tonyalexx

For those who may be interested the C7 will begin production around the first of 2013. As of September 14th the plant will be closed to anyone not working there and the C7 will begin pre-assembly production testing, workers will and have been training on the production of the C7 and part of the plant (behind close doors) is being prepared to start the C7 assembly. The C6 production will end around the end of December in prep. for the C7. I know this since I was at the plant this week watching my 2013 C6 being built. I saw nothing!

Jinx

It's amusing that MY2013 production is so short that there won't be any built in the year 2013.

michaelinmech

Had not thought about it that way - makes my inquiring little mind wonder if that has ever happened before

tonyalexx

It did! In 1983 ten 83's were built. Nine were chrash tested and the one remaing car is in the Museum. There was difficulty getting it into production so they extended the run of 82's and then went into the 84's.

Jinx

That's not the same thing. Those weren't sold to the public as 83s, much less given the full press treatment and a special edition.

When did C4 production end?

LS1LT1

Good info, thanks.





I remember that the C5 was a relatively late arrival first appearing around April or May of 1997 (and was a short production run, only 10k units I believe?), so I'm thinking that '96 Corvette production ran well into later 1996?

tonyalexx

One other bit of information that I was able to gleen but not confirm is that the 2014 C7 will be coupe version only. No convertibles in the first year.
If I might share my thoughts about the C7. GM needs to reverse slumping Corvette sales. In order to do so they need to build the Corvette to appeal to a wider audience. Namely younger generations than those who are buying them now, Europeans (once the recession is over) and the Chinese. That's a no-brainer. Today the affluent in China buy European cars. MB and BMW. And the Buick is a big seller as well. So in my little head I envision that the C7 will be less American Muscle and More European Sports car. It will be lighter, somewhat smaller with a European appeal while maintaining the Corvette look. And that it will finally have an interior more fitting a car in it's price range. My $.02

JoesC5

I believe that the last C4 rolled out around June/July, 1996, and the plant was shut down for 6 months for retooling for the new C5, and the C5 went into regular production around the middle of January 1997(but at a very slow pace to get the workers up to speed and to debug the assembly process). The 1997 C5 had a short production run as the 1998 C5 was back on the regular schedule starting up in July, 1997.

Jp23rockstar

I know the c7 isn't out already and won't be on public display till the Detroit Auto Show 2013, but, I hope the c7 has a shorter run than the c6. The c6 will have a 9 year run, while I hope the c7 will have a 6 year run. Because it seems when cars go after 6 years competition catches up and GM instead of adding performance upgrades to the corvettes just adds some decals and raises the sticker price. I know they make improvements every year, but to me it doesn't seem like enough. GM back in the day was the world leader, today they follow. From now on GM should come out with a new car model every 6 years instead of waiting so long on bringing out new models.

Jinx

For C6, GM added Z06 in the second year, upgraded the engine and steering and offered a leather interior in the fourth year, added ZR1 in the fifth year, upgraded Z51 to GrandSport and offered ZR1 features on the Z06 in the sixth year, then you're right just did decals and special paint in the seventh year -- no, wait, upgraded seats -- then offered the Z06 engine in the convertible in the eighth year.

But you're right, it's not enough, because the interior didn't get redesigned, and leather notwithstanding its fit and finish and technology got stale at a time when such things became a priority among car buyers generally.

.Jinx

Jp23rockstar

I don't mean to come off as critical but it seems GM just forgets to cross those "t's" and dot those "i's" if you know what I mean.

michaelinmech

Hey . . . I got 2 T's in my Vette but no I's . . . . what's the rpo code for I's

SCM_Crash

A 10 year run is better, IMHO, because it keeps the value of the cars up. The reason some cars are so expensive out the door and devalue faster than most other cars is because the generations run so short that when the look of the car changes, every car from that previous generation gets devalued big time which further devalues the older generations.

My C5s maintained their values for a VERY long time. The moment the C7 hits my C5Z is going to drop at least $5K in value. Probably more.

Think about those people with 05-07 C6s... Their cars are still the current generation even 7 years in and the value of those Corvettes are still pretty high considering how old they really are. Honestly, the longer the run, the better; as long as GM continues to make small changes like they've done with every generation.

musclecar6

Probably the last thing GM thinks about ( if ever), is the resale value that customers have, if they extend or shorten the production run. They are in business to sell new cars. The buyers will get what the market will bear, when they go to sell. That's their problem, not GM's.

SCM_Crash

Oh, I'm POSITIVE they think about resale value, but not in the same way. A cars worth (especially these days), also has a lot to do with resale value.

But their real incentive for longer runs is that it's cheaper. Less retooling and longer periods of time for them to do R&D.

kennethmiller

Don't forget, GM blew itself up in the middle of the C6 run.....originally C7s should have been 2011s. Judging by sales, given a stable economic situation, 6-7 years is probably the sweet spot for model replacement or at least serious modification.....

jb_va2001

I agree, 7 years would be an ideal model run. After 4 years give the car a face lift for the final 3 years to freshen up the look a little.

One of the reasons Corvette sales are sagging is a lot of people already have a C6 and they don't plan to trade until something new (the C7) comes out.

Cheers,
JB

jb_va2001

Agreed. Selling new cars is top of mind at GM. The used car market takes care of itself. If Corvette gets wildly out of step with normal used car depreciation, and it impacts new car sales negatively, they'd pay attention. But I doubt they give it much thought otherwise.

Cheers,
JB

SCM_Crash

Fair enough. The C5 went on for 8 years. I guess that was somewhat a long run. Although it really feels like time passes too fast.

Rob 99

Im having a hard time convincing myself to trade up from my low mile 07' to a 12' or 13' with a cost out of pocket of around $20-25 grand.
while there are a bunch of improvements that i would like im still buying the same 'shell'.