68roadster

It seems to me as cars become more overtaken by computers and advancing tech the Corvette will also have to evolve quickly to compete. Could you really go from push rods to hybrid in the same generation? Electronics, drive train and everything else is rapidly advancing these days.

And as the cars become more complicated, will they still be on the road in 50 years? Who is going to be making all the replacement electronics, etc to restore a C7 barn find

sunsalem

A few years ago, Tadge (or some other GM mucky-yuck) mentioned this, and strongly hinted the time between Corvette generations will become much shorter.

That, of course, would be NO ONE...

Steven Beaver

You are a flat earther, no?

68roadster

Sure I am tough guy

stevebz06

All you have to do is look at the postings about problems on this forum. Just a WAG, but I bet 80% of the complaints are convenience/comfort electronic issues. Maybe in the future if you want to drive a classic 2015 Corvette you will strip everything electrical out of the car and rewire it for simple on/off systems.

mschuyler

Evolution is a different issue than breakage. Tadge said recently that designing the C7 was difficult because the technology was evolving so quickly that it changed as they were in the midst of designing it. The speculation from that was that these fast changes were leading to shorter generations. But he said this in the context of the C6 being "long in the tooth" primarily BECAUSE GM was emerging from bankruptcy and there was some question whether the Corvette would survive. In fact, it was ordered terminated, but a GM executive built the new Corvette anyway, thus shortening his career at GM while prolonging the Corvette's.

Long-term survival of a technology is a different issue. IMO people are excessively worried about their electronics, but the failure rate of electronics is well understood. Basically if it's going to break, it will do so in the first year or it won't break for a long time until its "End of life," which statistically for some percentage of units will not happen at all. The graph on failures starts out high, then rapidly tapers off with a year to next to nothing, where it stays. People caught in that first part of the graph leap to the conclusion that the electronics are very fallible since they just experienced it, so that's "proof" not realizing their colleagues without failures are in the first stages of experiencing no failures whatsoever. Thus extended warranties are sold. They are profit centers, not loss leaders. Whomever is selling them and shouldering the risk knows more about potential failures than the buyers.

So people restoring C7s in 2050 electronics wise will have an easy time of it just as I am quite sure the Apple ][ computer stored in my closet will boot up on its first try. A bigger problem will be finding and affording the gasoline to run the damn thing.

Chicago1

The c5 was 8 year run the c6 a 9 year run the c7 if ending in 2022 a 8 year run. Doesn't seem to me they gens are getting shorter..

JoesC5

Back in 1963 through 1967(50+ years ago), the second generation Corvette had a 5 year run.

Have any generations since then been shorter?

Chicago1

Not that I believe I would have to search

roadbike56

We need to stop with the "We always did it this way" stuff.
While it's possible, even probable the C7 will be marketed for 8 years, it will be the first generation to be marketed with another Corvette platform. So we can hardly say it's the same as the C5 or C6. It appears the C7 will be marketed for 6 years as a stand alone, then another two with the ME car. So we're on the threshold of a new dynamic.

vetteman41960

Is there something to be said for a shorter run of each generation?

Many consider the C2 to be the best Corvette design prior to the C7 and yet it gad the shortest life cycle of any generation of the Corvette by far.

I still of the mind set that the 67 427 with rally wheels and side pipes with the big block hood in the coupe to be the best looking Corvette of all time.

I would say this design would rank up there in the top 5 car designs ever in my opinion regardless of price or exclusivity.

BIG Dave

C1: 1953–1962 (10 Years)
C2: 1963–1967 (5 Years)
C3: 1968–1982 (15 Years)
C4: 1984–1996 (13 Years)
C5: 1997–2004 (8 Years)
C6: 2005–2013 (9 Years)
C7: 2014–present