Why Don’t New Corvettes Have More Safety Tech?
Corvette Forum Wonders Why New Corvettes Don’t Have All the Latest GM Safety Tech. Tadge Juechter Knows the Answer
Chevrolet has always spent a good deal of time, energy, and effort weaving the best technology they possibly can into the Corvette. In a 2015 interview, Corvette chief engineer, Tadge Juechter, said, “Corvette is the tip of the technology spear. What we do helps the whole [General Motors] portfolio because things that are great for making a sports car are also great for making an efficient car.”
But if Corvette is the tip of the pyramid, why doesn’t it have technology that lesser GM models have? Namely, why doesn’t America’s sports car have blind spot detection, collision avoidance emergency braking, lane departure warning, cross-traffic warnings, or adaptive cruise control?
That’s the question recently posed on Corvette Forum by senior member fredmills. He’s seen such technology save his hide a time or two in other cars. And he wants to know why GM doesn’t imbue the Corvette with as much safety tech as they do an Equinox, for example.
CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About the C7’s Lack of Safety Tech
Some other members say they’d like to have had such safety technology available as options. However with tongue-firmly-in-cheek, senior member Foosh says, “In the not-too-distant future, I suspect we’ll be arguing about why GM doesn’t offer a self-driving C9.”
Honestly though, Corvette engineers have to toe the line between keeping weight as low as possible, keeping costs to a minimum, and also meeting customer (and governmental) demands. In a forum Q&A session last year, Juechter offered this bit of insight: “Generally speaking, we tend to err on the side of not having a lot of alerts that would interfere with the joy of driving.” Then he goes on to explain why, which you can read in the thread.
It’s likely that any C8 Corvette will have at least some of these aforementioned safety tech features. Especially if more customers keep requesting them. But will more advanced safety equipment impact YOUR decision to buy a next-generation Corvette? Let us know!
