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The abundance of pro-chrome response here kind of surprised me, but then it didn't as many finishes have come and gone over the years, however chrome has always been a popular choice when offered for fine vehicles.
Originally Posted by Foosh
Silver painted and polished aluminum have always been popular choices, but I'm not aware of many manufacturers still offering chrome.
That's correct.
Show me OEM chrome wheels on high-performance cars other than the C7. Don't show me "bling-mobiles" where owners have sent their OEM wheels to a chrome shop, or after-market chrome wheels.
That's my point, in that perhaps more high-performance car manufactures should still offer chrome wheels as opposed to just trying to jump on every "hot today, gone tomorrow" band wagon. This thread demonstrates (even though through a small sampling) there's still demand for chrome wheels on fine performance cars as does C7 wheel sales data.
It will be interesting to see how many manufacturers are still offering black wheels 5 years from now.
Love the machined faced wheels on my Grand Sport. However when I bought my "Jake" center caps I was lucky and got the correct ones that matched wheels! They come it both gray and black backgrounds and those offering for sale often don't make that clear or have both in stock!
Jake center caps come with Gray and Black background. The wheels are Gray so be sure to order the correct ones!
That's my point, in that perhaps more high-performance car manufactures should still offer chrome wheels as opposed to just trying to jump on every "hot today, gone tomorrow" band wagon. This thread demonstrates (even though through a small sampling) there's still demand for chrome wheels on fine performance cars as does C7 wheel sales data.
It will be interesting to see how many manufacturers are still offering black wheels 5 years from now.
Yes, it's popular in the Corvette demographic, but not really anywhere else, except possibly pick-up trucks, Buicks, and Cadillacs.
I agreed completely with only Corvette having a chrome wheel option untill one of my students in my History of Automobile Design class disagreed with me and asked me to look up the Bugatti Chiron, sure enough you can order that car with chrome wheels and that is quite a high performance car.
Yes, on a hand-built exotic, starting at $3,000,000 USD (actual Chiron price) with a total production run of 500 units worldwide, they'll give you pretty much whatever you want. There's no real OEM with regard to interior and exterior finishes as it's all custom.
If you wanted a diamond-studded instrument cluster, I'm sure you could get that too. Perhaps you should take that back to your students.
Chrome is not desired on any high performance car or super car on the planet, outside of the Corvette.
You might still see the occasional rare 911 with chrome wheels, but other than that, nope.
We may be mixing up what's desired and what's offered?
Perhaps the super car manufacturers are not that into offering what we want, but rather the arrogance of offering what they think should be.
Further, if chrome wheels weren't offered on C7s then I imagine we would just assume they weren't desired, however this thread clearly demonstrates they are.
Last edited by Kevin A Jones; Sep 24, 2017 at 02:13 PM.
Sometimes we get too hung up on what people want or what is offered, Data can back up any argument, I owned a total of 9 different Corvettes in this old lifetime, loved rally wheels, Aluminum Alloyes and believe me I love the black wheels on many different color Corvettes. Example: Black Wheels on Arctic White and Black on Black are outstanding! It is that this time I wanted what I never had on any of my Corvettes before and that's Chrome Wheels. Chevy makes so many optional wheels for us to chose, take your pick and enjoy your decision. No arguing here, in the big picture it's personal preference there are no right or wrong answers. Now I think I'll go to the garage and polish those chrome wheels😁
We may be mixing up what's desired and what's offered?
Perhaps the super car manufacturers are not that into offering what we want, but rather the arrogance of offering what they think should be.
Further, if chrome wheels weren't offered on C7s then I imagine we would just assume they weren't desired, however this thread clearly demonstrates they are.
If chrome wheels were desired within the supercar market, they would be offered more... I PROMISE you that. They aren't, so they aren't.
And actually, since most super cars are highly customizable, manufacturers such as Ferrari actually DO still offer a chrome wheel selection in some of their models. But you don't hardly ever see them, because few actually want them.
Is this really an important issue? It keeps coming up with the same old for and against statements. Buy what you like and others will buy what they like.
We may be mixing up what's desired and what's offered?
Perhaps the super car manufacturers are not that into offering what we want, but rather the arrogance of offering what they think should be.
Further, if chrome wheels weren't offered on C7s then I imagine we would just assume they weren't desired, however this thread clearly demonstrates they are.
I believe GM announced that chrome wheels were being discontinued on the Corvette at some point in the C6/C7 transition, citing decreasing demand. Of course, that announcement produced a grass-roots, revolution within the chrome-loving Corvette faithful, probably making demand appear greater than it would have been, and they kept plugging on with it.
There doesn't seem to be much, if any, significant demand for chrome on Corvette competitors or any other sporty car. If a sizable enough sample of their buyers wanted it, they would probably provide it.
Originally Posted by Glenmcp
Is this really an important issue? It keeps coming up with the same old for and against statements. Buy what you like and others will buy what they like.
Yes, it does keep coming up often, but fortunately this discussion has taken an interesting turn. I'm not dissing chrome, and I don't see anyone doing so either, but it is interesting from both historical and from current industry standpoints, what's offered and what's in demand. The fact that GM seems to have customers wanting chrome wheels on Corvettes, and others don't is interesting.
The next person who buys a vette with chrome wheels, please PM me. I was cleaning out my late grandfather's garage and have a half used can of Turtle Wax chrome fantastic and rust remover polish. Must be left over from his 1984 Grand Marquis. My gift to you, just pay for shipping.
The next person who buys a vette with chrome wheels, please PM me. I was cleaning out my late grandfather's garage and have a half used can of Turtle Wax chrome fantastic and rust remover polish. Must be left over from his 1984 Grand Marquis. My gift to you, just pay for shipping.
I could use that as I just finished my last drop of Dupont #7 Chrome polish.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
