Aviator

Sounds like the Tea Party

gthal

It isn't about "supporting" a car IMO. Many of the new C7 lovers who didn't "support" the brand before didn't love the C6 for various reasons (mine was the interior). What exactly is wrong with that? You buy what you like at the time you are making your purchase decision.

Having "supported" a car brand doesn't mean much in today's world... many car enthusiasts move between brands based on the car of the day and love and appreciate all cars in general. They are seeking an ownership experience that appeals to them at the time. They are looking for a car that speaks to them in some way. There is nothing wrong with that IMO. Can someone only be part of the club if they have been a Corvette owner of a previous generation? Is their enthusiasm for the C7 less relevant because they didn't have that same level of enthusiasm for an older generation?

Everyone should have an opinion... should I say everyone DOES have an opinion... and that's OK. Lots and lots of those who come from C6, C5, C4 backgrounds love the C7 based on what we see here (again, look at the non scientific polls which show, at a high level, overwhelming support even amongst traditional Corvette supports). Some people don't love the C7 too. I have said this many times before, it isn't having an opinion that is the problem it is that some people (not all for sure) won't allow discussions without turning them into a bash session (yes, that goes both ways). It feels to me like a last ditch effort by a few people to hold on to what WAS because what IS doesn't suit their personal preference. That's OK for sure (and the disappointment is understandable) but, at some point, those folks need to accept it or move on because the Corvette world isn't staying still for them whether it is liked by everyone or not.

So no one is asking the group of faithful, long time Corvette supporters who don't like the car to sit down and shut up but it would be nice for the group who really like the car to be able to discuss that without all of the negativity all of the time. That is exactly why threads get shut down... repetitive complaints about the same issue by the same people (a.k.a Torch2013C6 and a few others). It isn't censorship (well, maybe a bit but that is the right of the mods to do so) it is preventing dead horses from being beaten to a bloody pulp over and over and over by the same relatively small group when it adds no real value to the C7 forum... that is, it has been discussed already ad nauseam.

Also, I do believe there is a bit of pot stirring for the sake of having "online fun" by some on both sides of the debate

JoesC5

Every company knows the importance of brand loyalty. They know that it costs more to get a customer back once they lose them. GM, Ford and Chrysler wouldn't be playing catch up today if they had retained their base customers from yesterday.

I didn't like the 2005 C6 when it was initially released. I didn't care for the styling so I kept my C5. But, GM "restyled" the C6 for 2006 and called it a Z06. Then the C6 appealed to me and I paid top dollar(compared to the cost of the base C6) to buy a Z06. Even though GM retained the base C6 styling over the C6's life, they did restyle the C6. The success of the GS and the 427 Convertible supports my belief that if GM had not "restyled" the C6, the C7 would have never appeared.

GM could have offered the Z06 without "restyling" it. I most likely would not have purchased a Z06 if it was a base C6 with a big motor, etc.

Don't you believe for a second that GM won't "restyle" the C7 if sales don't support the car.

There are many examples of cars that were released with controversial styling and the manufacturer "restyled" the car to get it's sales back up to where they had been. Styling is not automatically locked in for the entire lifespan of a particular model.

sam90lx

Gthal, it gets old hearing the poor C6 guys cant afford the C7. It's a 55-65k car....almost anyone can afford it! Hell I've had trucks that cost more. Some on here want you to believe this is some rare high $$$ car no one can afford, Please! It's a Corvette...not a Posche or Ferrari! I guess not "being able to afford a C7" is the best some can come up with to justify some of the poor design features on a car they are salivating to purchase!

MikeyTX

Very true. I feel this is a car one has to sit in, get acclimated to and, drive. That is the reason I didn't go to TMS this weekend. I don't want to simply look at it. I can do that on any given weekend in a few months once they hit the dealers lots. I want to be able to sit in it ! Play touchy feely with the interior ............ Drive it !

papillion

You are right. When we get our C7 convertibl order is accepted for production we will have a sweet low miles C6 for sale.

Bill17601

The C6 prices will go way up around 2044 or 2045... Guaranteed.

MikeyTX

Just in time for my 100th

RocketGuy3

Heh, I thought you might reply to that post. I'm not saying who should or shouldn't have an opinion. I'm merely making an observation.

I'm also not hating on the C6 or its owners. I love what I know about and have experienced with the C6, even if I don't own one, but it's still notable to me where much of the negative feedback is coming from. A lot of the people who DO like the C7 also currently own a C6 or some previous gen Corvette as well, or they have before. So I know it's not a universal truth that C6 owners don't like the C7, and I know we shouldn't just dismiss all C6 owners' opinions (negative or positive).

Whether it's because current Vette owners have just fallen in love with their current car and don't believe it can be topped easily, or whether it's because they are in denial is another debate. But it's just something I've noticed and that I think makes it worth taking some of their criticisms with a grain of salt. Hell, it's not even something I claim to be free from myself. As a current gen IS owner, I don't doubt that my having an IS350 for so long me a bit more critical of the 3IS.

gthal

I agree with both of these statements. The issue is that you are presuming that the C7 won't be a success because of your personal feelings towards it. I don't believe that GM did anything to hurt brand loyalty for the Corvette other than a few who can't get past certain changes in the styling. Most C6 owners love the new style and I believe (although I could be wrong) that it is demonstrated on this forum. Also, those loyal to the brand today aren't enough to keep Corvette going into the future. You NEED to restyle and bring in other folks who will be "loyal to the brand" and that won't happen without forward progression. The current generation of loyal Corvette fans are aging and won't carry the car into the future... GM absolutely NEEDS a new generation of fans and that means making changes.

Likewise, I absolutely agree that there will be a mid cycle refresh on styling as this is common across all brands. However, look at the C6... it was a wide body restyle and not a complete departure. So, yes, they will do something like this for the C7 but, IMO, it won't be a complete restyling of the car but a freshening... maybe a wide body... tweaks here and there.

Don't forget, the C6 was a sales success and they still did the restyle... why? To keep it fresh over a long generation.

b4i4getit

GM can still make one fatal mistake. If they don't refresh the styling every year or two they stand the risk of making the design sit too long in the tooth. They did it with the C6. They could do it again.

Walt White Coupe

I sure hope you are right that my C6 goes up in value. So it will make moving to the C7 that much easier. I'm not counting on it.

C7 4 Me

Yes and yes. I'll gladly take Shawn's bet, and I'd like to make a wager for the cost of my new C7. If, in 12 months time, the price index on used C6's has gone up, I'll buy him a c7. If not, he can reimburse me for mine.

And yes, the majority of '**** and vinegar' on this forum seems to come from people with a c6 in their avatar - especially newer C6's. It's not hard to understand the sour grapes from those folks.

Bill17601

1944-2014... I wonder if the new Stingray is part of a milestone gift to me from me? Oh yeah.

sam90lx

And yet another Johnny come lately!

MikeyTX

The convertible will be my 70th b-day present to myself.

rcallen484

Not to derail the thread, but how does losing Corvette engine manufacturing effect the GM engine plant in St. Catharines, Ontario, if at all?

~Stingray

I want in on the bet as well. I wager the price of a new z51 package corvette. C6s will not increase in price. There are more lovers than haters of the new corvette.

Just like the issue with the flip headlights, we will see more and more acceptance from the haters as time moves on.

BuckyThreadkiller

I saw the same car you did Shawn -- Make me an offer on my '08 Atomic Orange with 35K

I'm not wild about the color combination shown at the Classic, but the C7 is a great looking car.

JoesC5

I don't believe anyone really expects the C6 to go up in value. That defies logic. There are way too many unsold 2013 C6's on the dealer's lots for that to happen. As those unsold C6's start to disappear from the dealer's lots, I suspect the C6's used car value to become stable just as the C5's value did after the C6 became commonplace.

The extreme discounting of the left over 2014 C6's is hurting the older used C6's values more than the new C7 is. Once that discounting is over, used C6 prices will stabilize and the C6 will hold it's value just as the C5 did.