Here is what I do not understand when it comes to Corvettes. If you walk into a Porsche, Audi, Ferrari, Mercedes, Jaguar or BMW dealer and order a car configured exactly like you desire, you are never told that such and such option is on constraint. And most of these cars have far more options than does Corvette. You order the car, give them any required deposit and are given an approximate length of time that it will take to get the car. Of course with some of these cars you can only order if there is availability or if your name is on a list and your name comes up. I have owned 10 Vettes and when I have ordered, if something is on constraint I just tell the dealer that it's really no big deal, just order the car the way I want it and call me when it comes in. But with most folks on this forum, they want their car ASAP and are subject to one constraint after another.I feel that if Chevy can't supply it from the get-go, they should not offer it until they can. Especially if there is a long waiting list for a car, like the new Z06. If I was on a list and finally got the call to order, and say I wanted competition seats and was told they are on constraint, and my choices were to order standard seats or not order, I would not be too happy.

 

The Stingray is a mass production car on a much larger scale than anything you would order from the manufacturers in your list. A large majority of parts on constraint are carbon fiber based and it's not like a long line of suppliers are popping the parts out. Then you get into the Z51 which has extra cooling and the eLSD. The suppliers also have to weigh the current demand vs the 10-15k cars that will be sold per year down the road. Is it really wise for them to invest to heavily in specialized manufacturing processes that support a single car?

 

There could be dozens or reasons for a constraint.... Equipment that make the part breaks down, Raw materials not available, part doesn't meet quality standards, supplier cant keep up with demand, ect...

I guarantee you constraints happen at all assembly plants, you just don't hear about them...

I worked at an assembly plant that produced over 300,000 cars a year, believe me there were plenty of constraints.... The Just in Time supply system can cause cause all kinds delays... Imagine a truck flipping over on the Interstate with a load of painted tops....

 

And others do it too....I personally remember the carbon fiber roofs being on constraint for the 08 M3’s for months.

 

what makes you think it doesn't happen with other makes? it does.

 

Daytona Sunrise Orange paint has been on constraint, since the 2015's have been available for order Makes no sense to offer something that's not available.

 

its "late availability". most/all manufacturers offer options with "late availability" - i.e., not available at the start of the production run.

 

DSOM has been at 5% for the past 2 or 3 weeks. It is available, but it is limited. My car is a 2015 Z51 3LT DSOM convertible with mag ride. My order is at 3000 with a TPW of 10/6.

 

All vehicle manufacturers have constraints. Porsche owners wait typically 120 days to receive their car. I'd say that part constraint timing is simply built in to their estimate. I did a quick search and found the following on a Porsche forum....sounded eerily familiar.

I suspect that some of the higher end marques elect not to tell you up front that you can't place an order or that your order will be held up. It is easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

 

Those are the people who should go to a dealer and buy a car that's already in stock. If their dealer doesn't a have the car optioned out the way they want, he can usually find it in another dealer's inventory - or something pretty close.

 

That's what I did with Kerbeck in February. I found exactly what I wanted on their website. It was going in the wrong direction from KY to NJ. I arranged my own enclosed shipping for $1,600 and had the car in 10 days.

 

The only reason for constraints or a shortage of parts, is because the people in charge did not find suitable venders that can produce what ever is needed at any volume that is needed. It's that simple. Any vender in any market should have the ability to ramp up production to meet the demand. If they can't, then they are small potatoes and should not have taken on the contract. We are talking about the same constraints that we had for the 2014 production year. You would think they would of learned something by now.

 

GM is no longer vertically integrated they shop the best buy and quality of parts they can often a small company is chosen, as one person pointed out why hire and gear up if the run is only short lived.
z51vett
Doug

 

 

This just shows a lack of understanding I think. You can't produce a relatively affordable performance sports car if you don't highly optimize the production process. Some people seem to think it is just a matter of saying make more of this part and that part as needed. That is ludicrous if you have ever built something like this before.

Here is how production decisions are made. The overall pace of the line is set based on the expected demand, infrastructure they have in place and tooling that they have or have to buy. Even if demand would absorb another 10k cars in year one and two you might not size it bigger as your overhead cost to expand the line might make that not worth it. This is about maximizing profits after all.

You then have your unique parts suppliers that are on constraint. Take carbon fiber dash for example. I would guess the conversation was basically that their infrastructure allows them to produce x parts in a year for y cost. If you want x parts to be go higher than that then we have to buy more equipment or run another shift and you as Chevy either have to agree to buy more parts for a longer period of time or pay cost y plus the cost of the expansion divided by the number of parts you are contracting for. Thus the price of the car would up in many cases.

The whole thing is a balancing act between customer demands for features and a drive to maintain profit margins and keep cost low.

Sure if Chevy wanted a carbon fiber dash option to be say $6,000 instead of $1000 they could operate as you suggest. That isn't what this is though.

 

How many vendors are available that can make something like the carbon fiber components? Plasan is about the only one right now that can do it at scale which took a significant investment. Do you really expect a vendor like that to plan for 2-3 times normal production just to satisfy customer order constraints?

 

I stopped by my dealer today because I am the list for a Z06, have purchased from them before and know and deal with the GM. He told me I am 4th on the list so i would be hearing from him very soon. HOWEVER, when it is my time to order, if I want something that is on constraint, I will loose my slot and will have to be moved to the back of the waiting list. Thsi is what does not make sense to me. I should have been told that the order will go in and the car will be built to my specifications as soon as everything is off of constraint. I may have to wait months, but that would be fine with me. Going to the back of a listthat I have been on for a year...forget about it.

 

yeah, that seems like a very poor business practice. Most dealers will skip you if they have to, but keep you at the front of the line until the constraint is lifted and they can order you car

 

I think its funny how the CF dash was on constraint but I was able to order it from the parts department at Chevy and it arrived the next day.

 

Yes, that's wrong. The GM order system even leaves you at the top of the list if it skips your order due to a constraint so that the next time it has priority. The dealer would have to go out of their way to do any other way.