Donn Malwick

After reading Road & Track & am somewhat excited about the article & picture on the 2013 C-7. My main concern is the motor they talked about a 5.5L, why change a good thing (LS3) for less cubic inches? It stated same horsepower but nothing about torque & torque is important to the Vette. If same or better torque (low to mid range) that is OK. The car looks great but be careful! NOW FOR THE REAL PROBLEM! It stated the C-8 (would have been C-7 if not for Bankruptcy) is planned to be mid-engine V-6 THIS IS A PROBLEM- Vette is an American Sports Car-REMEMBER who buys them-AMERICANS WHO WANT A V8 FRONT ENGINE REAR DRIVE NOT A EUROPEAN SPORTS CAR. I have talked to many current owners (club members & others) & not a single one wants a mid-engine much less a V6. Torque & HP are where it is at for your buyers-Everyone I've talked to has stated if it is destroyed in that manner GM better hope thay can sell many in Europe as USA sales will decline greatly. Many of us will not purchase that car IT IS NOT A CORVETTE- IF YOU THINK THAT IS YOUR MARKET GOOD LUCK AS THE VETTE WILL BE ANOTHER EDSEL WHEN THIS HAPPENS!

CPhelps

The reason for a 5.5L is that the ALMS Corvettes have joined the GT2 class which starting in 2010 requires them to cap their displacement to 5.5L. The production and racecar V8s are supposedly much more closely related than in previous Corvettes, thus the C7 will likely end up with a 5.5L V8 in at least one of its models. With the addition of direct injection and other advances likely to be seen on the Gen V V8s, the 5.5L should have no problem matching the LS3s current output, if that is GM Powertrain's goals. DI has already been tested on the L92 and was good for a pretty significant power increase as I recall. VVT already has been used on the production L92 and L99 engines, although GM doesn't currently have a VVT V8 in a manual equipped car, and in current implementations that GM has used for the Gen IV V8s, has limited max lift of the camshaft. The different camshaft required is something that must be considered for the aftermarket as well.

As far as C8...I wouldn't worry about it, much too far away for anyone to really have much of an idea about it, IMO.

02MillenniumVette

Stop believing everything you read in magazines.

ZR1Gerhardt

Donn you are missing the point. I agree with you that the Corvette is the American sports car, and that term is what is causing it problems. It has worldclass performance and yet they have trouble selling it outside of America because it is not an overall world class car in the eyes of everyone else, and in case you have not noticed, they can't sell them here either (13K units vs. 33K units several years ago). They have invited their design departments from around the world for the first time to work on the C8. They not only want to market around the world, but they need to be able to sell it around the world in order to survive financially.

Think of it this way. The Corvette has often had new technology that has worked its way into other cars. It has been GM's showcase car. But they really need to be able to sell more cars outside North America. So if they can develop a new world wide demand for the Corvette with a V6 and new technology, it may help them sell other GM cars outside of the U.S. The Corvette is still an American car, but it is evolving.

Scott

solid dobe

This is the street I live on.

So the economy has nothing to do with that?

Anything besides current configuration(Front Engine-Rear wheel Drive) might as well be called a Corvair.

ZR1Gerhardt

Yes the economy has a little to do with it. However, if you have not noticed, GM was headed towards bankruptcy prior to the economic crash. The crash was the final nail in the coffin. And there is another problem, they have a major underfunded pension that is going to require some amount of capitalization in 2013 or 14, I forgot which. But it was huge.

GM has to be a respected and desired producer of worldwide vehicles in order to survive in the new economic landscape. The Vette is their premier car, so they need to use it to show they can make a car demanded worldwide.

Marketing the car for an average 54 year old white American male is not going to cut it going forward. Credit is going to be tight in this country for a while, interest rates are eventually going to go sky high due to our nations debts, and then you can expect the avg. American's taxes to go up to pay said debts. GM needs to expand their options outside the US in order to survivie, period.

It will be a Corvette. What are you closed minded guys going to due when the Corvette becomes electric or something else in the future. It is going to happen, and this is just one step in that direction. Better get use to it.

Scott

Racer X

Don't you remember, we are all old. We will be dead by the time it is all electric.

The people with money in this country are Boomers. The youngest are 45-46. It is no wonder that the average age of a new Corvette buyer is 54.

The world market will add only a few cars to Corvette volumes. The primary competitor to the Corvette globally is the Porsche 911. North America has been their largest market. Performancewise the Corvette is superior. Deminsionally it is within 1.5 inches, and yet Europe says it is too big. They depise OHV, but the engine kicks their tail. There are 2 legitimate complaints. The interior could be better. And the base price for a Corvette over there is a lot more.

A 911 with the good interior is 84k here. The base Corvette with the 4LT package is about 57k. For for a 30% cheaper price i can live with the difference in interior, or I can get a fabulous interior for $27k and get a better performaing can.

The problem is that the Corvette is not 56K in Europe with 4 LT package. It is a lot more. They need to get that price down, and improve the interior. Europe will never get over their snobbishness about OHV engines no matter how wrong they are. Some in the US have caught that same ingorance. I suppose from a marketing perspective one might say, it would be best to make an inferior product if the market perceives it to be more "advanced". Of part of GM's problems has been not listening to the engineers, and those that advocate creating passion, versus the accountants that scream cut costs.

Passionate people buy on passion and will pay more. People that buy without passion, buy on price. Toyota sold a lot of Trecels.....

HUSKER-Z

I agree, you can believe everything you read in mags. (except some of the wonderful pictures) hehehe

BUT IF they put a v6 in a future vette, no matter what line....I wont buy. It will be a disgrace. Every 16 year old, tom, dick jane and harry will be driving one. IE: Mustang

Don't sell out our bloodline.

JQuest54

Yes because every teenager and their siblings own a GT-R. I mean I hate the fact that I see 20-30 of them in a day while I drive down the street.

I live in Scottsdale AZ where high end cars are pretty common. Here a vette is nothing even the ZR-1 is a daily sight. I may see 1 GT-R a month. A TT V6 isn't the end of the world.

Racer X

Well a TT V6 Corvette may not be the end of the world, but it may be a sign that the end of the world as we know it is coming. It certainly would not be a good sign of a robust economy and abundant oil.

EgoKiller

PS The GTR has an I6 which is very far away from a v6. I see 3-4 Gtr's a day over here and barely any ZR1s or Z06s so what? You want an autoslush grenade box for exclusivity go right ahead see what happens when you bolt-on some mods and grenade that 25k tranny fun fun fun. Been there done that. The only reason vettes are everywhere is because of their bang for buck, superior performance of cars that cost 5x the price. As well as most americans or performance suited enthusiasts would lean towards the cheaper car with better performance stats. If I cared about fit and finish that much I surely wouldn't be driving a Vette.

Great comparison 70K GTR vs a v6 corvette which would put it around 30s new msrp which would make it the the new v6 mustang equivalent. If I ever see a corvette with a 6 wether it be V, Inline, etc I would never buy even if it would be a TT 6 Unless a guaranteed weight of less than 2750lbs.

The Z06 already has it's name as a world brand all it needs a better interior finish. If Z06s came with caravaggio interiors you'd never hear GM can't make an interiors from european counterparts. That is the only downside to the Corvette. To filter it into mainstream america is just wrong just because they hit bad numbers during the worst economic car era ever would be just dumb, it would hand over it's super car status for a run of the mill domestic

Electric cars bleh the new hype. Maybe the Corvette Volt will come out soon.

scrannel

When I went back into the market for a sports car, I was looking Porsche. Then heard my Ferrari buddies talking about "the next Corvette" they were getting. Though I hadn't looked at Vettes in years (I hate "muscle cars", but that's just me) I loved the way the C6 looked, but also loved the rave reviews it was getting from savvy testers. Also, loved the Mag suspension innovation. After a drive, I was hooked. So, the Corvette is making real inroads into the "elite" Euro market. How? By becoming a better car, not simply some lame muscle-car replica. Some here may not like that, but a lot more people do, especially the "next Corvette generation." Like my son. And that includes the next generation of Euro kids. I've posted this pic before, long time ago, but this is my son with a young, very popular, very hip European model and actress. She LOVED the C6... was knocked out by it. Sent all her pals in Euro-land pics w/herself behind the wheel. Look, the Corvette is on its way to becoming a world class sports car and I think that's great. So does my son!

p.s. Oh yeah, when I asked her if she and her pals like Porsches, her response: "A car for old farts!"

vant

^^ Forget the Corvette, I want to know how SHE handles.

Jinx

I can afford to keep a Corvette, but I know I can't afford to keep her...

Notch

I couldn't agree more.

Shrike6

The Corvette is an American performance icon. It is unique in the world.
What sets it apart is what it accomplishes using a traditional layout with a traditional American V8. What is it's essence? A relatively affordable, very usable sports/GT car which equals or exceeds the performance levels of European exotics. Muscular good looks and commanding presence, too.
I know the people responsible for it's design know these design points.
Corvette will not need to FOLLOW European trends to succeed, but remain true to it's core values while beating it's rivals soundly. There is a place, no, a NEED in the world for the Corvette. Not a copy of something else. GM engineers ARE the best in the world, and CAN do it.
They have the best job in the world, building a car that dreams are made of and carry the flag.
I dream of being in on the design of the Corvette, that would be an achievement worth working for.
GM

McGirk94LT1

Ego killer... the current GTR is a v6 not inline. But aside from that. Everyone loves the fact its a traditional big inch chevy small block... yet im interested in how many people pissed and moaned about the ls series of motors being soooooooo different and messing everything up and GASP!!! YOUR TELLING ME ITS NOT A 350 THATS NOT TRADITIONAL RAAAAAAAWR?!?!? Things change, people see it made things better and then they carry on or you get left in the dust. Same thing thats going on with harley davidson right now, the top performer they have is water cooled, doesnt look like a harley, and doesnt sound like a harley so no one wants it. All that means is that my bike with 1100 miles on it cost 6800 and runs mid elevens, and as for all the other current harley engines? They have overheating issues, big time. I will put money on it that 95% of you that are screaming that its not a 9.8 liter in the next vette will still buy it, if you had intentions of actually buying the next vette. Biggest example, the zr1. Never been a factory supercharged or any forced induction vette yet you think people will never want one? Its confirmed it is going to be a 5.5 liter and its actually going to have technology in it(variable cam timing and direct injection) so does that make it bad? Seriously folks vettes do change and they will continue to because the corvette engineers dont want to get embaressed, from in line 6's from pop up head lights, and from solid rear axles.

stic5

VETTECHABYGOLLYWOW

Only praises for pop-up headlights from me for the engineers!

With 14,000 units sold last year, the non-pop up experiment is not, uh, popping up.

stic5

If you think FIXED HEADLIGHTS is the reason that only 14,000 vettes were sold last year, then all I have to say is wow.

How about, oh I dunno, the worst depression since the 30's? Give me a break...