started with a reputation for stylish two-seaters but had the courage to expand as the world changed.
I'm not the only one who believes expanding the Corvette line makes a lot of sense. General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told me that he has had the same notion.
Today, Lutz said, "Porsche is more than a car; it's a brand with coupes, convertibles, crossovers and, in the near future, a four-door sedan.
"You could do the same thing with Corvette."
But Lutz quickly extinguished the notion of separating Corvette from Chevrolet, saying GM has enough brands. To turn the Corvette into a separate brand today would be ridiculous, he said.
OK, Bob, so there's no need for a separate Corvette brand.
And the world has changed. Gasoline prices have soared, so there's little or no market for a Vette crossover.
S-t-r-e-t-c-h the Vette
Also, GM is wrestling with an expected rise in corporate average fuel economy standards, a likely reduction in CO2 emissions and the task of successfully completing its financial turnaround plan. Money is tight, and so are engineering resources.
Lutz didn't say whether a Vette sedan is being considered seriously.
But since the Panamera sedan is bound to be a home run -- ditto for the four-door Rapide -- there must be a market for a Corvette sedan.
We're not talking about creating a car from scratch. If Aston Martin can stretch the DB9, I know that Ed Welburn, Tom Wallace and their teams could do wonders if they were given the nod. Welburn is GM's chief styling guru. Wallace is the vehicle line executive for the Corvette and the Cadillac XLR.
Memo to Bob, Ed and Tom: Build it!
That triggers another idea. Once you stretch that vehicle architecture, there's an opportunity to use it to create a six-figure, extremely elegant yet sporty, beautifully detailed four-door Cadillac sedan. While we're dreaming, let's toss a supercharger on top of the engine.
That would give Cadillac something the brand desperately needs -- a flagship sedan.
But don't get me going on that subject.
With computer software technology, we created this exaggerated image of a four-door Corvette. In addition to adding the rear passenger compartment, we extended the trunk area and altered the styling of the rear window. The notion of expanding the Corvette line has occurred to General Motors' Bob Lutz, too.
Photo credit: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TERRY MICALLEF
======================================== ====
I can't be the only one who thinks this is a bad idea...
======================================== =
Why not build a 4-door Corvette?
It can be done; just ask Porsche and Aston Martin
If the world were a little different, there might be a Corvette four-door sedan.
Maybe even a Vette crossover!
I can almost hear Corvette purists muttering that those are two of the most ridiculous ideas they have ever heard.
"It would severely hurt the car's reputation if the Vette were stretched," they are probably whining. "Two extra doors, four seats, let alone talk about a dirt-grinding crossover! What's wrong with you?"
The thought of a four-door Corvette sedan occurred to me in the past several months as a tidal wave of Porsche Panamera spy shots and computer-enhanced images hit my e-mail directory. The Panamera is Porsche's sleek four-seat sedan that debuts in 2009. It will have a front-mounted engine and a coupe-styled body with four real doors.
The bottom line: a true four-seat, four-door Porsche sports sedan that likely handles as well as the cars that made Porsche an iconic brand. Porsche's strategy makes a lot of sense, as would a four-door, four-seat Vette sedan.
Porsche was criticized -- mostly by Porsche enthusiasts -- when word of the automaker's interest in an SUV surfaced in the mid-1990s. Of course, a new group of buyers embraced the brand once the Cayenne SUV hit the road. And a new group of buyers who found the previous Porsche coupes too small for their lifestyle or family needs now will have a realistic option, the Panamera.
I believe the same would be true for a four-door Vette sedan if it were developed.
Lutz is interested
Porsche isn't alone out there. Let's not forget about one of the stars of the 2006 Detroit auto show. The international and national press tossed truckloads of accolades at the four-door Aston Martin Rapide sedan, basically a stretched DB9. That beautiful car arrives next year.
Also, the four-door Maserati Quattroporte sedan is one hot ride that's available today.
In case you've forgotten, each of those brands started with a reputation for stylish two-seaters but had the courage to expand as the world changed.
I'm not the only one who believes expanding the Corvette line makes a lot of sense. General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told me that he has had the same notion.
Today, Lutz said, "Porsche is more than a car; it's a brand with coupes, convertibles, crossovers and, in the near future, a four-door sedan.
"You could do the same thing with Corvette."
But Lutz quickly extinguished the notion of separating Corvette from Chevrolet, saying GM has enough brands. To turn the Corvette into a separate brand today would be ridiculous, he said.
OK, Bob, so there's no need for a separate Corvette brand.
And the world has changed. Gasoline prices have soared, so there's little or no market for a Vette crossover.
S-t-r-e-t-c-h the Vette
Also, GM is wrestling with an expected rise in corporate average fuel economy standards, a likely reduction in CO2 emissions and the task of successfully completing its financial turnaround plan. Money is tight, and so are engineering resources.
Lutz didn't say whether a Vette sedan is being considered seriously.
But since the Panamera sedan is bound to be a home run -- ditto for the four-door Rapide -- there must be a market for a Corvette sedan.
We're not talking about creating a car from scratch. If Aston Martin can stretch the DB9, I know that Ed Welburn, Tom Wallace and their teams could do wonders if they were given the nod. Welburn is GM's chief styling guru. Wallace is the vehicle line executive for the Corvette and the Cadillac XLR.
Memo to Bob, Ed and Tom: Build it!
That triggers another idea. Once you stretch that vehicle architecture, there's an opportunity to use it to create a six-figure, extremely elegant yet sporty, beautifully detailed four-door Cadillac sedan. While we're dreaming, let's toss a supercharger on top of the engine.
That would give Cadillac something the brand desperately needs -- a flagship sedan.
But don't get me going on that subject.
With computer software technology, we created this exaggerated image of a four-door Corvette. In addition to adding the rear passenger compartment, we extended the trunk area and altered the styling of the rear window. The notion of expanding the Corvette line has occurred to General Motors' Bob Lutz, too.
Photo credit: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TERRY MICALLEF
======================================== ====
I can't be the only one who thinks this is a bad idea...
05-14-2007, 11:41 AM
#4
Racer
If someone was paid to write this article, they should be fired for wasting everyone's time.
A 911ish sedan, like the Mercedes R-Class, will be a car I point at and laugh as it drives by.
A 911ish sedan, like the Mercedes R-Class, will be a car I point at and laugh as it drives by.
05-14-2007, 11:45 AM
#5
Safety Car
What you are forgetting here is that Porsche and Aston Martin are brands of cars. As much as we'd like to think, Corvette is not a brand in and of inself. It's a car manufactured by General Motors. While GM can create 4 door cars/crossovers that are relatively quick, they will have no affiliation with the Corvette name.
05-14-2007, 11:48 AM
#6
Drifting
Not only no but Hell no!!!!
GM hasn't demonstrated the ability to build a decent sedan in any division. So now they should screw up the Vette. Remember the T-Bird? Lets don't relearn that lesson.
GM hasn't demonstrated the ability to build a decent sedan in any division. So now they should screw up the Vette. Remember the T-Bird? Lets don't relearn that lesson.
05-14-2007, 12:27 PM
#11
Safety Car
Member Since: Oct 2004
Location: Pleasanton California
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Automotive News Magazine must have needed to fill up some blank space for them to publish this article.
Every so often someone writes this exact same thing, and it sounds just as stupid today as it has the last 50 years when people suggested a 4 door Corvette.
This is pure fantasy, and total BS.
Every so often someone writes this exact same thing, and it sounds just as stupid today as it has the last 50 years when people suggested a 4 door Corvette.
This is pure fantasy, and total BS.
05-14-2007, 12:29 PM
#12
Team Owner
Automotive News Magazine must have needed to fill up some blank space for them to publish this article.
Every so often someone writes this exact same thing, and it sounds just as stupid today as it has the last 50 years when people suggested a 4 door Corvette.
This is pure fantasy, and total BS.
Every so often someone writes this exact same thing, and it sounds just as stupid today as it has the last 50 years when people suggested a 4 door Corvette.
This is pure fantasy, and total BS.
Absolutely.
05-14-2007, 12:37 PM
#13
Racer
Member Since: Oct 2004
Location: All Corvettes are RED! Oklahoma City, OK
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If that guy wants a GM product with backseats and near Vette performance tell to put a deposit down on the new Camaro.
In the meantime lay off the pizza right before bedtime, and he wont have anymore of these nightmares to share with us.
In the meantime lay off the pizza right before bedtime, and he wont have anymore of these nightmares to share with us.
05-14-2007, 12:41 PM
#14
Get Some!
If they did it wouldn't look anything like that photo chop. Take gander at the Porsche and Astonmartin designs.
The ultimate question is: Will Corvette become a brand name, and not just a car?
The ultimate question is: Will Corvette become a brand name, and not just a car?
Last edited by LTC Z06; 05-14-2007 at 12:45 PM.
05-14-2007, 01:05 PM
#17
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Dec 2005
Location: North Western Connecticut
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... I'd REALLY hate to see GM ruin the vettes high performance SPORTS car image! The General has enough problems without producing some laughing stock POS monstrosity like a 4 door vette. Ya need something with 4 doors go buy a sedan or an SUV. Don’t think it will happen anyway! Thanks but NO thanks…
05-14-2007, 05:02 PM
#19
Safety Car
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The local newspaper paper is laying off 135 people and their stock is in the toilet, newspapers are dead, as is all of traditional print news, the reason? They stopped being disseminators of news decades ago; this article is entertainment, and damn poor entertainment at that. For some reason they think they need to entertain us, while true we do NEED entertainment, when I want to be entertained, it isn't going to be a newspaper, magazine, or TV news that I look for to entertain me.
forget your core business, and you can forget a future,
simple business 101
forget your core business, and you can forget a future,
simple business 101
05-14-2007, 05:07 PM
#20
Melting Slicks
The local newspaper paper is laying off 135 people and their stock is in the toilet, newspapers are dead, as is all of traditional print news, the reason? They stopped being disseminators of news decades ago; this article is entertainment, and damn poor entertainment at that. For some reason they think they need to entertain us, while true we do NEED entertainment, when I want to be entertained, it isn't going to be a newspaper, magazine, or TV news that I look for to entertain me.
forget your core business, and you can forget a future,
simple business 101
forget your core business, and you can forget a future,
simple business 101
