69L79

I actually think that the C7 will be a "toned down" version of the Stingray concept car. More muscular fenders, sloped back roofline, restyled rear, etc. Also, I could care less about what BMW, Porsche, etc. owners think about our cars. The Corvette is a no excuses car. And, will outperform every BMW and most Porsches. The Vette always has been and always will be The King of Cool.

VETTE-NV

It doesn't matter what anybody thinks about where the Corvette fits into the elitist, judgmental, and prejudiced world of insecure car owners. All GM has to do is continue to build the best sports car value on the planet. The C7 will be amazing, it will sell well enough for the marque to continue, and it will continue to **** off Porsche owners who are left trailing with meaningless remarks about hair plugs and Mr. Goodwrench. Those stereotypes are rapidly becoming as dated as the 911's styling. Oh wait...! There's an all new 911! And it looks pretty much like....every other 911 for the past 40 years.

Jinx

The last model year when the base price was $43k or less: 2002. That's a decade ago.

Time flies, man.

More power, less weight -- I have no doubt that C7 will deliver on both points.

.Jinx

NeoZ06

The only way i see myself CONSIDERING getting a C7 would be if they make a bad-*** looking Z06 model with a V8 427 cid engine, larger displacement, OR less displacement but with more than 505 hp. It has to look A LOT better than a C6 also...

I doubt the C7 will look a lot better than a C6 in terms of redesign. I mean, the C6 already has some sharp edges, can't imagine what they would do with the C7. If it comes close to the Transformers concept then i see the C7 generation in a bit of trouble...

SgtRod

That's exactly what the vette does, it's the best performance bargain. It has looks, speed, handling and even great gas millage. Not to mention, it's not hard to shave close to a full second off the Vette's 1/4 mile time with mods. And look at the 10sec Z06s out there. While "best value" may not be a title worth boasting about to some, it shames some of its competitors. Even Jay Leno said he loves American reliability over the exotics. He has almost every car worth having.

I have a couple of stories of Ferarri owner's embarassing themselves but to asume that most of them are a-holes would be a logical fallacy.

To try and point out the one area where the corvette trails behind the exotics(interior) is a bit critical. What more could one want? There's always the luxury class or even the much more expensive imports if it means that much to someone. The CTS-V was a great example that still costs much less than the M5.

I can think of one good reason why the Vette's seats are not as nice as the Camaro's or even the GTO. They weigh less. From what I have seen, it is hard to find seats with significant weight savings, even with the aftermarket brands.

Some people buy cars for status and some buy them for fun and thrills. I am a car guy and love all cars made for the owner that does care about his suspension and about where his engine makes peak power.

I really like the following cars and care nothing about their status or interiors: Porsche 911 turboS, Ferrari California. Hell, I would buy an Ariel Atom. No car is number one in all categories and price has to be factored.

VETTE-NV

Let's hope the designers aren't as unimaginative as you.

CH 3 NO 2

I think my generation is a little TOO consumed with being "Popular" for lack of a better word at 1:30 in the morning. "Buy what everybody else says is cool"
Thats where this generation is at, we pride ourselves on being openminded, but we are SO easily manipulated by others it really is kinda sickening.
I really like the C6ZO6 style, but I also think a Ferrari style could look pretty sexy if its done right.

Jinx

I hear ya, but the complaint isn't that it trails the exotics... it's that it trails cars that sell for 40% less.

It's not that GM was purposefully cheap (well mostly not), just that they hadn't known how to put together a compelling interior since the days when vinyl seats were an upgrade. We hope that's changed with the new GM. There are some promising signs, but C7 will be the real test.

It doesn't have to measure up to the exotics -- there's a reason they're called exotic -- but it does need to be measure up to the Audi A5, for example. And it needs to keep measuring up in its third, fourth, fifth, and sixth year of production. Its design, materials, and especially technology needs to be compelling. Some of us will give Corvette a pass for a merely-serviceable interior, but the broader market expectations are not so forgiving. Heck, what we used to think of as penalty boxes can now be had with navigation, bluetooth, voice control, iPod connectivity, even leather and a measure of quiet.

And its interior is acceptable, but hardly stunning and barely competitive.

Featherlight seats that suck still suck. They could save weight if they didn't paint the car, or if they used narrower tires, but they don't.

But you probably wouldn't use it as a daily driver, or for dinner and a movie. Corvette is more than a track toy and more than basic transportation. It's great that you'd buy one no matter what, but a lot of buyers won't give Corvette the time of day because of its legendary interior.

.Jinx

Boba Fett

How do you know this, please enlighten us...
[QUOTE]could you break this down a little more, Im most curious to know exactly what you mean by this...

uxojerry

Im the age of a typical Corvette driver but was also affected by the stereotype, lol. I just couldnt bring myself to buy a new one. For some reason custom building a C2 was ok with my psyche.

The new car must be appealing to the young. CTS V sales probably cut into Corvette sales more than they do into BMW. The blue collar owner may lean towards a ZL1 or GT500 with soon to be 650 HP.

M3, GTR and 911 drivers are the target market. A Transformers type C7, with higher materials quality, and performance equal to current Z06/ZR1 is a good receipe for success. The number and range of High Performance vehicles are growing. The Corvette niche is being eroded at the lower end by a range of performance cars. Audi TTRS, Porsche Boxter/Cayman, Nissan 370z, GT 500, Camaro ZL1, CTS V, M3 ($65000), C63 (60000) and many others.

The C7 should compete at the next level where the current Z06/ZR1 live. Updated exterior with better materials, and proper marketing can eliminate the old stereotype. GMs video release of the Ring records are excellent examples of good, effective and cheap marketing. Im too old to drive that fast, lol. Those videos are a way to appeal to the young professionals who are the C7 market.

OJCrush08

I agree, the muscle cars are definitely stepping it up in the performance and amenity areas: witness the Mustang Laguna Seca, 2013 monster Shelby, Camaro ZL1, etc. Porsche is rapidly improving the Boxster/Caymen models to be very close in performance to the more expensive 911s. Of course Audi continues to seriously grow market share as the latest Euro image mobile. Add to that, some pretty new and exciting Euro sports cars coming soon, including the Alfa 4 C and new Jag sports car that is slightly larger than a Caymen and drop dead gorgeous.

C7 will have to seriously outperform my '10 Z06, plus have the style and quality to continue to attract my interest and money. I have had 7 Vettes, and always felt that GM delivered the car to us about 85% finished. They also need to get out of the cycle of just taking too long to introduce improvements during a current model cycle.

Like many, I am less than thrilled with the interior, including the cheap looking steering wheel and seats. In '12, they finally made a passable steering wheel and I picked one up form a Forum vendor for $237 - major improvement. If I decide to hang on to my '10, seats will be replaced by Forum vendor.

There will be more than ever, serious four and two seat competition for the C7, and with the sick economy, they have one shot to get it right.

Endeka

Yes. There is a feeling among them that Vettes are uncool because they're American. I think that constitutes anti-Americanism plain and simple, in the same way that my WWII-vet Grandfather, who worked for GM, never touching a Japanese car, was because of his anti-Japanese sentiments (and in his case, I can hardly blame him; however, I don't think Americans have ever killed any Porsche fans's platoon-mates, so they don't get a pass).

For better or worse, this is how class-defining things (schools, neighborhoods, cars, etc.) work, and in our culture, that's (sadly) the primary purpose of high end sports cars-to serve as class measuring sticks. It's not enough that, for example, wealthy and established people should live in a neighborhood; if it's going to be a classy neighborhood, they have to take steps (usually via $25,000/yr school taxes or $700,000 home values) to insure that nobody who is not wealthy or successful or educated lives there. The same is true with cars; that's how Ferrari gets most of its cred-not so much from its racing pedigree (a fact that the company itself laments), but because of its exclusivity. It's not enough that it should be a great car; people who have not reached a high level of prosperity should be utterly unable to get their hands on one or, barring that, they should really not want to. I'm not a marketing specialist, so I don't know how you get a group of people you deem to be undesirable to move away from your product, but I think Corvette will have to do this to capture a lot of the young market. I'm basically saying that a lot of my peers have succumbed to a tool-ish behavior: blatant classism (and you can see some of the same concerns in me too, though I bit them back and bought the car, in no small part because I realized it was ******** after talking to the owners on here).

To put it as bluntly and crassly as possible, an anesthesiologist, who has busted his ***** in school for 10 years, incurred $350,000 in debt (and paid it off in three years) to make it where he is, has an IQ of 140, and is a highly respected member of the most genteel society, does not want to look out the window of his new status symbol at a red light and see some guy with roofing tar under his nails and a naked mermaid tattooed on his neck driving the same car. You usually insure that that doesn't happen with price-make the car $200,000 and that should do it, but observe that Porsches and M cars are not really priced that differently than Vettes, but still avoid negative class stereotypes, which shows the principle I'm talking about-they've somehow sent a message to the guy with the topless woman tattoo-"You'll hate this car, and none of your buddies will respect you if you get it. You'll look like a snob. Stay away."

If Vette sends a similar message, they'll lose the working class hero image they've always had, and probably a few of their customers (not as many as people think though; another facet of stereotypes is that they are inherently unjust, and I happen to think that most Vette owners are like me-they're in it for the mind-boggling performance numbers, not the status), but I think they'll become a smash-hit with people like my friends, maybe to the detriment of the brand overall. All I was saying is that I think that's what's going on with the C7, and what nobody I saw on here was talking about it-GM has decided that that's what they want, to appeal to that group, with all their foibles and prejudices, because in the 21st century, with the depressed economy, it's going to be engineers and Android app programmers who can buy $100,000 cars (probably $300,000 adjusted for inflation), not contractors. The C6 established the corvette as a mechanical superior to the 911, and many Audis, Astons and BMW's. The new car is probably going to establish the corvette as a stylistic rival to those cars with aggressive, sharp body lines and a quiet, plush interior that IMO does not fit the traditional sports car. It's a process to steal European car companies street cred and customers, and so far, based on the limited inquiry I've conducted, it looks like it's going to work.

Anyway, I'm glad this is provoking discussion. I meant the first post to stir things up, not to make people feel defensive. I deserve what I got. It won't make me stop being proud of these cars.

BobRBob

Well that's all well and fine but I still hope the C7 doesn't have a fat slab *** on it like the C5 and C6.

tweeter81

I absolutely love the Stingray Concept (or Transformers Vette) and I hope that it is the basis for the upcoming C7's design language.

For those who are saying they hate how the concept looks, have you seen the car in person? I would say that you should definitely not judge it until you have seen it in person with your own eyes.

I thought that the CTS-V Coupe was pretty ugly based on pictures of it on the internet, but when I finally saw one in person I was floored by how awesome it looked. I was jumping to a conclusion that I shouldn't have.

As an aside, to Jinx above, I CANNOT BELIEVE that you don't think the CTS-V interiors are gorgeous. They are some of the prettiest, best designed interiors I have ever seen. Of course, these types of things are very subjective, but I seriously can't believe that you won't give props to GM for finally making an interior that, IMO is literally 10x-15x better than anything else they have ever produced...and it's still not good enough for you...

You know, the $80K+ vehicles (or hideously over-priced Audis, which are a perfect example of very nice interiors, but you have to pay way more than the car is really worth to get them) probably have nicer interiors, but paying that much is the only way you are going to get one, simple economics show that for GM to keep the prices of the current and future Corvettes competitive, they have to find a way manufacture the cars to look rich on the interior, without actually costing a fortune to build that way. And mark my words, they will, because they are already doing it on Buicks, Cadillacs, and even Malibus.

Alligator

Your brother, classmates, and friends are insecure. They believe they will look inferior by driving a Corvette vs a Porsche.

I chose C6Z06 over GTR (no manual, not as fun to drive as Vette), 911C4 (uglier than Vette), and M3 (slower than Vette). I think the C6Z06 is the best-looking car out of the 4 cars, and I think it's the most fun car to drive.

I'm 28, and I don't care if others think I'm driving an old person's car. I'm also a white-collar professional, and I don't care if others think I'm driving a redneck car.

I bought the car for me - and me only.


But at least you are speaking the truth. The truth is that most of my classmates and coworkers, like your friends, care about their image. And when they care, they will buy Porsches and BMWs over Corvettes.

Anyway, enjoy your Vette!! Let us know how you like it.

BobRBob

Audis and BMWs come with nice interiors for a lot less than $80K. The A6 and 5 Series are about the same price as a Vette and they are not hideously overpriced. I believe they are worth the money.

Endeka

Rock on. I agree with everything you wrote, and am glad I'm not the only one who has seen this. If I hadn't seen the C7 Stingray, I'd be in an 07 Z06 I looked at early on. My word, that is an amazing car.

tweeter81

You misunderstood my post. I said $80K+ vehicles, OR any Audi that is overpriced, and they all are in my opinion.

I'm sure Audi's are nice, but really an A5 or A6 for the same price as a Vette...Those cars aren't even in the same universe as any Vette as far as the cool factor goes. Also, all Audis have very bland styling. Not a single one of them would turn my head if I saw them in traffic. Those cars are an appliance to me, and sadly the King of All Automobile Appliances, the Toyota Camry, now actually has better styling than said Audis.

The only Audi cars that would possibly hold a candle to any Vette would be the RS cars, and their prices are astronomical.

Jinx

tweeter81 -- Don't get me wrong, I like the CTS-V interior, and it is aces compared to any GM interior that came before. Gorgeous? I don't know, maybe. Expensive? Beyond the Recaro seats and Alcantara, no. There is still a plastic-moldedness to it compared to other $40k+ lux sedans.

But the CTS interior is, what, four years old now? We know GM's learned some things and hopefully dropped some bad habits since then, so it's not unreasonable to think they can take that last step to being a standard of the world.

One thing does come to mind: the leather in every GM I've ever been in has been too stiff. Probably meets some obscure standard GM test for wear or supportiveness while missing the point that softer more pliable leather feels more expensive and impresses people -- and is never ever mistaken for vinyl.

BTW, I saw the Stingray Concept up close at the same show as the CTS-V. In person it's dramatic but cartoonish and clearly not a finished piece. And no, I do not like it. The scoops at each corner look ugly and stupid, an influence of racecar bodywork that I despise. Suitable for Batman, perhaps, but no one else. Also, eggcrate grille? I don't like it on old Corvettes either.

"Audis, which are a perfect example of very nice interiors, but you have to pay way more than the car is really worth to get them." That's just it -- the interior is part of the car's worth. And people expect a lot more from their interiors today. GM gave C6 decent materials but inadequate design, details, and technology for its day... and interiors have advanced significantly since then. Forget $80K; try $30K. The Ford Focus and even Chevy Cruze embarass C6 today. Let Camaro be the car that gives you tire-squealing smiles with a spartan interior. Corvette is about performance value not performance cheap and it isn't a good value if its interior doesn't best everything in the near-lux segment. And it isn't a proper Corvette if it doesn't offer at least one bit of conversation-starting technology.

As for the blandness of Audis, there are many who think the A5 is a very handsome and impressive-looking automobile. And what's this about same price? The A5 starts at $37,100; at $41K it includes interior features you can only get in a Corvette over $55K. No, it's not as fast, but they're $14,000 cheaper and yet passengers will think them much more expensive. The lowly four-banger Audi commands a level of social status that the Corvette can't touch. The next Corvette must, and I think will, be a more balanced and thus better automobile.

BobRBob

In my post I referred to the A6 and the (BMW) 5 Series, both luxury sedans priced about the same as the Corvette. I wasn't referring to the Audi A5. It is a less expensive vehicle but still has an excellent interior.

As for whether Audis and BMWs are "cool", I guess that's a matter of opinion but I think the Corvette might lose if a vote were held on the matter.

ps Camry styling isn't in the same league with the Audi and BMW. Not even close.