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Old Aug 1, 2012 | 10:07 PM
  #101  
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Originally Posted by SanDiegoBert
Reading this thread is like watching a multi-sided tennis match where the contestants use baseball bats to hit hand grenades over the net.
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Old Aug 1, 2012 | 10:08 PM
  #102  
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Originally Posted by Guibo
The 911 didn't become more "sports car" to expand its marketshare. Neither did any of the BMW M vehicles...
It didn't have to; Porsche isn't a one sports car model company, as they have the GT2, GT3, Boxster, Boxster S, Cayman, Cayman S. The same kind of framework exists at BMW.
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Old Aug 1, 2012 | 10:25 PM
  #103  
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Originally Posted by jackhall99
To correct your immediate error...
"Rectangular" object used to differentiate the math used to calculate volume using height/width/length with the math used to calculate the volume of a sphere. Calculating the volume of a Vette, as close as it can be calculated, would be approached by taking average height/width/length section cuts from to back and doing the appropriate math.

Originally Posted by jackhall99
And how in God's name the Hindenburg got brought into this is beyond me.
Because you associated weight with large.

Originally Posted by jackhall99
I recently posted a "game, set, match" comment about the "smaller" Porsche's owner scraping the nose of his $100,000 off the front wall of my Corvette's parking spot because it wouldn't fit. Do you understand that concept?
What's that got to do with big?
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Old Aug 1, 2012 | 10:27 PM
  #104  
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Originally Posted by Guibo
It was just a guess. Why don't you tell me the distance from the C6's axle line to the #1 cylinder spark plug. I don't even know that figure for the FF, but I don't see how that's too relevant.
I'm not the one that is pretending to be an engineer that is saying it's no problem to design the C7 with an AWD; you are.

You are throwing around claims and do don't know what you're talking about.
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Old Aug 1, 2012 | 11:21 PM
  #105  
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Originally Posted by Notch
It didn't have to; Porsche isn't a one sports car model company, as they have the GT2, GT3, Boxster, Boxster S, Cayman, Cayman S. The same kind of framework exists at BMW.
The GT2/GT3 sell in very tiny volumes, compared to the relatively fat and loaded up with luxuries Turbo. The same kind of frameworks exists at BMW, yet they don't go more hardcore to expand their marketshare; the M3 GTS's production volumes, at 150, is inconsequential. And pretty much reflects the dwindling appeal of a car like that. They've been trying to make a business case for a sportier car than the Z4, which has porked up considerably from the Z3. They can't make a business case for the proposed M6 "CSL" that was rumored years ago; nowadays, they have a 6 Series fattened up with larger rear seats, 2 extra doors, and the dubious "4-door coupe" tagline.

Originally Posted by JoesC5
I'm not the one that is pretending to be an engineer that is saying it's no problem to design the C7 with an AWD; you are.
You are throwing around claims and do don't know what you're talking about.
Where did I say it would be no problem to design the C7 with AWD? I already said AWD is out for the C7. For the C8, that may be a different matter. If you don't have the figures for the C6, just come right out and say it. Is it your supposition that the Ferrari FF's front axle to #1 cylinder position is that much different from a 612's?
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Old Aug 1, 2012 | 11:53 PM
  #106  
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Originally Posted by Guibo
The same kind of frameworks exists at BMW, yet they don't go more hardcore to expand their marketshare...
But Porsche does; consider Porsche's Project 960, their mid-engined super car targeted for a 2015 release. The car will be a new platform to be shared by a number of variants, and will share components with the next 911 due in 2018.The 960 is targeted to compete for market share against the Ferrari 458 (and I know that you know how many units of that car are produced each year).

Porsche 960...

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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 12:28 AM
  #107  
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Originally Posted by Notch
But Porsche does; consider Porsche's Project 960, their mid-engined super car targeted for a 2015 release. The car will be a new platform to be shared by a number of variants, and will share components with the next 911 due in 2018.The 960 is targeted to compete for market share against the Ferrari 458 (and I know that you know how many units of that car are produced each year).

Porsche 960...

Oh, yeah. Another supercar aimed at the superwealthy who are far more likely to be found cruising Beverly Hills, Monaco, and Biscayne Blvd than really wringing these cars out as they were ostensibly designed to be. 458 does sell in good volume for a mid-engined car (maybe 2.5k/yr?), but it remains to be seen whether Corvette can sell 35k+ mid-engined cars. The demand for the 458 is quite unlike almost anything else on the market.
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 12:36 AM
  #108  
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Every so often the stars align and something like the 458 appears
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 12:43 AM
  #109  
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Originally Posted by John T
Every so often the stars align and something like the 458 appears
Amen. It's really the most beautiful sports car I've ever seen.
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 12:59 AM
  #110  
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Originally Posted by Guibo
Oh, yeah. Another supercar aimed at the superwealthy...
Market share is market share, even if the share is near the top of the pryimid.
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 01:13 AM
  #111  
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Originally Posted by Guibo
... far more likely to be found cruising Beverly Hills, Monaco, and Biscayne Blvd than really wringing these cars out as they were ostensibly designed to be.
What does the owner's use of the car (wringing the car out) have to do with what we're discussing?
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 01:34 AM
  #112  
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Originally Posted by Notch
What does the owner's use of the car (wringing the car out) have to do with what we're discussing?
It remains to be seen whether this 960 is appreciably anymore hardcore/sporty than a Turbo (which in some years can alone account for Ferrari's sales across the entire lineup). My point is that image is probably as significant a reason (if not even more significant) as sportiness for owning a mid-engined supercar. The outright handling differences between a mid-engined car and a front-engined car is not likely to be appreciated by the vast majority of these buyers. When you say a mid-engined car feels sportier, more agile, etc, I can agree with that. But I'm not betting that that would be enough to offset all of the other things I mentioned (R&D costs, loss in practicality, design heritage, etc).
Porsche has this 960, which (if it's like the 458), might do 3k/yr. But it's also expanding marketshare with the Macan...which do you think will sell in higher volumes? The X3, against which it will apparently compete, moved nearly 118k units last year.
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 11:05 AM
  #113  
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Originally Posted by Guibo
But it's also expanding marketshare with the Macan...which do you think will sell in higher volumes? The X3, against which it will apparently compete, moved nearly 118k units last year.
Once again, the concept of "market share" doesn't have a "production numbers" modifier.
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 11:52 AM
  #114  
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Originally Posted by Guibo
The GT2/GT3 sell in very tiny volumes, compared to the relatively fat and loaded up with luxuries Turbo. The same kind of frameworks exists at BMW, yet they don't go more hardcore to expand their marketshare; the M3 GTS's production volumes, at 150, is inconsequential. And pretty much reflects the dwindling appeal of a car like that. They've been trying to make a business case for a sportier car than the Z4, which has porked up considerably from the Z3. They can't make a business case for the proposed M6 "CSL" that was rumored years ago; nowadays, they have a 6 Series fattened up with larger rear seats, 2 extra doors, and the dubious "4-door coupe" tagline.


Where did I say it would be no problem to design the C7 with AWD? I already said AWD is out for the C7. For the C8, that may be a different matter. If you don't have the figures for the C6, just come right out and say it. Is it your supposition that the Ferrari FF's front axle to #1 cylinder position is that much different from a 612's?
I don't have the number, never said I did. I asked you for the numbers because you are making the case for AWD yet you don't have the basic understanding of what modifications need to be made to the current C6 in order to have AWD in the future.

Since I'm not on a soap box, clamoring for AWD. I don't need to know the number. I'm perfectly satisfied with what GM has now.
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 12:05 PM
  #115  
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Originally Posted by Notch
Once again, the concept of "market share" doesn't have a "production numbers" modifier.
But when we are discussing the take rate of an AWD Corvette vs a mid-engined one, it is important to consider what production numbers are necessary to increase the market share. Clearly there is a huge difference in marketshare between

Corvette sales (say, ~25-30k in stable years) being augmented by, say, 10% AWD to a total of around 33k

vs

Corvette sales doing no better than 15k/yr (for example) due to practicality/space compromises that your typical front-engined GT/sportscar buyer doesn't want, and due to the core Corvette base vacating as they have no longer have the design heritage

We've been debating about what elements have been most responsible for increasing marketshare. Sportiness vs luxury/amenities/flab. Recent history has shown us that it's the latter, not the former. BMW and Porsche have limited their production volumes of the M3 GTS and GT2 RS to 150 and 500, largely because they know the market for such cars is relatively tiny. It will be interesting to see how the next GT2 RS plays out, in terms of production, with the 960 on the market.
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 12:08 PM
  #116  
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Originally Posted by JoesC5
I don't have the number, never said I did. I asked you for the numbers because you are making the case for AWD yet you don't have the basic understanding of what modifications need to be made to the current C6 in order to have AWD in the future.

Since I'm not on a soap box, clamoring for AWD. I don't need to know the number. I'm perfectly satisfied with what GM has now.
Nobody here has any numbers. We're just debating what is viable, what is impossible. The anti-AWD crowd haven't produced any figure showing what wheelbase extension is needed (if any?) for a C7 to be stretched to a C8 that will allow AWD. If you don't have the numbers, so be it. But you can still answer the questions. Does it look to you like the front axle location of the FF is that much different (relative to the block) than either the 612 or the C6?
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 12:23 PM
  #117  
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Originally Posted by Guibo
But when we are discussing the take rate of an AWD Corvette vs a mid-engined one, it is important to consider what production numbers are necessary to increase the market share.
The "increasing market share" I'm talking about with GM is with regard to increasing sales world wide. There would of course be some loss in the sales to strict Vette traditionalists, but this has to be evaluated against the potential increase in sales to those who have stayed away from the Vette because it has in fact remained so traditional. Additionally, the potential for a mid-engined, high performance (performance being what GM excels at) Vette on the world stage would certainly at least make a run at offsetting the loss of customers mentioned above.

What would get the attention of people who have the money to spend on high-end sports cars, and many potential buyers in Europe, is not the addition of AWD, but the mid-engine design.
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 12:40 PM
  #118  
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What would get the money of people who have the money to spend on high-end sports cars, and many potential buyers in Europe, is not the addition of AWD or a mid-engine design, but a different badge.
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Jinx
What would get the money of people who have the money to spend on high-end sports cars, and many potential buyers in Europe, is not the addition of AWD or a mid-engine design, but a different badge.
I agree with that option as well.
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Old Aug 2, 2012 | 01:35 PM
  #120  
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Originally Posted by Notch
The "increasing market share" I'm talking about with GM is with regard to increasing sales world wide. There would of course be some loss in the sales to strict Vette traditionalists, but this has to be evaluated against the potential increase in sales to those who have stayed away from the Vette because it has in fact remained so traditional. Additionally, the potential for a mid-engined, high performance (performance being what GM excels at) Vette on the world stage would certainly at least make a run at offsetting the loss of customers mentioned above.
What would get the attention of people who have the money to spend on high-end sports cars, and many potential buyers in Europe, is not the addition of AWD, but the mid-engine design.
It would make a run at offsetting the loss, but I find it hard to believe it would more than offset the potentially 10s of thousands lost due to the practicality/cost/heritage issues. Which it would have to do in order to be considered widening the market compared to an AWD offering. AWD would likewise address some of the concerns by those who think the Corvette is too traditional, while keeping the traditional set satisfied (who don't tick the AWD option).
I agree that mid-engined gets people's attention, but it's not necessarily for sporting purposes, especially in the supercar segment.

Originally Posted by Notch
I agree with that option as well.
Are you advocating that the mid-engined car we're talking about is not, in fact, a Corvette at all?
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