Kevin93

In many ways, but the Turbo can run 11.9s in the quarter and run over 190mph bone stock!

ZD75blue

hell

if they drop the hight and make it compete with the s2000 what in the world will the viper compete against... just like we are going to have v-6 mustangs because ford can without any competion do what ever they want

Think about some of this

ZD :mad

Senna1994

I think Jim and Kevin are right on the money. The car can become a bit more space efficient inside while becoming
a bit shorter on the outside. The Z06 in particular is a incredible car, and none of us wants the Corvette in the same
size league as a Boxster, TT, or S2000. However, if the car becomes a few inches shorter so be it.

I think the C6 will be a very good car and the size issue won't change all that much as it is pretty much in stone.
However, the refinement we all feel between the C4 and the C5 would be a good target for the C6 to take on.

tr18

I agree

79MakoL82

Just remember, the Viper was Bob Lutz's baby over at Chrysler, and he had to fight to get it done. Now he is no longer there and he's stirring up GM. He is a big proponent of style and performance. Maybe what he is saying is not that the car needs to be downsized as the styling needs to LOOK smaller. You can create the illusion of being smaller with some design changes, leaving all the interior room, etc. alone.

P.S. Bob Lutz gives me GREAT hope for the F-body!!!


[Modified by 79MakoL82, 11:19 AM 11/9/2001]

Bwright

:cheers: Spot on!

If they shrink it to the dimensions of an S2000 or Boxster I'm off to my Dodge dealer. Europeans like smaller cars because of their fuel cost and road sizes. Do you see them upsizing their Z3s and Boxsters for us? Europeans don't buy the Vette in anything close to the volumes that Americans do. Why should they then be allowed to dictate the dimensions of the car?! At 6'4" I cannot fit into many sports cars. Presence is indeed also key. Look at the dimensions of the Murcielago, 550 Maranello and Viper.

Wadoka

Just adding my dittos here.

Bob had better go back and look at his focus group data again.

If it's to become a friggin' Boxster, S2000, Miata, Z3, Sunbeam Tiger-sized car, then the 2003 I'm going to buy will be my last and only.

I cringe every single time I hear *any* company touting its product's "European styling" and refuse to buy the product. If the General thinks it has to downsize the car to appeal to a market that formed up when streets only had to be wide enough for a donkey cart, then they will no longer deserve my patronage.

We don't want a Sports Car, as in, small, light, bare bones, useless. We want a Gran Turismo. Big, muscular, comfortable, fast, accommodating, fast ("You said 'fast' twice." "I like fast.").

Where do we send the petitions to?

79MakoL82

Ya know, I hear everyone all worried about him saying that the car needs to look smaller, and everyone is all afraid that it's going to become a miata or Z3. THINK. This guy was the driving force behind the VIPER, not the Colt!!! Then I read the thread about what would you buy if your C5 was totalled in an accident. How many people said they'de go out and buy a Viper? Too many in my opinion. That just means your not in love with the current design as it is. The Viper was Bob Lutz's car!!! Does the Viper look smaller than the C5...YES!!! The C5 looks wide and lets face it, it has a BIG rear end. Yes, it's comfortable and roomy inside, but it is possible to give the illusion of a longer, sleeker car while maintining the room. Everybody talks about how GM is stuck in there way of thinking, and it seems to me that a lot of people here are stuck too. Bob Lutz is a car guy, he has a hell of a track record, he is a bit of a maverick, and even the GM designers enjoy getting up and going in to work again. I hardly believe that Bob Lutz is going to ignore the mystique of the Corvette, and produce a Z3. It just isn't going to happen

Mike263

"We don't want a sports car..." Sounds about right for this thread. You all want a GT touring car. Cool.
I want a sports car! Make it a little smaller, lighter, and faster. Lots and lots of people will buy it. Maybe not some of the old guard vette enthusiasts, but then lots and lots of people buy "friggen" z3's.
After owning a vette for a year I've come to appreciate that a lot of vette owners are not sports car enthusiasts - they are vette enthusiasts - more power to you guys. For me, I'm a sports car enthusiast and say go for it Bob!

:D

Rkreigh

I don't think the car will shrink much. probably a bit longer wheelbase
less overhang, alum frame, just give it the tiger shark sytling (slimed down
a bit) on the alum frame. use some solid high tech materials, and get the car weight down 200 lbs.

fortunately the vette is pretty lite already. even compared to the euros.

a nice all alum 427, with the optional blower for the Z06. over 500 hp. come on Bob/GM, make the c6 have some real guts!!!

I have heard about 455 hp in the not too distant 2005 timeframe, it will be
worth the wait!!!

Jinx

So buy one. Making a distinction between Corvette and smaller cars as GT Car versus Sports Car sells Corvette short on its actual performance around the track and through the twisties.

If you want a (smaller) sports car, buy one. Miata, Z3, S2000, Boxster. Elise if you're hardcore. Why should GM send Corvette down to the minors to compete in that crowded market? If GM owes anything to that market, it's a modern-day Fiero.

Corvette was bigger than the British roadsters that prompted it; it should remain so today.

How is Z06 not a sports car?

.Jinx
2001 navy coupe

WOLF ECHO

Maybe that's what GM is trying to prevent ...

Here, here!!!!! Being a Fiero fan, I'd LOVE to see what it could be with Mr. Lutz at the wheel!!!

Drewdog

:cool:

AquaMetallic94LT1

Lighter car also reduces ride quality. Why do you think Mercedes ride so well. They are really heavy. Reduced weight will also require reduced suspension weight to maintain performance. I have read that the suspension components must weigh 1/5th the weight it supports (the actual supported weight is not 1/4 the weight of the car even if its 50-50 distribution).

Frankly, I don't think an aluminum frame (ask 928 owners about rigidity deterioration over time) is worth it if its going to save only 100 lbs. Titanium exhaust (I know C5 has it) and aluminum frame are just going to make an already expensive car even more expensive to produce and repair. Do you really want to pay for 8 years on a new vette ?

AP

I dont want to pay for 8 years.... :smash: :smash:

I understand what you are saying and thats why you let other be guinea pigs.... I interned for GM in 1999 and most of the people there say that in the Chevy line that the C5 is an overall best bang for your buck... and that GM was selling these due to the Tech Bubble... when it popped... Vette sales will drop according to most people there.... the C6 will be a a great car but it may not sell as well as the C5 since the Tech Bubble has popped and as you can see many C5 on sale everywhere..

2kbluestreak

The latest Hot Rod magazine has a relatively big discussion on predicting the next Corvette. Lutz definately wanted the nose and tail changed. According to the info HRM has received, the next Corvette, probably comming out in 2004 as a 2005 model, will simply be a re-skin of the present C5. If this happens, does that really make it a C6? The C3 came out as a Stingray (Sp?) in 1963, but was re-skinned in 1968 through 1982. Some of us call the second version a shark, but Chevy badged some of them as Sting Rays (Sp?); ie. a slightly different spelling. What's in a name? I guess if Chevy calls the next Corvette a C6, even though its merely a re-skin, then that's what it will be. There was other speculation about a special order 427 engine and a $100 K price tag. :rolleyes:

Nilla Ice

"Big and Heavy"? I laugh....If it wasn't big and heavy , then they'd say some ricer comment like, "Old technology" :rolleyes:


Then I have to ask..."If it has so many faults...how come so many are being sold?" Have them answer that one, Mr Lutz.

This guy a good talker. If this guy is a soooo creative and responsible for sooo much change, where is Chrysler - you know the company he used to work for? Maybe people don't want such overnight change? Maybe they like some stability. Oh yeah, it was Chrysler who is now Daimler/Chrysler and controlled by the German company. Seems that something went wrong there....hmmmm...

My C5 doesn't ride a sports car, yet it handles like one. It's looks like a sports car, yet it doesn't cost like one. It accelerates like a sports car, yet it gets really good gas mileage... That in and of itself speaks volumes about creativity and just how good Dave Hill and crew got the car. Could it be better? yes... Could it look different? yes...

Go ahead Bob...make it smaller and lighter...Then all you do is start to "weed out" prospective owners...shrinking your market if you will. I know I won't ever own a C4 as sole transportation. Why? Golf clubs won't fit nicely in the trunk on the converts with the top down. not too mention the really awkward seating position. Same goes with other generations. The utility and comfort built in and still being a performer is real nice...THAT'S CREATIVITY! All he has to do is look at the SUV market. What are SUVs? Trucks with comfortable camper shells...It seems the ability to "cross a line" here and there is a good CREATIVE thing to do.

Sure the Viper looks bad butt, but so what...I would have to wait until I could a Viper AND another car before I bought one...in essence, raising the price of a Viper by at least 20K. ANYONE can design a Sunday only sports car and sell them at a loss for brand image, Mr Lutz. That's NOT creative and been done by several companies...

C5 to C6 laundry list...

1) more power with good mileage
2) improved handling with no loss to ride feel, not just sound deadening
3) shell change for it's own unique corvette persona
4) no column lock
5) better batteries
6) don't increase the cost
7) better lighting, GM bulbs just plain sucks ballz on all their products.

Tony

Nilla Ice

No one can answer this...nor will they try. They just want to make off the wall comments and have no factual base behind them. If the Corvette isn't a sports car, then how come it won 24 hours of Daytona overall? Only a sports car can achieve that.

Tony

Nilla Ice

Whooptie Do! Chrysler makes a limited number of Vipers each year. It's useless past taking two passengers around really fast...Hell, it wasn't long ago that they didn't even have A/C and the stupid RT/10 had some stupid beany cap and crappy plastic windows that totally ruined what little asthetics the car had.

If the Viper only had a 350 horsed V8 would it get ANY respect?

Tony

Nilla Ice

He can just leave that "cab forward" crap at GM front doors or better yet, never take it out of Daimler/Chrysler design rooms... :U

Tony