SlickShoes

I keep seeing the same recurring commentary regarding one, and only one negative reaction to the possibility of an entry-level Vette.... and I've only read the first page.

"Don't drag down my image, don't cheapen my prestige, don't associate me with something lesser".

Newsflash: As a Corvette owner, you are not in an exclusive club. The cars MSRP at the same price point as a Duramax Chevy or Cummins Ram- which are everywhere. You can continue to buy the cool car you love, the Corvette, in any performance bracket you so choose as your budget allows.

I really don't get it. Buy your car, love and be happy with your car, enjoy it for the amazing value, gorgeous rolling sculpture, and performance juggernaut that it is, and live your life. Why so many Corvette owners here feel the need to express some sort of superiority through a car as common (news flash number two: they've made nearly two million of them) as a Corvette is lost on me.

You are not your car. Your social value is not determined by your Corvette. Who cares if somebody else has a lesser performing, lower cost model than yours. Enjoy this once-in-a-generation horsepower war and muscle heyday we're having and soak up all the variants.



But hey, polarizing threads like this are good for true color composition. It distinguishes the true car guys and real enthusiasts from the posers and braggarts. Cest la vie.

lt4obsesses

Hard to say what's going on in the press room at MT, but they're throwing out some pretty wild stuff this week.

No, I agree that an "economy" Corvette would be a bad idea. I was half joking with the "Corvair" idea, though I'm not sure if the Solstice platform would be the one for it. It could be a cool little car, but probably not a big market mover.

What I think would be a good move for GM is to do clean sheet redesign on the Camaro. Shrink it and restyle it so it doesn't look so much like an armoured car. Make it a sports car again, perhaps with some Corvette influence. Then perhaps add a two door to the SS line up. This might fill those market voids that GM is looking for.

Kratos-TM

You have a point. But we are a superficial society. That's what drives American businesses to become so wealthy. A post like yours will fall upon deaf ears.

meadowz06

I agree with you EXCEPT for the fact that you say we are not in a exclusive club. We are most certainly in a exclusive club. Just like I would say people who own Harley Davidson's are in a exclusive club. Just because GM has made a ton of Corvette's does not lessen the brotherhood and fact that we own an ICONIC car! That is why, as Corvette owners, most of us feel like we are one big family. Why would we have Corvette gatherings and events if we thought otherwise?

jimmyb

Hmmm....I sold my 2008 Corvette 2.5 years ago and started my business (toys and new business don't make much sense).
Since that dark day when the car left, my wife barely speaks to me, my dog doesn't mind me, long time friends don't return calls, and I now suffer the heartbreak of psoriasis. And I went bald.

Seriously, I agree with your post. And, I stand by my thought that Motor Trend is making up stuff to sell magazines.

Jimmy

BWF07

Actually I didn't say the FRC was a failure, what I said, is that the intent was to made it a low cost entry level Corvette. That is the part that did not work out as it was only about $400 less then the base coupe.

Walt White Coupe

Finally a post that makes some sense. Why people wouldn't want more choices just dumbfounds me.

SlickShoes

And I agree with you regarding camaraderie and familial ties. But that does not define exclusivity. The Jeep brotherhood is much more substantial, and deeper rooted than the Corvette brotherhood. I would go so far as to say the Subaru brotherhood is nearly as tight-knit, if not more so. I am/have been a member of both for a number of years.

Neither our cars, nor those cars, are exclusive automobiles, and at the risk of coming off as if I'm presuming to insult your intelligence (I absolutely am not), you may be cloudy on the definition of the word if you feel owning a Corvette affords the moniker.

RockIT9

WaxWeekly

I'm sure all the ZR1 owners are out there saying the same thing. "Why doesn't my ZR1 look MORE Exclusive than the half price base coupe that they market to the rest of the losers?"

My only hope is that IF they make it, it has those older "RV style" round tail lights. It will be nice to spot those easier than the real versions. If it does look nice, well then maybe it'll be a good first car for my son in a few years.

/sarcasm off

hklvette

This. If GM wants a smaller, cheaper sports/ GT car, they aready had it with the Kappa. I'd trade my C5 for a Z0K with 5.3 in a heartbeat!

Now, as for the "if you can't afford a Corvette, get a Camaro" comments...

MikeyTX

Don't forget the back seats ..........

ST Graveyard

This is true. The cayman actually is a superior car compared to the 911. Porsche keeps the horses lower deliberately, it is all calculated.

I love the idea of a cheaper Vette, as long as it is a good car!

Oh, and btw, the boxster/cayman compared to the 911 is not the same as the camaro compated to the vette. The porsche cars are all sports cars, the Camaro is a muscle car. So I love this idea of another type of Vette. Hope it also has some different looks ...

ST Graveyard

Agreed, what a retarded remark ... different types of cars, apples and oranges. People who can't afford a Vette probably go for a nissan or a toyota or whatever = less customers for GM...

WaxWeekly

Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky were directly aimed at taking on the Maxda MX5 and other lower cost 2 seaters. Just as Chevy has created the SS as a G8 replacement, it's no surprise that they want to make something to fit into other market segment gaps. If they have a cross between the C7 Stingray and the Sky, it might make a really nice little car for many people that wouldn't have considered a Chevy.

MikeyTX

Your dog thinks your leg is a tree?

ST Graveyard

If the build quality will be the same as the new Stingray, they'll have a winner. It will be a leap forward for the Corvette name. The 2 mentioned cars above were pretty bad. I think most sportscar fans would probably pic an MX5 over a Solstice
I was thinking more in the lines of a RX8 or a Nissan Z or Porsche Boxster ...

Never-Enough

lt4obsesses

I just don't see it happening, but in my own personal interest I would support it. I'm just a poor working stiff from the wrong side of the tracks, so buying a new C7 isn't going to happen. In fact, it may be a few years, who knows. But I would be perfectly happy with a 400hp, entry level car, if it had the same look. But hey, my current Vette is a C4, so really I could care less what anyone else thinks. I have come to the understanding that my self-worth has nothing to do with my net-worth.

Aaron Keating

I'd be all for a lower cost entry vette. If Porsche can make SUVs and still not be lampooned eternally for it, Vette can make a lower cost version of itself.

A Corvette is still a Corvette, all of them are a joy to drive and own. They are each magical cars, that transform even a daily drive to work into a smile inducing experience. Putting a hopped up 5.3 Litre on board and changing some other things to get the costs down won't change that.

To the guys that say "it will cheapen the experience for me!'' how so? Will you enjoy your Corvette less some how, knowing that someone else just got their dream car?

How on Earth do you handle the fact that there is a huge used car market out there for Corvettes, past and present which offer much much lower prices of entry than buying one off the showroom floor?

I for one would welcome the new version of the car with open arms (assuming the rag in question isn't hopped up on creativity enhancing substances), as it would be a spiritual successor to the F Body, in a real sense of the word. I can't look at the Fatmaro and think "this is a Camaro" all I can think is, it's a fat overweight car thinking it's reliving glory days which never happened in the first place. It's not attractive in the least to look at, it's heinous as a daily driver due to the poor visibility. The F cars I grew up with were Corvette chasers. Gm decided at some point this was a bad idea and kaiboshed the true F car.

I'd love to see the Vette have an 'entry model'' also because it would give us a 2 door coupe, with RWD at a theoretically affordable price. As long as it puts out good respectable performance numbers, doesn't make me think I'm sitting in a 30 or 40k Cavalier, and is styled aggressively and modernly I'm all for it. Hell it doesn't even need a V8 imo. Even a turbo charged version of the 3.5 V6 would be enough for me.