C7HOORAY

I come from a GM family. I grew up with Olds 98s and Cadillacs. When I started buying my own cars over 40 years ago, I went through a slough of Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs....98s 88s Cutlasses, Sedan deVilles, Fleetwoods, and then on to Chevys....2 Z-28s, various Camaros, etc. In the 80s I went mostly German cars....VWs, Audis, a BMW, etc. I tossed in a few Toyotas along the way.

About a year and a half ago I started negotiating with a friend of mine to buy his Cayman S.....he was selling it to buy a new C7. I too, was interested in the new C7....the design - and performance value - was tremendously appealing. I passed on the Porsche and bought my C7 from MacMulkin Chevy. The Vette I bought was very similar to my 79 Z28...both were white cars with black interiors V8 manuals and open cars...as soon as I started driving my Corvette, all the memories of my Chevys (and GM cars of the past) came flooding back! What a RUSH! I can say now, that the Corvette - after 18 months and MANY miles - is the most satisfying car I have ever owned.

But some things never change....even in the seventies and eighties German cars were better built and finished beautifuly. And so it is with the newest Corvette....when compared to current top line German and Asian cars, the Chevys still are not in the same league in terms of build quality, and fit/finish...(orange peel, panel gaps, cheap, poor fitting carpet, etc). Do I care? Heck NO! I'll take the value proposition of the GM cars all day long! So, I am back in a new GM car after being gone for many years and I gotta say, "I'm lovin' it"!!!!

Hey, and you guys who put your Corvettes away and almost never drive them...stop it! Get out and drive your cars A LOT! On what planet does "saving your car for the next owner" make any sense at all!?

Rooster OG

Well said. Enjoy your ride!

rmorin1249

Been driving BMWs and Audis since I was stationed in Germany in the 70s. My C7 is my first American car in 40 years. Hoping ownership costs will be lower. Enjoyment factor is definitely as good.

jcp911s

I'm "patriotic", but not "idiotic". This history of the American auto industry from 1970-2000 was a total disgrace of stupidity, incompetence, mismanagement and greed.

Ford solved it by chucking all the garbage out and bringing in managers from Europe.

GM had to go through bankruptcy, and bring in a CEO from... AT&T!!! (the most bloated, entitled and inefficient Corporation known to human history... believe me, I worked there), and it was still an improvement.

And Chrysler turns to FIAT (enough said about that).

But they turned the corner... the new GM cars are truly competitive for the first time in my lifetime, and Ford is killing it...

Frankly, other than the status, the imports should start sweating, and I've owned about 6 BMWs, 5 Porsches, a couple MBs, and 4 SAABs (yikes), and one (1) Ford (a 72 Torino that would not start if it rained).

Turns out once you fire about 3000 Senior/Executive/Regional/Divisional Vice Presidents, and let car guys run the car business, they do pretty well.

funx600

"the Corvette - after 18 months and MANY miles - is the most satisfying car I have ever owned."
________________________________________ ____________

Really?...even after your below comments?

"with the newest Corvette....when compared to current top line German and Asian cars, the Chevys still are not in the same league in terms of build quality, and fit/finish...orange peel, panel gaps, cheap, poor fitting carpet, etc). Do I care? Heck NO!"
________________________________________ ________________


Which statement should I believe?

bbcb

now that was FUNNY !!

bbcb

now that was FUNNY !!

TennisFreak

Enjoyment of the car does not have to be directly associated with its fit and finish.

This is the first GM car I have ever owned and I am genuinely surprised at the cheapness of some of the things in my brand new Corvette.

I have always owned Toyota, Mazda, and a couple of Fords.

Even a $60k Corvette still has things about its fit and finish that pale in comparison to my $25k Toyotas. Some things are laughable next to my wifes $47k Lexus.

With that said I can still say I enjoy my Corvette 20x more than my Toyotas.

Ford is the best middle ground IMO. Not 100% nice as a Toyota but still beats out GM.

mjpcowboy

I currently have a Mercedes and have had BMW's etc. While German cars are built well I would never own one out of warranty. These cars break down a lot and are very expensive to fix when they do. I personally don't think the German cars are not built any better than GM, Ford etc. German cars are expensive and have many issues and I have had several.

rmorin1249

Owning a late model German luxury car can be very costly. Ask me how I know.

Len44

And Alan Mulally , to run the whole company. Didn't do too bad for being an "outsider" who supposedly only knew how to be a leader in the aerospace industry...

rcooper

Very nice review of the past 40 years of car buying. Some good, some not so good. And you are right on target with your summation of the C7.
The C7 is fun and it makes you overlook it's short comings. I am still grinning after 9,200 miles...and I might add, with out a hitch.

DeStreGa5

I've had multiple experiences with Japanese cars and I can tell you I won't be driving another Japanese sports car again. Everyone says that American cars use cheap materials, especially in the interior. After getting a C7, I realized that my luxury Japanese car had lower quality luxury materials than an American sports car. As an everyday passenger car, they do quite well.

I'll also probably never touch a European car seeing how overpriced they are. Maybe I'll get bored with my money one day, have a mid-life crisis and buy a 911 or Ferrari. I don't have that kind of money right now, so a Corvette is the best sports car money can buy for under $100k.

cowboys223

I don't think Ford is "killing" anything. Granted, the exterior of some of their vehicles pregressed well, like the fusion. But the mustang went the wrong direction. Although the GT350 looks nice, nobody will be driving them. But Ford's interiors are not great at all. Their top of the line models have such plain, cheap interiors. Examples are the Raptor or the GT 500 Cobra mustangs. I was very disappointed in the dashboard quality. GM is doing better. At least they're improving.

Red08

Ok, I will take the bait. How do you know?

C7HOORAY

Corvettes are NOT well finished by today's standards, but they are still fantastic cars to own...my new '15 GTI is MUCH better built and finished, but the GTI gets little or no attention from the public....the Corvette is a rock star by comparison... I cannot go ANYWHERE in the Vette without waves, salutes, grins, smiles and gushing comments from almost EVERYBODY. Fun! Proof that a car does not have to be turned out like a Swiss watch to be enormously satisfying to own, to drive, and enjoy!!!!

meyerweb

100%, except I don't actually have Toyotas.

Vetteman Jack

for getting a C7 and coming back to the GM family.