meyerweb

The big dealers, like Criswell, have a lot full of unsold C7s. They wouldn't be doing this if people weren't buying them off the lot.

While I'm sure it's true that a much higher percentage of Corvette's are custom ordered than other cars, these are still impulse purchases for a lot of people. The ability to see the car, test drive it, and take it home is a big selling point for the typical car buyer. I remember when car dealers had a few specific "demonstrators" you could test drive. Not any more. They put you in the car that's closest to what you want, and don't let you leave the lot until they've done everything in their power to get you to buy.

Finish the build-your-own process, and the second link the site presents is "Check inventory". The first is "get a quote," which gives your contact info to local dealers. Zymurgy is right. It's a sales tool to get you to your local dealer(s), not an ordering tool.

BigJoe

In my case I've had 8 Corvettes and only the 1st one was ordered (my 1970 because it was a small dealer that never kept Corvettes in stock). All the others were off the dealer's lot. I look for 2-3 must have options and can live with a few other options I wouldn't necessarily have ordered. The exposed CF roof on my C7 for example.
There is a lot to be said about seeing a car for the first time and having it in your garage 4 hours later...

bworden

I think custom-build vs. buy-off-the-lot is an entirely separate question. It has nothing to do with the Corvette build website. That is such a H-U-G-E sales tool for GM, why in the world would they not want to get that updated and out there A-S-A-P?

Whether buying off the lot or custom-ordering, I'm sure there are thousands of people who use that site. Whether purchasers or dreamers, again doesn't matter. I've been a "dreamer" on that site for a few years now. Finally pulled the trigger and custom-ordered a '16 Z06 a few weeks ago. GM has nothing to lose and everything to gain by putting up the 2016 corvette site as soon as all their options/details/etc are nailed down, which they now are.

Come on GM - get it up (the site that is)!

laborsmith

I do not know any reason for the time lag, and frankly, I would be surprised if anyone knows, especially the honchos whose offices are on Jefferson Ave.

I admit it: I am a cynic.

Laborsmith

rcooper

If, like at the business I work at, the IT guys are drinking to much Kool Aid and not spending enough time at the keyboard it is a wonder it ever gets up. Pun intended.
The guys here have a myriad of excuses for not getting the job done. Don't have all the info, internet is too slow, server is down, WiFi is off....and on and on. It's like they won't finish a job because they are afraid that they won't have a job if they get one finished.

laborsmith

Um, Chevy does Build Your Own sites for each of their car lines every model year. The sites become accessible after enough units have been released to dispatch so every dealer has one or more. A couple of times they are active before than for a very short period of before taken down.

This has been true since the idea first became reality and it works this way because its purpose is to direct prospective buyers to dealers who have inventory at hand. I am sure a moment of thought is given to possible retail sold buyers. A moment, if that, and nothing more.

Laborsmith

meyerweb

Because it a sales tool designed to send traffic to Chevy dealers, and right now Chevy dealers are still trying to get rid of their last 2015s. Go through the site, and notice how it keeps offering to show you local inventory or put you in touch with a local dealer.

I'm pretty sure the site is complete and ready to go, and will become public as soon as GM wants it to. e.g., when there are plenty of 2016s on dealer lots.

BACKNBLACK2016

I'm surprised Chevrolet hasn't put the build your own Stingray site up sooner. I always build and order my cars, have for years. I'm looking forward to checking out the appearance of the new wheels and ultimately deciding on my color scheme.

tunaman

I'm sure laborsmith and meyerweb have it right... That is the only explanation that makes sense. Sucks for those early adopters, since we can't visualize the finished product and have to place the orders on a leap of faith, but it is what it is.

docprego

It was definitely disappointing not to have this or pricing months ago when I ordered. But looking at it from this side of the fence, I'm glad I'm waiting for my car to arrive this week instead of for a web site to.

scrmeagle

Crazy.......but mine is about to be built 8/17. Dying here waiting.

alanancy

I feel your pain! I'm also at 8/17.

alamo1974

And it's still up as of today.

meyerweb

I'm beginning to doubt my explanation. Dealers now have 2016s in stock, and still no updated site from Chevy.

Patman

The build your own portion of the Canadian Chevrolet website is pretty much useless for Corvette buyers because we have such few allocations that some dealers probably won't be able to order any more Corvettes until the 2017 model year now. We only get 1500 up here per year, so a lot of dealers only end up with 1 or 2 cars per year. So by the time they actually get the 2016 version of build your own up, most dealers won't be able to order one for you. It's ridiculous!

Garyrw1

Can't wait to build my own on the Chevy website once it's already sitting in my driveway in 3 weeks!

Duntov7

Well.....you can always visit that store in Richmond Hill that likely has over a 100 allocation of C7s.

Patman

That's what I would do if I were ordering a C7, since I'm only 45 minutes away from Wilson Niblett, however this isn't an option for someone that lives in some of the other provinces which don't have any high volume Corvette dealers.

And I'm not so sure that WN even has an allocation of 100 Corvettes per year. If only 1500 in total are allowed for Canada it seems unlikely that any one single dealer would be allowed that large of a number.

Duntov7

Ask them......

Dave@Ciocca

Traditionally, the "model year" used to start on October first. Brochures would hit the show room in September a few weeks before launch.

Corvette has a different timeline than many other models maybe because the car is really geared towards summer in many parts of the country. However, the marketing plans for GM remain the same.

I expect to see the BYO site up by either the end of this month or the beginning of September and I would expect to see the brochures in September. It's usually the same every year, but the last few years have been off of that schedule because of the C7 launch in 2014 and then the 2 month extension of the 2014 build made the 2015 schedule off a bit. I would think we are now into a rhythm until the C8 launches.

Dave