Rockmaninoff

Hi Tadge, thanks very much for doing this.

I'm an Android developer (4 years running now) and the promise of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay is very appealing to technology enthusiasts. I know that one goal for the C7 was to market to a younger crowd, who generally align well with cutting-edge technology.

What are the plans to have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay brought to the C7? Chevrolet is a member of the Open Automotive Alliance and is also listed as a CarPlay partner, so I expect these platforms will appear in future models of the Corvette. When would we expect to see them in action?

More importantly, will they be brought to the '14 and '15 through software updates? If not, what are the blockers there? The C7 has some incredible technology in it and seems to be ready to go with a large touch screen and ample USB ports. When companies like Tesla are pushing out over-the-air updates to their cars that change both the performance and in-car experience, I'd like to think that Chevrolet can provide that as well.

I think we can all agree that the level of technology in our pockets is at a level we've never seen before, and outpaces the apps we have in our cars week by week. It would be a real bummer if, in 5 or 6 years, I was still using the navigation system in the car, possibly having to pay hundreds of dollars to upgrade the maps, when I could just as easily be using the device I have in my pocket for a more relevant experience.

Thanks again!

FYREANT

I think this falls right in line with the question that Tadge just answered regarding if software updates will be made available for future models. The short answer is regardless of what we may think, adding small changes affect a significant number of variables in which case older models cannot utilize without a major re-write or even hardware. I don't see how the answer to this question would be different. While Tesla can provide over the air updates, the corvette ECM does not support on the fly updates of that type of nature at this time.

Ant

FortMorganAl

Commercial/industrial software where lives are at stake is VERY different from the stuff you can write in your kitchen. Next you have the speed of change in state of the art technology. It takes many years to develop software for a car. By the time it hits the street you have to hope it is not outdated. And you have to hope you can sell enough units to cover the development cost. The telephone interfaces being sold today will be look like an 8-Track in just a few years. The MP3 capability of the C6 was SOA when the car was new. Anyone think MP3 CDs are the way to go today?

b4i4getit

There are two things to remember. Tadge cannot comment on future product so he will not say what is being developed. The hardware and software for the C7 is locked in terms of development. Trivial enhancements to improve functionality or fix bugs will be provided but new features will not be coming. They are already working on the C8 remember.

Rockmaninoff

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I get that R&D on the C7 is "locked" and we'll only be seeing minor updates, but I find that hard to reconcile with previous generation changes like significant horsepower increases.

I understand that one goal for R&D is to spend a large up-front cost and then reap the decreased supply costs over time, so in 3 or 4 years the interior hardware and software is going to look very similar to what we have now. So is the plan to wait until the entire next generation of cars before integrating a platform like CarPlay? I'd expect that to remain competitive in the automotive industry, it would be a good idea to implement these technologies as soon as possible.

Like FortMorganAl said, it takes years to develop software for a car. Integrating a more future-proof platform like Android Auto, which is instead dependent on your phone which is constantly receiving updates, seems like a no-brainer.