RIRaven

Not to beat a dead horse and my apologies to those who prefer traditional manuals, hand cranked starting and wooden wagon wheels...

GMC Granite may get GMs first attempt at a dual clutch transmission
from GMinside news:
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f...concept-87857/

C6LSx

True custom factory paint option. I can pick the color and have BG spray it, clear coat it and wet sand it to a glass like finish.

mel3535

a more smooth ride than my c5

out2kayak

Looks like GM are investing in the small block V8s:

http://concoursblog.com/?p=340

CrossedPistols

The post did say SINGLE most important new feature, but I feel the most important thing is to ensure we retain the one feature I need in a Corvette: Keep the V8. Fight the EPA and Euro-tuners and keep the Corvette a V8, rear wheel drive, front engine, lightweight racer. Long hood, sexy curves, with a low and loud exhaust roar - something you will loose with a mid engine V6.

After my Single most important feature are a few others that have been raised, but I'll add my 2 cents.

2. Send a few spies to Honda (I would have said Toyota, but I like my Corvette to stop when I want it to) and figure out how to make a more reliable product without charging more. I own a 2001 C5 and I plan on buying a C7 about 8-10 years after they come out, so I want to know it will be strong and reliable for years to come. Go to Germany and see how BMW makes a low cost, high quality car for their domestic market.

3. Make an entry level C7 with a quality interior and a Corvette powerplant - I don't need seats that massage me or all the options on a Lexus or Cadillac. No bells and whistles - just great power, handling and breaking. A true American race car.

4. On the other hand, give the upper level Corvette buyer a true top of the line interior option. Send a designer to Italy and Germany and see how they make cars for the rich. I'll keep my plastic interior and base LS? engine for under $50K and he can have his hand-stitched, monogrammed, baby llama leather interior with all the electronic do-dads and a ZR? big block for $200. Same body, slightly improved suspension and braking, bigger V8, a few badges but they are both unmistakeably Corvette.

I think Chevrolet is close to getting it right with the C6. They have a full line of Base, GS, ZO6, ZR1. Just update the look, work on quality, dependability, entry level V8 muscle and handling and high-end power and refinement. Never rest; keep stealing the tech improvements from around the world and add them year to year to the C7.

No Panic

A real ignition switch (Or at least a real "Off" switch).
Holding down the "Start" button is not good enough.

andrewdonald1

Single most important feature?

Bring it to the market by 2014.

opua

cheaper....okay if price isn't a feature, then I'll take a VW/Audi like DSG transmission.

RedC7AZ

1) No more cheap looking plastic anywhere in the interior.
The Corvette is in a price range now where there should be NO MORE cheap plastic.

2) BMW-like DCT Transmission

3) Retro stying linked to the 1963 Corvette

4) Lose 200 lbs

4) 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds or less

ryoder

Direct injection and variable valve timing and lift

Mikesan

Fuzzy dice would be nice.

rwd

Retractable hardtop. No AWD, no mid-engine, no small displacement turbo. Screw the fancy interior: simplify and add lightness.

SCM_Crash

DING! Winner!

McGirk94LT1

retractable hardtop and lightness never go together sadly. worst example ive seen was the g37. Vert is almost 500 pounds heavier then regular coupe.

SCM_Crash

Technically speaking, it can be done, but that doesn't mean it will...

Replace all the steel components in the hard top convertible system with chromemoly and replace the rivets and bolts with titanium version. Replace the hard plastics with carbon fiber. You'll reduce the weight of the system by more than 25%. Then you need to reduce the weight of the motor and actuators. Internal parts being replaced with light weight materials, you can probably drop 50% of the actual weight.

Now the g37 has a much bigger roof since the G37 has back seats. I would imagine that they could do this system adding only 200Lbs to the whole thing.

I wouldn't want that added weight and it'd cost a mint, but it is doable.

CaliforniaJack

The old front engine, rear trans was in the Porche 928 in the mid 80's. Corvette has had it since 1997- that's already 13 years old! My next car will be midengine. It would be nice if it was a Corvette, but I'm not buying a new car with a 30 year old layout. Even Pontiac had the Fiero, and a bunch of manufacturers are bringing out midengined cars. Why is Corvette only doing facelifts for 20 years???

SCM_Crash

Strange how you say that the layout of the vette is old since the first horseless carriage were steam powered mid engine vehicles. LOL

But seriously, just because it's an old layout doesn't mean it's not good. Especially since there aren't any mid-engine cars that are beating the front-engine corvettes without spending over $200K (and even many of them aren't winning the races).

This discussion is as old as the internet (which happens to be older than the Corvette's current layout, but we're still using it, right? LOL).

Mid engine is specifically good for 2 things:
A) They're good for balance.
B) They're good for back massages.

Corvettes already achieve the balance they need to more than compete with mid-engine cars. In general, all the C5s and C6s were near 50/50 balanced which is why they do so well on the track. There'd be no point to make them mid-engine. Doing so would just throw the balance off. The main reason you see the major exotics doing mid engine is because their powertrain and drivetrain setups are EXTREMELY heavy. Take a Lamborghini V12 for example. Yes, they're about the same displacement as our front mounted V8s, but they have 4 more cylinders which means more exhaust pipes, more valves, more and/or bigger rotating parts like cams and crank, etc... The motors are heavy. Then they need a transaxle that is strong (and most of them are DSG / dual clutch now) so they're heavier too... Try balancing that in those tiny cars. Not going to happen. So they try to make up for that with making them mid-engine and putting all the weight on the back tires. That's why they're also mostly AWD. (Boring in other-words)

BTW, have you seen any mid-engine cars that you can go to Vegas in and still have room for couple of suite cases and a passenger? Most mid-engine cars have enough room in the front trunk to put a hat and a package of hot dogs in. My front-engine Vette has enough room to put $400 in groceries... and then some!

My point is, I don't think you should be looking at the layout's age as your determining factor since it's really not a valid point. Mid, front and rear engine layouts have been used for well over 60 years. The Corvette is supposed to be a working-man's car. That means many guys that buy them will only have 1 car and use the Corvette as their daily driver. That would make the Vette no longer practical.


-------------------


Unfortunately, GM does plan to make a mid-engine car. It will not be the C7 due to the economic issues, but it will likely be the C8. I hope they know what they're doing (besides ruining the Corvette and trampling on it's history). In my very honest opinion, I'd rather see GM stop making Corvettes all together and just give the C8 design a new model name than see a mid-engine Corvette become a reality. It's breaking tradition TOO much. I didn't mind so much when they stopped using flip up headlights. But going mid-engine is going to completely change the car so much that it's not a Corvette anymore. Who the hell wants to pop their trunk on their car at car shows? Why would you back into a spot to show off the car when the damn motor is in the back? And do you realize how hard it'd be to work on your car? It's going to be like all the exotics... take it in to get worked on and pay a crap load of money since they'll need to drop the motor every time. Why do you think the Feiro failed? Why do you think the only mid-engine sports cars are way expensive? Porsche did it right by making the engine rear mounted because you can easily get to the motor. Just like a VW bug, you can easily fix or make changes to it. Not so easy when the engine is in the center of the car.

I'd put money on it that the person in charge of the "mid-engine Vette team" is in diapers. A real old school designer that understands heritage and tradition would NEVER do this.


ANYHOW, I suggest you get a Lambo Gallardo. You can get one for about the same amount as a mid-engine Corvette would cost and the maintenance cost will be just as bad.

I Bin Therbefor

The driver's seat needs to be much more supportive of brisk motoring, don't you know.

funshipone

I would like to see GM give us the best Corvette they are able at the best price.

Datawiz

Seats on par with the car's already capable performance.