BlueOx

I'm convinced that the economy, the competition and the market have all swirled and changed around the 'base' Corvette, which it is still essentially the way it came out in 2005. That seems very long ago to me now and sales have dropped so much since the 35k of years ago.

The Camaro, Caddy, Mustang, GTR, and other competitors have significantly upped their performance game since then and there have just been more, less expensive options for buyers while they have less disposable income. Maybe if the C7 is perceived to have a far higher interior/overall quality while adding some new innovations, it will help with those sales numbers.

gatti-man

Exactly.

jb_va2001

Great news for BG.

jb_va2001

cvii

tuxnharley

Naw - it ain't no Eyetailin car............. No Roamin Knewmurals here, just good ole Murican numbers...........

jb_va2001

I'd like nothing better than to see a 2014 Sting Ray. But it better be true to the gorgeous C2 style to carry that name.

tuxnharley

Having a '67 and an '06 myself, I'd like nothing better that to see the new one combine the best of both. And, I love the emblem form the show car - even if I can't stand the design of the car itself..........

SanDiegoBert

Maybe, just maybe, some money will be thrown at the paint shop. I am really unhappy with the tons of orange peel the C6's have.

dmaxx3500

gm has orange peel in everything,,they need to put more material on everything so it can be wet sanded and buffed ,,if they need more money [$100-$200] fine add a ck box on my order form so i can do it

jb_va2001

FWIW - I went to a car show a few weeks ago and a stock 3 year old Corvette in Crystal Red won Best Paint. (Not mine.) The award sponsor was a custom painting company. They worked hard to find faults with the factory paint and pick a custom painted car, even returned to the C6 a second time to look at it again during the tabulations.

gatti-man

Id pay up to 500 but it would need to include a hands off policy by employees and an upgrade in shipping to be covered and not exposed trucks.

LS1LT1

Telepierre

All good points. I believe the C7 will be a step forward going into a very challenging market even in 2014..
The C3 sales numbers tell a story for all ages..

Jinx

Feelings were similar in 2003. Sure, there was Z06, but that was a lot more expensive; the base car just got different paint colors and special editions, and the LS1 and interior were feeling pretty dated. There was the recent F55 magnetic ride suspension, but the feeling was that GM had better be bringing some big improvements. Then C6 debuted and, for most folks, all was right with the world again.

So I'm not worried.

SanDiegoBert

I'm worried.

The C7 may be pricing the Corvette out of its market. I believe there's an upper limit to what people will spend on a Chevy. Maybe they ought to move it to the Cadillac division.

jb_va2001

That's a pretty radical suggestion. Move it to Cadillac for what benefits? Higher average sale price?

SanDiegoBert

It may be priced out of what is traditionally considered Chevrolet's market. Buick doesn't seem to fit. That leaves Cadillac . . . or, heh, GMC . . .

Jinx

I think you might be listening to the wrong people here.

The price of the outgoing C4 in 1996 was $37,520. In today's dollars that's $54,956.

So even if GM prices the 2014 base Corvette at the same level as the C6 GrandSport, they're scarcely increasing the price of the car at all, considering inflation over the long haul. If they match it to the outgoing base car, as they typically do, then in constant dollars it'll be cheaper than it has been.

Some folks have been repeating $60K a lot. Repetition doesn't make something true. That's almost a 20% hike over C7's predecessor. Do you really think that's going to happen, in light of the other bits of knowledge we've gleaned about the car? I don't think GM has the *****, much less the inclination, even if they had market research showing they'd make more money and get a better halo effect from taking the base Corvette upmarket.

.Jinx

jb_va2001

All but the base model have been priced out of Chevy's typical market for many years (decades?). What is the point of pulling Corvette from Chevy now?

Jinx

Also, ZR1 demonstrates that people will spend $110K on a Chevrolet. The brand name does not preclude compelling content from finding buyers, even if it's priced twice as high as any other model sharing the badge. Of course, you'll note that Corvette doesn't quite share the Chevrolet badge. The bowtie is just a small element of the Corvette badge.

BTW, when's the last time Corvette wore a Chevrolet badge, i.e. on its own as is done on every other Chevy as opposed to just a part of a Corvette badge?