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Doesn’t matter how much money you have for development, designing to a price point requires trade offs. You can give me a billion engineering hours, I still can’t make carbon fiber cost the same as steel. I can’t make hand sewn leather cost the same as mass produced vinyl.
Or do you want it to cost $330,000?
A friend of mine has a C8. No vinyl on that car. GM quality is right up there with the Ferrari.
The issue is that honestly, in my opinion, the design is nothing special. The exterior does not evoke emotions like a C3 and the interior is, frankly, ugly.
Good design and bad design can both take many hours of work.
Come on guys,......as much as I have my opinion that a C3 is the sexiest car ever made, its all personal taste. There is no right or wrong, no good design or bad design (when it comes to appearance). I think the mid engine C8 is stupid looking, with more car behind the driver than in front,.....but that is my opinion. Apparently GM is not having trouble selling the car, so someone likes it......for some reason. To me, its just another one of these modern looking exotic cars......that I have ZERO interest in.
Look.....we can make jokes about this, like I did, but the reality is, just like food, its an individual taste. There is no right or wrong. I think the C8 works good for modern "Transformer" kid types ...
You framed that generational appeal beautifully. I was a Flash Gordon decoder ring and erector set kid.
How can you possibly compare 2 cars made 50 years apart that share nothing other the name?
C8 looks awesome even stock, you could put it next to any modern exotic supercar costing 2 or 3 times as much and it wouldn’t look out of place. I’d love one, everyone I know around my age thinks they look great.
Can you say the same for a stock c3? Definitely not anything post 72, and even then a stock chrome bumper car doesn’t look mean Or aggressive, more elegant. Times change, styling moves on. The c2 styling however is timeless.
The C8 does not have the sexy curves of the front fenders, Now the C7 has the curves. Love both my 69 and 14.
Jack
I respectfully disagree that the C7 has "the curves" The C7 has a bunch of sharp angles, not curves....the C6 is the last body style to have nice round curves
How can you possibly compare 2 cars made 50 years apart that share nothing other the name?
C8 looks awesome even stock, you could put it next to any modern exotic supercar costing 2 or 3 times as much and it wouldn’t look out of place. I’d love one, everyone I know around my age thinks they look great.
Can you say the same for a stock c3? Definitely not anything post 72, and even then a stock chrome bumper car doesn’t look mean Or aggressive, more elegant. Times change, styling moves on. The c2 styling however is timeless.
That’s your opinion on the C3.....I disagree. Late model C3 corvettes are 90 percent the same as a 69 and some of us actually like them better.
c8 looks like a cartoon car.
Last edited by Shovels and Vettes; Dec 12, 2020 at 01:13 PM.
A friend of mine has a C8. No vinyl on that car. GM quality is right up there with the Ferrari.
The issue is that honestly, in my opinion, the design is nothing special. The exterior does not evoke emotions like a C3 and the interior is, frankly, ugly.
Good design and bad design can both take many hours of work.
Way to miss the point. Fact is complex body shapes cost more to make. The tooling and processing is more complex. The simpler the shape, the less it costs to make. Fact is material selection in the structures and suspension of the car will limit what shapes you can use and still maintain appropriate strength and stiffness. Not to mention those shapes are limited by manufacturing methods. The simpler the method, the more cost effective.
Designing to a price point requires sacrifice. Always.
Sacrifice too much on styling and nobody wants the car. Most folks buy a car based on EMOTION. The modern Corvettes do not tug at my emotions. They may be technologically superior, but I am not a race driver and, if I had one, I could never use it as it was intended. So, it becomes a relatively expensive car, which doesn't "trip my trigger", with which I cannot utilize its capabilities. What's wrong with that picture???
7T1vette, on the mark, it’s called Emotion! My wife doesn’t get why I like
cars, 61 and still love them. C8 is one awesome car....but does not make me say wow. Like my father said, we are not all constipated Alike! Lol
Sacrifice too much on styling and nobody wants the car. Most folks buy a car based on EMOTION. The modern Corvettes do not tug at my emotions. They may be technologically superior, but I am not a race driver and, if I had one, I could never use it as it was intended. So, it becomes a relatively expensive car, which doesn't "trip my trigger", with which I cannot utilize its capabilities. What's wrong with that picture???
The C8 sold out for 2020 in no time at all and is still in high demand. So clearly plenty of people want the car...
We all have our preferences, but you can't let that blind you to the fact that plenty of people like the things you don't.
There are plenty of filthy rich people who want the "latest and greatest" of whatever comes out new. They are not overwrought with emotion, either. They just want to show off to their cronies and, hopefully, make others jealous of what they have. My experience indicates that MOST (certainly not ALL) owners of new (or relatively new) Corvettes have absolutely no real interest in cars. They just want to show off. We get lots of C6/C7 owners to attend our monthly car shows [Apr-Oct] and they rarely are seen looking at any other cars. They just like to sit by their cars and watch others looking at THEM. You know what they say about big egos....
There are plenty of filthy rich people who want the "latest and greatest" of whatever comes out new. They are not overwrought with emotion, either. They just want to show off to their cronies and, hopefully, make others jealous of what they have. My experience indicates that MOST (certainly not ALL) owners of new (or relatively new) Corvettes have absolutely no real interest in cars. They just want to show off. We get lots of C6/C7 owners to attend our monthly car shows [Apr-Oct] and they rarely are seen looking at any other cars. They just like to sit by their cars and watch others looking at THEM. You know what they say about big egos....
I could not have said it better myself. There may be a few who are true car enthusiasts, otherwise.....you are spot on.
That’s your opinion on the C3.....I disagree. Late model C3 corvettes are 90 percent the same as a 69 and some of us actually like them better.
c8 looks like a cartoon car.
I think age/generation has a big impact on this. I was born in 1995 so naturally, love the styling of modern exotics, wide, mean, aggressive, huge wide rear tires with thin sidewalls, they just have presence in a way that old cars don't because (I can only assume) that wasn't what people wanted in that era. This is all reflected in the resto mod i'm building. In the same way you think a c8 looks a cartoon car, practically all my friends around my age agree that most standard 70's cars look pretty meh and some downright ugly by todays standards and thats before we mention the HP ratings and handling LOL. Like I said, times change, if the market wanted a brand new 82 Vette i'm sure GM would be making it.
Edit to add, 2 exceptions to that are the Countach and Detomaso Pantera GT5, those would outshine most modern supercars on looks alone in my opinion.
Last edited by Dazaa Rafae Aman; Dec 13, 2020 at 10:03 AM.
IMO the C8 is an incredible bargain for the money, easily superior in most respects to existing and historical cars out there from any manufacturer. GM should get plenty of "atta-boys" for a technical marvel brought to the consumer at a fraction of the price of exotics both domestic and foreign. If I had the money to spend (I don't) then maybe I would be enticed to buy one, However for me, the idea of a classic car like a C3 roadster, and more specifically an early model roadster, is that it is a car I am bringing back to life. If I had the money to buy a fully restored C3 roadster with all the sought after options included and didn't have to lift a finger, it wouldn't mean the same thing to me. Anyone with money can buy a car, any car, and that's great for them. For me, it's the idea of working on an old car and restoring her youth, knowing each and every bit of the restoration. I love old cars precisely because mother nature and time are weeding them out slowly but surely. Yes, there were 16K convertibles made in 1969 (my favorite C3 year), but I would bet there are well less than half remaining, and more likely maybe a quarter of that street ready.
IMO the C8 is an incredible bargain for the money, easily superior in most respects to existing and historical cars out there from any manufacturer. GM should get plenty of "atta-boys" for a technical marvel brought to the consumer at a fraction of the price of exotics both domestic and foreign. If I had the money to spend (I don't) then maybe I would be enticed to buy one, However for me, the idea of a classic car like a C3 roadster, and more specifically an early model roadster, is that it is a car I am bringing back to life. If I had the money to buy a fully restored C3 roadster with all the sought after options included and didn't have to lift a finger, it wouldn't mean the same thing to me. Anyone with money can buy a car, any car, and that's great for them. For me, it's the idea of working on an old car and restoring her youth, knowing each and every bit of the restoration. I love old cars precisely because mother nature and time are weeding them out slowly but surely. Yes, there were 16K convertibles made in 1969 (my favorite C3 year), but I would bet there are well less than half remaining, and more likely maybe a quarter of that street ready.
Me and you think alike. I bought this 69 convertible as a project, and its a big one. I have the birdcage seperated from the underbody, front clip off, and both rear fenders will be off before I am done. Frame is stripped down to bare, all weld spatter cleaned up, ready for blasting. One step at a time. I just spent five hours outside in the cold, stripping paint off the birdcage, with stripper, scotchbrite pads, and putty knifes. Some would say I am crazy.....but this is along journey with my new and beautiful C3 Corvette. I will essentially be starting over,......but I love it, and it will be built better than Chevy built it. You could give me a C8,.....and I would sell it to buy another C3.,,,,,or maybe just pay for this one!!!
How do you like the CT6V...almost bought one but decided on the CTS-V. Love the Blackwing exclusivity, AWD and the rear wheel steering!
Hey MRANT, thanks - and you have some nice rides!! We like the CT6-V a lot. We had a gen 2 CTS-V but, because of where we live and the fact that we're up high on the side of a mountain, we couldn't use it during the winter. The CT6-V, as you say with AWD, really works for us during the winter too.
And...........it has some corvette lineage since the 4.2TT was built in the special engine dept at Bowling Green. I wish they'd use this engine in a variant of the C8. Tons of torque (640) and lots of untapped potential.
I would bet all the nay-sayers on this thread have not driven a C8.
GM HIT A HOMERUN BUILDING THIS SUPERCAR!!!
My good friend bought one [he also owns a C1, C2 & C3], I've driven it at least a hundred miles, it is awesome.
What would you want GM to do, continue to build C3's forever?
They need to keep up with the times.
There is a reason most exotic supercars look alike, it is the most aerodynamic shape.
I love my C3 and prolly will never own a C8, but what a blast we had driving each other's cars a couple weeks back in the Texas Hill Country!!
The world would be a boring place if we all liked exactly the same thing.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
I could not have said it better myself. There may be a few who are true car enthusiasts, otherwise.....you are spot on.
I enjoy looking at what somebody built, not bought