Corvette's Rival
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,106
Likes: 0
I love my Vette and will own a C7 - but we've owned Toyota, Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes also. To summarily dismiss anything foreign is a bit of a narrow perspective and you are overlooking many wonderful vehicles. As an example - and not a car - consider a midsize pickup. I have no need for a full size. So what do you have domestically? Ford Ranger - dead. Chevy Colorado? Really? Dodge Dakota - had one - terrible build quality. What do I have - Toyota Tacoma. Great truck, super reliability, and incredible resale value. My preference is to keep an open mind. The bottom line is if you are considering price the C7 has NO peers. It's a great value.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 12,375
Likes: 406
From: Florida
Exactly. And other C6s as well. With so many with low mileage recent C6s out there, job 1 will be to get them into a version of the new car. This will be tough unless the C7 can present significant improvements to justify the price. We'll see.
Other competition is any car in the same price range as the Vette. Ultimately, it's a financial decision for most (which does not include the fanatics in here), and factors such as cost, quality, and practicality make the decision. This is especially true of the 30-somethings the C7 team seems to think they are targeting. These are prime family building years and other priorities besides fun dominate. Porsche guys will keep buying Porsches.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 41,732
Likes: 1,718
From: Springfield MO
Exactly. And other C6s as well. With so many with low mileage recent C6s out there, job 1 will be to get them into a version of the new car. This will be tough unless the C7 can present significant improvements to justify the price. We'll see.
Other competition is any car in the same price range as the Vette. Ultimately, it's a financial decision for most (which does not include the fanatics in here), and factors such as cost, quality, and practicality make the decision. This is especially true of the 30-somethings the C7 team seems to think they are targeting. These are prime family building years and other priorities besides fun dominate. Porsche guys will keep buying Porsches.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 999
Likes: 867
From: Williamson County, TN
My advice is that anyone thinking about a Corvette should definitely go for it. A Corvette is a car that any car enthusiast should have at least once in their life. You can't believe the number of older people I meet (friends, acquaintances, business colleagues) who fondly reminisce about the Corvette that they owned some time earlier in their life (I am also in that club). It truly is an icon and unique (how many other fiberglass-bodied cars are out there?). Moreover, it is relatively affordable to maintain and surprisingly reliable (don't get me started on my experience with BMW or Audi).
Must..remain strong..
Racer
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 372
Likes: 0
The Corvette is a dedicated sports car that is designed specific it is a selfish car only you and a lucky passenger
That being said it's direct competition is:
Viper
Previous Gen Vettes
Porsche Cayman
Porsche Boxster
911 GT3
911 GT2
911 Turbo S
911 as the rear seats are too small to be useful (exception to all others)
Jaguar F Type
Lambo
Ferrari all but the FF
370Z
Mclaren
Lotus
Mercedes SLS
Mercedes SL AMG
Mercedes SLK AMG
Audi R8
Anyway you get my idea 2 seat sports car
What is not:
Mustang
Camaro
GTR if you count the back seats
Aston's
Ferrari FF
M3
All 2+2's that can fit a humans in the back seats. Simple
I would bet there was never a Mustang used while developing the new C7 sorry nice car but not really a cross shopped option two different purposes..
That being said it's direct competition is:Viper
Previous Gen Vettes
Porsche Cayman
Porsche Boxster
911 GT3
911 GT2
911 Turbo S
911 as the rear seats are too small to be useful (exception to all others)
Jaguar F Type
Lambo
Ferrari all but the FF
370Z
Mclaren
Lotus
Mercedes SLS
Mercedes SL AMG
Mercedes SLK AMG
Audi R8
Anyway you get my idea 2 seat sports car
What is not:
Mustang
Camaro
GTR if you count the back seats
Aston's
Ferrari FF
M3
All 2+2's that can fit a humans in the back seats. Simple
I would bet there was never a Mustang used while developing the new C7 sorry nice car but not really a cross shopped option two different purposes..
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,788
Likes: 164
From: Beaverton OR
Nope!
The Corvette is a dedicated sports car that is designed specific it is a selfish car only you and a lucky passenger That being said it's direct competition is:
Viper
Previous Gen Vettes
Porsche Cayman
Porsche Boxster
911 GT3
911 GT2
911 Turbo S
911 as the rear seats are too small to be useful (exception to all others)
Jaguar F Type
Lambo
Ferrari all but the FF
370Z
Mclaren
Lotus
Mercedes SLS
Mercedes SL AMG
Mercedes SLK AMG
Audi R8
Anyway you get my idea 2 seat sports car
What is not:
Mustang
Camaro
GTR if you count the back seats
Aston's
Ferrari FF
M3
All 2+2's that can fit a humans in the back seats. Simple
I would bet there was never a Mustang used while developing the new C7 sorry nice car but not really a cross shopped option two different purposes..
That being said it's direct competition is:Viper
Previous Gen Vettes
Porsche Cayman
Porsche Boxster
911 GT3
911 GT2
911 Turbo S
911 as the rear seats are too small to be useful (exception to all others)
Jaguar F Type
Lambo
Ferrari all but the FF
370Z
Mclaren
Lotus
Mercedes SLS
Mercedes SL AMG
Mercedes SLK AMG
Audi R8
Anyway you get my idea 2 seat sports car
What is not:
Mustang
Camaro
GTR if you count the back seats
Aston's
Ferrari FF
M3
All 2+2's that can fit a humans in the back seats. Simple
I would bet there was never a Mustang used while developing the new C7 sorry nice car but not really a cross shopped option two different purposes..
http://www.motortrend.com/features/p...r/viewall.html
Direct Competition!
The ZR1 took down some $200K+ cars can the C7 take down an $125K car?
Last edited by johnglenntwo; Feb 8, 2013 at 08:32 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 12,375
Likes: 406
From: Florida
Disagree. Performance and value bogey, definitely. Competiton for the same buyer's wallet? Absolutely not. Porsche buyers will not buy a Corvette because its "low rent" and Vette buyers will not consider a Porsche because it's a "ripoff" and "eurocrap" to boot. Chevy has already tried the " let's attract the Porsche crowd" with the C6 and it did not work.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 5,139
Likes: 482
From: H-Town Texas
" We posed those questions to Juechter at GM's Milford Proving Ground in suburban Michigan. To make things interesting, we also brought presents: An Audi R8, a Nissan GT-R, and a BMW M3. These are the barbarians at the gate, the cars Corvette has to better; GM purchased an example of each during C7 development for benchmark purposes. The General provided Chevy's perennial rival, a Porsche 911 Carrera S, just purchased by GM and used for various-wind tunnel and engineering tests."
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,814
Likes: 414
From: Pittsburgh suburbs Pa.
So if the C7 is too expensive and you like the Mustang as a good performing car, that is your choice and we defend that. However, the Mustang is NOT competition to the Corvette. As you say, it's a poor mans performance car, but it is not one of the world's top performing sports cars. 
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,814
Likes: 414
From: Pittsburgh suburbs Pa.
With all due respect, I don't know why people insist that no other car maker makes a car that can compete with a Vette for the price. Please take a recent copy of Road & Track and turn to their "road test summary" page. Now please compare the Vette GS listed to the Mustang Boss 302 Leguna Seca. Notice how the Ford equals the Vette in straight-line acceleration and BEATS it in braking and cornering, including the slalom. Then please notice the as-tested price: Vette GS-$72,130. Boss 302-$47,990. So yes, other car makers DO make cars with more bang-for-the-buck than the Vette. Thank you.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 830
Likes: 198
From: Murfreesboro Tennessee
Couldn't agree more. The Europeans, and everyone else wish they could make a car like the C7, Z06 and ZR1 for that kind of money considering both Z06 and ZR1 are affordable Supercar Killers. C7 will probably dystroy a lot of Sports cars costing twice as much, on and off the track. Best bang for the buck and everyone knows it. And based on the C7's interior upgrades GM is now getting that part of the Corvette up to speed.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
Likes: 9,820
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
GM designers have their head in the clouds, instead of designing a car as it's own, they consistantly try adding parts of other cars or out right copying designs to make the look. I guess it takes less time to copy something then make it it's own! Hell, they only had 7 years! Yes, no matter what they will always be someone that doesn't like it - OK.The smarter of the 3 on Top Gear, said it best "GM, always gets close, but falls short at the end. It wouldn't take that much more effort to make the Corvette a true supercar, but history and GM have shown it won't happen."
It's the little things that could but won't be improved, but GM's attitude seems to be "take it or leave it."
I've seen threads wondering if GM is listen to the people on the forum that buy their cars, I don't think so, to many egos and Union BS @ GM.
I like the basic concept of the C7, but not the finished product, that isn't even finished yet. I surely WOULD NOT BUY THE BASE MODEL!
911s are in the running but put equal drivers in a 911 street car and in a C6 GS and you will have equal performance. Make the Vette a Z06 and the 911 gets left in the dust. I see it happen at track events all the time. I sit in those other cars riding as an instructor and know what the interiors are like. The so called supportive seats in a BMW M3 don't hold you in place any better than the Vette seats and their seat belts don't have a cinch feature. When I am going to be pulling Gs I prefer riding in a stock Vette over riding in a stock 3 or 5 series because the Vette's cinch feature adds extra support and I don't have to use the door handle as much. At the end of the day it makes a difference in how sore your arm muscles get.
As it stands the C7 has a bunch of things added that improved on the C6's already great track performance.
Maybe you should go to a track and see what happens Vs watching Top Gear which is a show about entertainment Vs truth.
Bill
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,788
Likes: 164
From: Beaverton OR
Torque!
Its the same old thing. If GM has the increasing torque manageable enough and the package all working well enough to get "The Best Drivers Car"! Then the extra $ would just be a Porsche buyers own dumb mistake for an under powered status symbol!!!!
Last edited by johnglenntwo; Feb 9, 2013 at 07:08 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 830
Likes: 198
From: Murfreesboro Tennessee
I haven't seen anything that indicates they have fallen short of building a pre-eminent sports car. The M3 is a good choice if you need a back seat but it can't run with the Vette. BMW interior is plain and isn't as nice as the C6 interior.
911s are in the running but put equal drivers in a 911 street car and in a C6 GS and you will have equal performance. Make the Vette a Z06 and the 911 gets left in the dust. I see it happen at track events all the time. I sit in those other cars riding as an instructor and know what the interiors are like. The so called supportive seats in a BMW M3 don't hold you in place any better than the Vette seats and their seat belts don't have a cinch feature. When I am going to be pulling Gs I prefer riding in a stock Vette over riding in a stock 3 or 5 series because the Vette's cinch feature adds extra support and I don't have to use the door handle as much. At the end of the day it makes a difference in how sore your arm muscles get.
As it stands the C7 has a bunch of things added that improved on the C6's already great track performance.
Maybe you should go to a track and see what happens Vs watching Top Gear which is a show about entertainment Vs truth.
Bill
911s are in the running but put equal drivers in a 911 street car and in a C6 GS and you will have equal performance. Make the Vette a Z06 and the 911 gets left in the dust. I see it happen at track events all the time. I sit in those other cars riding as an instructor and know what the interiors are like. The so called supportive seats in a BMW M3 don't hold you in place any better than the Vette seats and their seat belts don't have a cinch feature. When I am going to be pulling Gs I prefer riding in a stock Vette over riding in a stock 3 or 5 series because the Vette's cinch feature adds extra support and I don't have to use the door handle as much. At the end of the day it makes a difference in how sore your arm muscles get.
As it stands the C7 has a bunch of things added that improved on the C6's already great track performance.
Maybe you should go to a track and see what happens Vs watching Top Gear which is a show about entertainment Vs truth.
Bill
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 3,799
Likes: 0
From: GA (some days)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 6,714
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From: Providence RI
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,886
Likes: 1,255
From: Carmel CA
Assuming the C7 will have 3 layers of performance (std.Z51, ZO6, and ZR1) all three will out perform cars at a 2-3 multiple cost ratio. The Z51 will probably out perform cars up to the 150K range and the ZR1 will be right there with half a million on up. Realizing that the C6 ZR1 now holds Laguna Seca, VIR, and the fastest non winged production car around the Nordschliefe, what kind of heat do you think the competition is feeling now. The Corvettes right now have huge bragging rights. The Vette is being marketed somewhat like Porsche 911 in that there is a hierarchy in a single platform. But Corvette has leap frogged Porsche to compete with Ferrari and Lambo from a integrated design perspective. The side view of the C7 vs Ferrari F599 vs F12 in one of the other threads here is very revealing.
