Foosh

20% of 40K units is sufficient demand to keep it going. That's about the total number of cars (not SUVs) Porsche sells in the US annually.

dkb218

Who wants a Ford? They are ending production because no one is buying their products.

All reports I've heard is that C7 production will continue for a number of years in conjunction with C8 production.

Jmhornz71

Everything I have read leads me to believe the C7 will be around for a few more years along side the C8 possibly 2022 being the last year for C7, but If the C8 is not a seller look for Corvette to say front engine , just my thought there

bigsapper

Caddy.

flynbulldog

I might be ignorant about all of the Porsche models but aren' t most Porsches rear engined?

Palantirion

-Missing the point entirely.

Ford is stopping sales of CARS, except the Focus and Mustang. This is because pretty much everyone buys vehicles the EPA classifies as "trucks", because everyone actually wants to drive wagons. Just tall wagons. You might know them as SUVs, or SAVs, or SUV Coupes, or Crossovers. But they are all wagons - 4 doors with a rear liftgate. CARB compliance is much more lax on "trucks" than it is on "cars", and profit margins are higher.

So instead of investing a lot of $ on R&D for vehicles with fewer potential sales Ford will instead focus on volume sellers and thus have an capital advantage vs. other automakers that follow a tradition model lineup.

Foosh

Yep, "car" fans can spin this decision any way they want, but Ford is the smart one here. They know how to listen to what consumers want, and they will most likely be the most profitable American-based vehicle manufacturer as a result of this decision.

They'll keep their enthusiast market with a wide-range of Mustang models, and every so often develop a halo car like the Ford GT to show off their high performance acumen. It is a very smart business decision.

Dave80C3

However their trucks are best sellers. I went to buy an 17 GMC Crew Cab Denali. Lacking so many features it was unbelievable. Key-less entry = no, Push button Start = No, Massaging seats = No, Same small sunroof as 2001. The list goes on. Dealer thought he was doing a favor taking 2500 off and low balling my 2006 GMC trade.

Ford dealer, truck stickered 430 more than Denali. Had all the features the Denali did not, a huge panoramic moon roof. Gave me 5K more for my GMC truck and took 8K off the new truck.

So far its been a great truck, have 21k miles on it already and not an issue with it.

patentcad

Fake news.

fsvoboda

FWIW, my wife recently went pickup shopping for a work truck for her lab (the other end of the market, a very basic truck though with 4wd, skid plates and the like) and came to the same decision for Ford F150. They have pretty much been running Fords (well over 200K miles each) for as long as she has been there.

I tend to agree that Ford is making a smart decision (remember that Chrysler eliminated Dart and 200 for similar reasons). Also, they continue to build cars overseas and could bring them in quickly if the market changed radically.

Mayor111

Wouldn't you all agree that "what looks like a Corvette" statement is subjective to your age?

Let me explain...

Ill bet that my grandfather thinks that NOTHING looks like a Corvette except a C1...in the 1950's he was in his 30s and drooling over the C1s.

Ill bet my father thinks that NOTHING looks like a Corvette but a C3 - in the 1970s he was in his 30s and drooling over the C3s.

Now take me - I grew up in the 80s, so I LOVE the C4s, but think that the C5s are some of the sexiest Corvettes ever made...cause in the early 2000s I was in my 30s drooling over them...

And guess what? My son, who is now 20, is drooling over the C7 Im looking at, and begging me to buy it, cause "its the hottest Corvette I have ever seen"...

And Ill bet some 30 year old out there is drooling over the C8...cause he loves the "look of the new Corvette"...

So to me, the C8 doesn't look like a "Corvette"...but then again...which Corvette really "defines" what a Corvette looks like?

...See my point?

Thunder22

I worked in the automotive magazine industry for a long time. You can choose to trust me on this or not, it's your prerogative:

Magazine's are in the business of making money, and like weather forecasters, are never held accountable for articles that are right or wrong, especially when it's speculation.

You're incredibly naive if you think the burden of proof for refutation is on the reader. Incredibly naive.

/carry on

patentcad

They all do. GM has done a remarkable job of evolving the Corvette's design with a combination of evolutionary and revolutionary design steps. It's very subjective, but here's my take on it over 65 years:

C1 > C2 - revolutionary

C2 > C3 - revolutionary

C3 > C4 - revolutionary

C4 > C5 - evolutionary

C5 > C6 - evolutionary

C6 > C7 - revolutionary


Even when the design change was drastic the designers paid homage to past Corvette design one way or another, so across all the generations there is a design cohesion that I can see, and that unifies the car across the decades. No other car model has ever had a history like the Corvette.

Jmhornz71

Chevy is considering dropping some of their cars too just not all. I think they have already dropped the spark and the Impala may be on the chopping block from rumors at the dealer

KnightDriveTV

This couldn't be more wrong...

I know what your little magazine says, but GM and reality says otherwise.

Front engine will continue to be sold, along side the ME version. This is about creating MORE options, not less. Manual gearbox will be continued in the front engine car to maintain appeal with that platform. Trunk space for the guys who want a GT car, more exotic and performance for those who want a weekend terror to take to cars and coffee.

This is about expanding the brand, no constricting it.

Trust me, you'll see...what you have here is wrong.

KnightDriveTV

Ford has only the Mustang (which they want to race desperately, so don't ever count out a mid-engine MUSTANG either), GM has the Corvette and Camaro brand, both which are expanding. Corvette holds back Camaro, so it will introduce the ME to elevate Corvette even further. That doesn't mean that the base level front engine Corvette is going anywhere, it isn't.

Corvette will have a base Stingray, all the way up to a mid engine turbo supercar killer, all based around the same core frame architecture and CAD profiles. I've been repeating for 2 years now, Marry Barra laid this all out in an SAE conference...this is GM moving forward, from a design perspective. Make core engineering earn more money...modularity. The C8 mid engine IS the C7 core frame architecture...they share. The C8 front engine will do the same, and once released, C9 mid engine frame will begin development.

Camaro will then be free to push their own performance envelope to the limits without worry of treading on the Corvette brand, which will have the mid engine, high performance car to make quick work of even the baddest high hp Camaro with aero.

Ford and GM are both going after bandwidth...just like Porsche has. 24 models of 911 makes a 911 anyone wants and Porsche was going to add a mid-engine 911 to the mix, before Dieselgate hit...it was going to be the 960 (successor to the iconic 959). Corvette needs to increase its reach that's why it will have a front engine and a mid engine option.

Mister Big

When will the first "Problems with my A8 tranny" thread pop up on the C8 forum?

patentcad

There does seem to be a fair bit of evidence to support this theory.

One can only hope.

Allen_B

Have been quietly following this thread and all of its opinion, hyperbole and speculation. The discussion comes down to a couple of key ingredients- Business case and profitability. Personally, for me the "end of an era" is simply the beginning of another.

I grew up salivating over the older C2 models, the C3 was winding down and was skeptical with the C4 arrival but liked it. Couldn't buy one new for years and the 1st Corvette I actually owned was a C6 that I still think was a great balance styling and performance wise. I came to appreciate the C7 after the personal epiphany of connecting the styling connections between the C3 and C7, the interior improvements set me over the edge. The lines and styling were transformed over the years and I will admit, I was not a fan of the C7 initially but love the direct connections to the C3 and paid my hard earned cash for a new one based on the performance and connections to the heritage.

The choice of transmission (since this thread was somewhat started on that basis) was always driven by the market then as it will be in the future incarnations of the Corvette. Will the C8 be a mid-engine offering? Shaking the magic 8-ball all signs point to yes. Will it have a stick-shift? If there's a business case for it then yes but I suspect there's more profitability in streamlining the line to incorporate a DCT transmission because it makes far more sense from a reliability, performance and business perspective. Not being emotional about this, just objective. A single DCT transmission would be marginally more expensive initially but in the long run solve a lot of issues and complaints, bringing the platform into another league and in the end be FAR more cost effective. It also make the cost per unit more attractive since it eliminates the engineering, manufacturing and support after the sale overhead with supporting several transmission options.

Personally, I can't see two separate platforms surviving (FE and ME) with the Corvette moniker; it just doesn't make good business sense except for a 1st year C8 MY run and only to re-coupe part of the cost of investment. I could see the Corvette shifting to a ME "halo" offering and the FE chassis shifting to another moniker (yes, Cadillac) to accomplish two things- eliminate Camaro sales cannibalization and providing a cash cow as a GT offering (since all development costs are done) to expand the corporate portfolio. Again, back to the magic 8-ball and I'd lay wager to this within 5 years. The current C7 (latest Y-body) platform is bought and paid for, why not milk it under another badge?

Arguing about where the line will go here is entertaining but silly, it comes down to what makes the strongest business case and we're not privy to that info. I don't see a ME Corvette in my future, not because it won't be great but because it will likely price me out of the market for what I want. All of it comes down to cost/benefit and the marketeers of GM are feverishly running the numbers.

While they do, I will enjoy my C7 Z rag-top and likely keep it until they offer a convertible Cadillac version of the current chassis that is even more refined. But again, that is pure speculation...

Allen

dcbingaman

:agree:

Great thoughts, Allen - I couldn't agree more. I love my C7, but I have to say it reminds me more of the C2 than the C3.

The C7 chassis is really only 5 years old at this point. GM could easily retool it as a convertible hardtop and sell it as a GT - like the Ferrari Portofino but for less than 1/2 the cost. The C3 was produced for 14 years, and the C4 for 12. Whether it is badged as a Chevy or a Cadillac is just a detail.

I do think the Corvette will be replaced entirely with an ME sports car at some point - that has been a very long running objective since Zora Arkus-Duntov was Corvette CE, but I don't discount GM Bowling Green's capability to build two cars on one line, and a continuation of the C7 as a GT just makes too much sense.