Digartz

We want a new Vette, not a Ferrari! We can buy a Ferrari any day of the week. What happened to "American Originality?" What happened to being a leader in design? Where's the Harley Earl's when we need them? Better gas mileage is certainly welcomed, but a Vette is a Muscle car, not a passenger car. Listening to focus groups to determine what the next Vette should be? Car buyers are not the designers, and never should be. Muscle cars were never designed by focus groups, the originals were made by artist like Earl and Delorean who broke the mold over and over, then showed us what we wanted with that awesome reveal at the annual car show.

The slump in Vette sales is only because those of us that have our dream cars have them, and now we have to go to custom shops to get what we really want - a modified version of old and new. What Detroit is totally missing is the huge market of blending the true Vette design into a modern road warrior. Go to any Vette show and you don't see the so called "old fat guys" in these cars...it's the millennials taking everything from the c1's to the sting ray's into a modern era machine that is drivable, raceable, survivable! It's the same lesson Carroll Shelby learned about Cobra kit cars, only Chevy hasn't opened their eyes.

5.4ever

LOL sorry but I couldnt get passed this first line. Anyone buying a vette, imo, CANT afford a ferrari, thats why we buy the vette. Also, the majority of people WANT a ferrari look a like.... And last, Ferrari FTMFW!!!

rjwz28

The majority of people want a Ferrari look-a-like? Really? That's sounds like a pretty ridiculous statement to me, personally. That would make the Corvette no better than the Kias and Hyundais that aped the styling of more expensive cars from Mercedes and other manufacturers to boost sales to the bling on a budget crowd. I'm sorry, but I expect more from Chevy than a cheap Ferrari knock-off, and fortunately I highly doubt that the C7 designers would be lazy and shallow enough to go that route.

5.4ever

You proved my point.... 90% of buyers would go for a vette that looks like a ferrari. I mean why not??? A ferrari(most) is gorgeous

And like you said, althought the brands mentioned did copy the higher end cars, look what happened... sales sky rocketed... everyone wants to buy something that looks like it cost more

uxojerry

I dont think Corvette owners are poor Ferrari owner wannbe's either. I respect Ferrari and only want GM to turn out a complete product. Im glad to hear that the C7 will have a lot of C6 commonality. Add to the good C6 foundation with more style and better interior materials. Power and handling are not the problem. With the latest Ring records, it would be stupid to start from scratch. The C7 should be a natural progression versus a whole new platform. I bet GM gets it right. They are on a hotstreak and my only knock is how long some of the models take to get to the market.

Senna1994

Great post.

BuckyThreadkiller

The coves on the C2 came from a Ferrari design, the four round taillights were a Ferrari design element, the headlights on the C6 echo a Ferrari design...

There's nothing new here. If you're going to steal, steal from the best.

Digartz

Well if you want to get technical the whole Corvette C1 concept was taken from Euro sport cars. That doesn't mean there was an original design set in the clay.

From what the articles are saying GM is making a dup just to attract younger buyers and sacrificing Corvette design tradition in the process. That is what sounds outrageous and brand killing. When they have just saved the company taking a huge risk on a flagship car could spell disaster for the Vette for a long time to come. Change is needed for a C7 to be successful. For anyone to trade-up it has to be different. But wiping out the past and copying your competition, seen it before in a lot companies. It never works, the competition already does it better. New for the sake of new with no regards to history or listening to those who really know just doesn't work. When it takes 5-10 years to get a new model design on the showroom floor, let's hope they can recover from any major goofs.

tuxnharley

I never knew my C2 had coves............. gills, maybe, like a Ferrari 250 GTO.............

BuckyThreadkiller

C2s have coves, C3s have gills - but you're right - also from Ferrari.

Jinx

You are reading way way WAY too much into it. Bob Lutz and other unnamed sources tossed a couple of TINY pebbles into the water, the press threw in their usual ****-poor reporting rocks to draw attention to themselves, and Corvette fans saw the splashes and started screaming for life preservers and calling the Coast Guard.

Please go back to "the articles" and work your way back through the attributions until you get to one that isn't another article. Then read what the actual authoritative source actually said, and you'll find there's very little to get excited about.

.Jinx

tuxnharley

Huh? I think it's C1s - in particular the 56 thru 61 models - that have coves. C2s are different. The 63 and 64 models have horizontal indentations that are not opened up (except on the real Grand Sports) that I supposed could be misconstrued as "coves", but the 65, 66, and 67 models had vertical openings that are definitely gills.

I just went out in my garage to double check that my memory of my 67 - which I have owned for 40 years - hadn't suddenly gone bad over night. Luckily, no early onset yet.........

"Coves" are defined as having a curvelinear shape. The 56 thru 61 models have that. All C2s have rectilinear shapes on their side openings. The common terminology for C1s is coves, and for C2s it is gills.

Take a look at a 65/66/67 C2 and a 68/69 C3 and tell me they aren't all "gills"?

Actually, from 70 to 72 C3s didn't really have "gills", they had side "grills"!

I think ya need to refresh your knowledge of C2s, Bucky.....

jackhall99

Well I, for one, got past the first line.

Maybe YOU can't afford a Ferrari, and that's OK.

But the re are many folks who own both, or many who like the reliability/maintenance cost ratio to drive a 'vette a little more often than they might drive a Ferrari, yada, yada.

Just MHO, of course.

BluegrassMotorsport

A family friend, who is also a billionaire (yes, with a b), has an amazing car collection. Two of his cars are the Ferrari 458 and Corvette ZR1. You know which ones he prefers out of all of them? The Corvette. He likes that it is simple, he likes the raw power, and he likes how hilariously fun it is.

Now, that does not speak everyone, it is only one example. He also loves his 458, drives it often, and appreciates the engineering it takes to produce one. They are two completely different cars and he never, ever compares them.

If General Motors were to ever produce the Corvette in a way that emulates Ferrari, the entire car would be ruined in my opinion. Both cars have evolved completely different ways throughout their lifetimes, they are meant for different people in a way.

jackhall99

Thank God you have not been afflicted with 'early onset' yet. I'm hanging in there with you amigo.

The concave side shape on the 1956 through 1962 Corvettes were referred to as 'coves'. No one back then ever called the side body styling introduced on the '63 as 'coves'.

On another note, I envy you for owning the '67 for 40 years. I bought mine new, but fell to the siren song of the '68, and ordered a new '69 coupe. I still fondly remember the '67 roadster.

5.4ever

Yea, well, what I meant is 98% of vette owners buy a vette because its what they want and can afford... How many vette owners also own a 'rrari? I mean, really?
and we arent talking reliablity maintenance, we are talking about looks!

good for him, Im sure he can AFFORD TO SAY anything he wants lol

rjwz28

I said nothing of the sort; how does my statement prove your point? The Hyundai and Kia cheap knockoff cars sold like $hit; it wasn't until recently when they actually started putting a lot of hard work into their product that their sales skyrocketed. When they started targeting higher-end cars with their models instead of copying their styling, they made waves. Up until that point, they were just another cheap knockoff from the far east.

5.4ever

EXACTLY!!! You proved my point AGAIN!!! Those brands sold like **** UNTIL they made the vehicles look MORE STYLISH, ala MB and Lexus... sales soared!!!!


All Im trying to say is poeple want to LOOK more expensive. If GM would bring out a "rrari clone, purists wouldnt like it(initially) but the general public would gobble it up like sasha grey gobbles up.... well you get where Im going with this

RonnieC6Z

I have owned 2 Ferrari's, a 2002 360 spider 6 speed and a 2007 F430 Spider F1, and 10 Vettes..currently a 2010 GS vert 6 speed.

The big plus side for the Ferrari is it sounds better, has a FAR nicer interior, and offers a true F1 paddle shift tranny, which I truly love. I also love and prefer a mid engine car, but that is subjective.

The big plus side for the Vette is that it is built better, is more reliable, far less costly to operate, has a better nav and sound system, and has a 6 speed tranny that is superior to the Ferrari's 6 speed tranny (which they no longer offer)

Both brands handle great and both are equally as quick.

Looks are completely subjective. The Ferrari has a greater "look at me" factor for those who care about such things. My F430 spider was red and stickered for $280K, which I paid. My GS is red and stickered for $74K and I paid a lot less. I love both brands. They were and are my daily drivers, for I am a one car-at-a-time guy. But at the end of the day they are both 2 seater sports cars. Is one really WORTH over $200K more than the other. Not really. Should anyone pay over $200K more for a Ferrari? Sure, it they want it and can afford it.

5.4ever

Someone else proves my point. the ferraris advantage over a vette, is its looks... Take that away(by getting styling cues from it) and you have more people interests in the Corvette. Its a win/win.