feeder82

Stand alone sub brand, that's been tried, remember Hummer and Saturn, dont think GM will make that mistake again

Ernest

Pontiac FIERO .......... Didn't cost 120k LOL

jimmyb

Exactly. Porsche (the MOST profitable car company on the planet) offers two mid-engine cars at C7 prices. I'm confident that the Boxster/Cayman are money makers, with nowhere close to C7 sales levels.

JerriVette

I would prefer only rear mid engine corvettes to be the c8 yet I believe the corvette brand is finally being expanded and will include front and rear mid engine models as the c8.

Unfortunately that means the rear mid engine model will probably be on the higher cost models available.

I'll vot e in the poll what I would like to see,

juanvaldez

Tadge said the C8 Corvette won't be mid-engine. I'm guessin' whatever that mid-engine thing running around won't be a Corvette.

JerriVette

Corvette as a sub brand will expand as Porsche has. Watch as we eventually see a corvette cuv in the same vein as the Porsche Macan and by the time it releases we will see an electric jaguar I pace ev competitor tagged as a corvette.

Just my two cents...and of course an opinion.

KnightDriveTV

It's a very strong indicator that this will elevate above the ZR1, as the HALO Corvette model.

The C8, like the C7, C6, and C5, will start with the base, and a Z51 model...front engine cars, then work their way up. Porsche does the same...Carrera and GTS, then vert, then targa, then GT3, then GT3RS, etc. New models and new debuts spanning the life of the chassis to keep the car on magazine covers and on youtube videos.

Tadge didn't lie...the C8 won't be mid-engine...in the beginning. The market has to earn that car. If buyers buy, then they build better and upgraded models...they build what will sell.

sunsalem

All things considered, relying on Tadge's public statement isn't a sure bet.

juanvaldez

He is not above letting us jump to wrong conclusion.

sunsalem

Exactly.

FAUEE

The car that everyone assumes is the c8, is not a Corvette. It's probably a Caddy. It will.probably have some absurd name like the CTX5756XYZ.

The Corvette has been as midengine as the 911 RSR for 3 decades now. The engine sits behind the front axle and in front of the rear axle.

The C7 is too young to replace, it's investment isn't paid off yet.

GM is looking to attract more buyers, not scare them off, so making the Corvette have its engine in the back would be counter productive.

The midengine car will not sell great, despite getting rave reviews. It will be a dream car for people who can't afford it, and not be on the radar for those who can.

FAUEE

Engineering an all new platform is expensive. Especially one that is really all new, not sure tweaked from the previous 2-3 platforms like the C7 was. Porsche has sold those cars for decades now, on a very similar platform.

Bowling Green would have too much capacity to build a mid engine model that was the only Corvette. They'd lose enough sales from people that were diehards, people who wanted nostalgia, people who wanted interior space, people who did their own work, people who wanted a lower price, etc. That they couldn't maintain the volume of the c7, which means Bowling Green would be under utilized.

b4i4getit

Corvette cannot exist as a separate brand because they have to share a lot of their parts except for body panels with other corporate vehicles. Corvette is and always will be based on parts bin engineering. They can't afford to make custom powertrain components for it and that is why all the engines and transmissions have to find homes in other vehicles before they are approved. That is why we will never see a GM produced V-12 or other exotic powerplant designed exclusively for this car.

KnightDriveTV

You're a bit misdirected on how modular components are becoming. Look at the Ford/GM 10spd. Also, keep in mind, Cadillac ATS and Chevrolet Camaro are the same chassis. Corvette could operate as sub-brand. In business, there is no such thing as impossible. If it's been attempted and failed, it just hasn't been executed properly and with the right timing.

You don't know GM's internal figures, and don't know their internal challenges. All we can do is speculate, but if you look at the investor presentations and some pre-bankruptcy strategies that likely still exist in some form, it leans potentially towards Corvette as a brand. That's not to say its fact but it's able to be called possible.

I personally believe you could give incentive to the big Corvette movers to establish a portioned off showroom, separate entrance, different decor, to be allowed allocation of limited production, more elite upper tier models. Still allow the standard cars availability to the masses, and still allow maintenance to occur at all dealers. Fact is though, you can't expect customers to pay 150k and get a Chevy Bolt buying experience in a carpeted cubicle...

FAUEE

The real issue would be the people. Different showrooms is fine, but the experience is from the people, and a dealer couldn't have a set of staff for each showroom. It's far easier for them to leverage Caddy dealers to improve than to ask chevy dealers to do what you're saying.

Moreover, they'd need the lineup first. No dealer will pony up the money for this without tangible cars to sell. And not just 1 they can already sell and a new one that's a lot more money and they don't have clients for. They'd need an entry level car, a crossover, a 4 door, in addition to the standard corvette, and this mid engine car you believe in.

Furthermore, gm telling more dealers they can't sell corvettes unless they buy in to this sub brand model is a great way to kill their sales. Small dealers like mine that sell a good number of cars (and especially online) losing their ability to sell vettes would dramatically hurt sales. It'd be suicide for their sales to donthat.

KnightDriveTV

I can't ever grasp why everyone latches to this "all or nothing" interpretation. Business isnt about throwing a switch and changing your business model...you progress, make small shifts of the rudder, calculate your path.

What I'm saying is, you have dealers that move many Corvettes, some of which who already have dedicated showrooms. Incentivizing this practice would be a logical next step. There are many MASSIVE chevrolet dealers that can accomplish this. It also isn't about full staffing, it's about having a dedicated sales person or two. Aston Martin dealers I have been to have a very minimal approach.

Cadillac is an asset, and has proven itself a good partner to Corvette, as the Corvette has benefited with interior outfitting and cost sharing and Cadillac has benefited in the performance dept. The dealerships offer a better experience, not deniable either. Cadillacs overall perception is that of a luxury brand though, not a performance brand...yet...but they're working on it.

GM isn't going to put their first, real deal, Mid Engine car toes in the water over in the Cadillac gene pool. The only reason people feel this way is due to that early 2000's Cadillac concept, which was merely a way to deflect what that car was developed for, internally...to be a Corvette. Put a caddy badge on it, and the world is none the wiser...Bob Lutz confirmed this.

The mid-engine car, upcoming, will not be a Cadillac...but a future iteration of the ME car will be (think Gallardo>R8). Z06 then XLR, ZR1, then CTSV, Z06 C7 then CTS-V...that's how it goes and will continue to go.

In racing, Corvette has a long history in GT and the mid engine Ford, Ferrari and modified Porsche make it very obvious that Corvette is going to be mid engine in that class. Right now the DPi Cadillacs are the ME cars, but this is first year and they don't need a homologated chassis...Corvette does....both for GTLM/GTE and for GT3. If you release the ME car as a Cadillac you have nowhere to even race it, among all the venues where GM is invested. The Cadillac racing program can't even use the car. At best it can use it in Pirelli where it has the ATSV's, and this would likely be the path of the future ME car for them to be homologated as a GT3, but that program is tiny and very budgeted.

JerriVette

I am not convinced the c8 will follow tradition as it rolls out. I believe corvette team will launch a top of the line model to extract the most dollars from pent up consumer demand ...and then as that starts to wane....will offer future higher and lower models to scoop up remaining consumers who were on the fence..

Many brands run their marketing department this way quite successfully.

This is how I view the launch of the mid engine corvette all the while continuing to see the front mid engine update on the c7 platform.

Technically ..the c7 is a masterpiece..having take. The front mid engine platform as far as it can go from a performance perspective..

Again I believe as the camaro evolves it will become more of a Porsche 928 2 plus 2 model now that we are seeing corvette move to rear mid engine platform..

Just my opinion as I see the retro theme from the fifth gen camaro which was wildly popular fall flat in sales on the more evolved,lean and higher performing sixth gen..

Retro for the camaro was a tune played a little too long. Technically a fantastic vehicle, best in its market segment..without question ....just needs to evolve past the old pony car shape to lure in buyers into spending the coin..

I think the added price GM tacked onto the v8 model hurt sales as we'll..

Price upgrades that are too large hurts GM sales..

Consumers are maxed out...am done only the ultra weathy have
greater disposable incomes. I.e. High end Euro trash buyers..

The rest of us normal people with only a few million in net assets look at the price upgrades in cars these days Andy say enough is enough..

Unless the dam cars going to blow me..I'm not spending 6 figures or near six figures on a car..

roadbike56

Funny, I was just thinking the same thing. Will Corvette break from their tradition, introduce the base, then add the Z06, GS, ZR1 later at higher prices.
I think this time, the ME car may come in at a higher level, maybe the middle of the line or close to the top, then gradually lower the price as the demand slows and introduce a more basic model. The C7 may be the last edition to follow the mold that began with the C4.

sunsalem

IMO, the first ME will be a Cadillac and it will be "pricey."
Could very well turn out to be the case.

KnightDriveTV

I see you over in the road race forum, and it seems you follow weathertech. So, tell me this, since you're on the Cadillac wagon...

GM builds this ME, it's their biggest foot forward they've ever made. This car is, without question, going to be the highest performing/msrp car they've ever offered in mass production.

Where do they race it?

Option 1: To run in GTLM, you're talking the C7R stays in a "lesser" platform and they initiate an entirely different program. They homologate and entirely new car and compete against themselves

Option 2: Corvette Racing goes away

Option 3: They don't race the best car they've ever offered to the public

Option 4: They shuffle the best car they've ever offered over to Pirelli World Challenge, which is barely a step above grassroots

Option 5: ??

Cadillac is the DPi...it sets the stage for FUTURE interest in an ME Cadillac, just like the last gen Daytona prototype C6's set the stage for an ME Corvette.

I say there is NO WAY it's a Cadillac and it HAS to be a Corvette to serve the racing program, sway me your way......go