Avispa

The new technology is fantastic. We can enjoy driving our antiques for what they are, but even Gene Kranz wouldn't want his F-86 Sabre if given the chance to fly an F-22. Even 2003 technology puts our old stuff to shame. How can you possibly find fault with an 11 second daily driver that starts and runs flawlessly in city traffic as well as in sub zero weather, not to mention has really clean exhaust. So just stop there. You make your antique car run 11s using 1950s/1960s stuff and it's not gonna run like that. You really want to use a slide rule and an adding machine? Fun for entertainment, total crap for doing your taxes or designing a bridge. Yes, they work, but come on.

No one wants to say it, but the real reason there's some reluctance for newer vettes is we don't like the styling. It's unfamiliar. We didn't grow up with it. Radios are supposed to have ***** and the dimmer switch is supposed to be on the floor. Door handles are supposed to have thumb buttons. We'd all love to have a Duntov XP-882 - that was his 1970 mid engine car. We may not like new ones because, styling.

3JsVette

A mid engine Corvette is way better than no Corvette at all. Everything GM does these days is based on economics. Look at the recent announcements of what they are not going to make anymore as well as the plants they're going to close and workers the are going to lay off. All after tax breaks. IMCO the decisions that GM makes are made by economists not people with automotive passion. Those days are long gone. Maybe we have to be thankful for anybody that buys a new Corvette whether they're Corvette people or snobs. Once the Corvette becomes a financial burden that brand recognition, image, and sales no longer justifies it's hard to believe those that can won't pull the plug. This "new" GM (run by people in the positions that matter) is only concerned about profit with what I believe no passion for the product it produces. So hopefully the C8 is successful enough to be a predecessor to a C9 which will probably be electric if they're "all in electric" in the not to distant future comes to pass.

capevettes

I just spent an entire day with one of the engineers working on the C8. Don't mistake concern for the bottom line with not being passionate about the Corvette. The engineers and designers from top to bottom are car guys/giirls that are extremely passionate about the Corvette and about making it the best car possible within a framework/budget that keeps the company viable now and into the future.

Lotsacubes

I’m responsible for our company’s strategic product vision. We’re in a very rapidly evolving technology field that is loosely affected by aesthetics, but not as critically as a product like the Corvette. If my company doesn’t continuously strive to remain at least 5 years ahead of our competition our customers will leave us in a heartbeat.... and we’d quickly become the equivalent of Packard, Compaq, or Sears. I love the “soul” of my C2, but I loved the “soul” of the C7 I recently enjoyed. The fact is what we call “soul” is continuously evolving with each generation and it’s accompanying technology. GM/Corvette Division has no choice but to excite folks half the median age of those of us here in the C1/C2 Forum. No choice.

i visit the C8 Forum daily, as often as here. I can’t wait to experience the “soul” of the ME C8. I can’t wait to track one and learn left foot braking and finger tip shifting of the DCT. My 28 YO son loves my C2 but his generation’s Corvette is the C8 and he can’t wait. I think going ME (mid-engine) is not genius, but essential to survival.

3JsVette

I'm sure they are. I've spoken with Jeff and Ann and they are both great people passionate about the Corvette. They go above and beyond to try to satisfy the current crop of customers. There's no doubt the engineers that develop the product are all in and proud of what they have accomplished within the financial restraints that are imposed. My comments were not directed at them in any way shape or form. They were directed at the suits and skirts that review the financial reports. If the program becomes an overwhelming financial liability IMCO the people who have put all the blood sweat and tears into it are not going to be able to save it. I have the utmost respect for the current Corvette group but can't say the say for the "business" people.

Easy Rhino

Even back in the day of Zora, Shinoda, Harley Earl, Bill Mitchell, DeLorean, and others, at the heart of GM lurked bean counters, and "what was good for GM was good for the country." Robert McNamara as a whiz kid was an interchangeable Secretary of Defense and head of GM - go figure, and GM had cubic inch limits on engines in small and mid-sized cars and got out of racing in the 60s during the heydays of the muscle car era. Nothing has changed. There will always be that struggle between the accountants, MBAs, and "car guys" and I'm glad we still have Corvettes, even if they're not C1s (but I still want my own C1).

Frankie the Fink

Hardly any of the newer cars appeal to me, the furor over the C7 was similar to this, now I see 3-5 of them on any drive of an hour or more in Central Florida. Once a model becomes commonplace I don't really think its all that special..

I don't care how fast, svelte or computerized it is...

I'm not in the hobby to have something in my garage that's seen on the street every day...
We'll see what happens with the C8 I guess...

Lotsacubes

I think many will come around.

68hemi

However, if I were a younger man I could see aC8 in my future as a used car. I believe it will be the last gasoline fueled Corvette and it will appeal to me for the following same reasons I drive what I do today. There are several things that drive what I purchase. Nostalgia, performance, appearance, and money. I could have bought two new Corvettes for what I have in each of my old ones. However when I look at the depreciation, the sales tax I would pay buying from a dealer, the licensing fees in AZ. and the fact that I would be passing my twin often all of that has little appeal to me.

A C8 MAY become something special but not in all ways positive. If it is the last non-electric model it will be seen by many as out of date and depending on later body style changes that too will effect it’s appeal. However to me 20 years from now those things WILL appeal to me if I am alive.

tuxnharley

Find me a cross country train trip pulled by UP 844 - or any steam locomotive for that matter - and I’ll be on it! I love old trains and never miss a chance to ride on one. We both know that wasn’t the point of my post that you responded to.

sidepipe seeker

Still killing people EVEN with Penicillin available!!!...." In 2015, about 45.4 million people were infected with syphilis, with 6 million new cases. During 2015, it caused about 107,000 deaths, down from 202,000 in 1990."...
Thus the time tested adage ...Still holds true today..."No glove...No Love!!!"....Mark

jrs 427

I don't get all the professional opinions on rear engine vs mid engine. Technically everything after 63 is a mid engine being the power plant is in back of the front axle and ahead of the rear. Weight distribution is in the 50 / 50 bracket which is also in the ball park. Not having seen specific measurements of the C-8 the engine may be closer to back of the rear axle than forward making it a rear powered vehicle. Lets let the general with its engineers make the determination. Its not a new design as there are similar version layouts. What ever one chooses you give up something and gain in others. I hope it has a quiet, roomy , and plush interior as many senior members with cash will purchase them. With a ton of room for a clutch pedal no one will have to worry about this feature due to a possible automatic transmission only selection. Whatever name the product displays, GM will never be able to keep up with world wide demand.

tuxnharley

Meh. Of course any 50 year old car is going to be rarer than a new one of the same make/model. If one really needs to feel special by virtue of having something rare in their garage I suggest they try an Edsel. It’s a lot rarer than any C2, and IIRC they already had the “Corsair” name a long time ago!

I doubt many of us bought our C2s because they were rare.

sidepipe seeker

Having two middle engine Sports Cars 1972 DeTomaso Pantera....1991 Ferrari Testarossa...Both Sports Cars having seen track time ...

Done properly...( NO reason to believe it won't be!!!)...The Mid engine Corvette should be a "G FORCE PULLING MONSTER!!!"....

Remember the New Ford GT ( Mid Engine) WON the 2018 Le Mans...

....Watch at 2:23 of the video....The ***** of Steel the Pit Crew Man Shows!!!!....WOW...take about Trusting the Brakes & the Driver ...WOW!!!!....Mark

sidepipe seeker

Wrong Definition of "Mid Engine"!...Proper Definition is as follows!...."In a mid engine car the engine center of gravity is located in front of the rear axle, usually behind the driver. In a rear engine car the engine center of gravity is behind the rear axle".....Mark

tuxnharley

Personally I am excited about the C8 and, IF I like the styling, will be in the market for one in the second model year. The funds are already banked.
Most likely a Museum delivery and drive it back across the USA. A real bucket list trip! Like Dinah Shore sang when we were kids - “See the USA in your Chevrolet!”
This would replace the C6 - and make my ownership history an even number sweep - C2, 4, 6, and 8.
At 70 years old this would likely be the last new Vette I ever buy. Having owned the 67 for 48 years now it will never be sold - it’s going to my grandson when I’m looking up at dirt! It’s already in a trust so he doesn’t have to have any hassles with taxes or probate.

jrs 427

Semantics. All or part of the engine behind the rear axle considering the engine is part of the axle in a bolted together style casting. Have you seen a cutaway drawing with actual measurements ? As in opinions when a driver sits ahead of the engine two or four passenger, it has the engine in the rear with the possible storage ( trunk ) in the forward cabin. It can be debated all day long depending on your choice to make it more dramatic and exotic. We can all read and interpret but none of us have the expertise to qualify it. I will attend your seminar if held in the midwest.

jrs 427

A bone of contention. Why is the Ford GT in a class of production cars when it is hand built by a specialty company with less than a dozen examples per year ? Ford doesn't " produce it " in any way shape or form. At least NASCAR had rules about production units sold to the public along with drive train components. Can't you see a customer at a local dealer trying to buy an engine, transaxle , or suspension parts for this model ? So much for the " production car status ". With money comes exceptions. Rules are for the competitors.

sidepipe seeker

Speaking of "Bones of Contention"...Would really HELP to....Get Your Facts into even the closest universe of accuracy....as you stated..."with LESS than a dozen examples per year?"...when Factually it's....drum rooooooooll.....1,350 examples over 6 years!....that's an average of 225 per Year!!!.... NOT 12 per year!....A Simple 2 Minute Google search would have Saved you the Embarrassment!!.

Then to exacerbate your ill-founded commentary..you interject "Nascar Rules"...ONLY 500 units/engines/drivetrains had to be sold to the general public for "Amalgamation"....

https://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsp...kingly-simple/

https://www.motor1.com/news/272636/f...extended-2022/....

Reading your post reminded me of a George C. Scott movie scene....

Lotsacubes

The advantage of the ME is not weight being equally distributed. A barbell with the weights at the ends has equal weight distribution. Move the weights to the center and the weight distribution at the ends remains the same. BUT the polar moment of inertia is radically less. Less by the distance raised to the second power (distance squared). This much smaller moment of inertia requires WAY less torque to create the same rotational acceleration which becomes turn rate. Or another way of looking at it... the same turning torque applied to those two barbell examples will result in the one with the weights in the center spinning MUCH faster. The simple physics of mass centralization which is why virtually all race cars require it to be competitive. There are other pluses which frees the design from requiring 50/50 distribution, but the smaller polar moment of inertiaI is primary objective. Hope this wasn’t insulting, but useful.