themonk

and the Cayman isn't AWD, so now imagine adding AWD to the price of a ME Corvette. And that right there is why there will not be a ME AWD Corvette any time soon.

sunsalem

For a Hybrid Caddy -- I can see it.
But it doesn't make sense for a Chevy.

village idiot

they're selling at twice the rate of the C6

themonk

yeah, GM decided to release these two new models because of declining C7 sales......now I've heard everything.

I'm pretty sure GM had a timeline already set out, you can't just release a new model on a whim, I'm pretty sure there was a couple of years of testing that went into the Z and GS.

Can you believe this guy.

george vee

It's possible that corvette will become its own brand with all the models they will have.
Stingray, GS, Z06,ZR1 and the ME. Who knows maybe they will do as Porsche did and make a 4door and a SUV.
Just my 2 cents

ExRedRacer

Coming soon to a showroom near you:

sunsalem

Very true.
GM doesn't spit out Vettes with a 3D printer...

This proposal was brought up to The Board about 10 years back and was voted down.
I think it was a smart decision.

Foosh

Yes, the same GM Board that led the company into Chapter 11. I think Porsche found it to be a particularly smart decision.

sunsalem

Losing Chevy's legendary "diamond" model could not have helped the brand (IMO).
Without the Corvette, what to they really have to light up a showroom floor?

Foosh

It seems to me that turning Corvette into a "brand "could make it far more prestigious without being weighed down by Sonics, Sparks, and Cruzes. Of course, that assumes it's populated w/ products that are worthy of prestige. IOW, the Chevrolet "brand" does nothing for Corvette.

At 35K or so units a year, GM already sells more Corvettes than Porsche does in the US. You could argue they already have 3-4 distinct models. Diversifying those models a little more and developing a pure performance brand like Porsche could be a very smart decision for GM.

Regardless, Ford has long since passed Chevrolet in sales, and it does just fine w/o a "diamond" model. Ford GT doesn't count, as it's not a real production car. Chevy lost it's #1 position because it didn't develop solid "every day" models like Ford did. They just kept changing the nameplate every time a model didn't do well.

However, Chevrolet is showing signs of waking up and emulating the Ford model. They are now building better "every day" cars.

thegame

LOL yuck

pdiddy972

I brought this up earlier and few commented on it. If an all-new mid-engine $200K NSX got beat by the 2017 Grand Sport by 3 seconds at the Lightning Lap, why is everyone so concerned about mid-engine?

sunsalem

True...it's the other way around.

I would argue the Mustang fills that role.
There is always at least one on the showroom floor.

At least it doesn't generate this reaction:



NSX weighs 3800lbs. and is an AWD.

Foosh

Salem,

If the Mustang fills that role for Ford, then what is the Camaro to Chevrolet and why are they building near supercar versions of it?

Mister Big

Take a look at the earliest posts in this C7 forum and check out all the renderings of what the new C7 would look like. None came close. We won't know about the mid-engine Vette until it happens.

Movie Muscle

Perhaps we should have kept the drum brakes, solid rear axle, and stuck to carburetors as well? It's the next logical step should they wish to be spoken about in the top circles. Humans tend to not embrace change readily. As we age we accept it even less. What we have now performs well but we strive to better it. If a product doesn't evolve it will die. As many have stated "we have pretty reached the limit of the rear wheel drive platform".

sunsalem

jcsperson

You could get quasi-AWD with electric motors at the front wheels. I think the ME layout is more hybrid-friendly. I'm thinking a supercharged 5-liter motor with a couple electric motors could be a potent package and keep the CAFE low.

It looks like a C7 and a Lambo Aventador got together and had a baby.

Foosh

Ford doesn't put the Mustang on center stage either. You rarely see Mustang commercials in national media outlets. For that matter, I don't ever see Corvette or Camaro commercials in national media outlets either. There are as many iterations of the Camaro as there are Mustang.

Ford's focus (no pun intended) is about dominating sales in the reasonably-priced vehicle market by producing products that appeal more to consumers. They have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and have much higher brand loyalty than Chevrolet.

At the end of the day, GM's main priority is the corporate bottom line, not Chevy sales. The best way to promote more Corvette sales, in my view, is to separate it from Chevy, to diversify the model line, and to provide a much better customer service experience on what is a relatively high-priced model.

They already half-assed do that because you don't find a Chevrolet logo anywhere on any Corvette and haven't for years.

The best way to "fix" Chevrolet is not by hanging on to Corvette, but to develop more appealing lower-priced models.

Steve_R

The Mustang is not FoMoCo's "Diamond" model.