SSsedanM6

They are not only on order,
they have a deadline to be fulfilled.

Post count and join date used to mean something 20 years ago. Not so much anymore.
Our "new" friend ZERV is a prime example.

I look forward to my vindication ,and a few well deserved apologies.

NY09C6

He actually posted something other than "trust me".

Boiler_81

In 35 years working for an auto supplier I have never received an order for parts which are a year + out. As I said, tooling money may be committed for a projected volume. No OEM is going to place a hard order for any part at those volumes this far in advance.

PurpleLion

Hopefully, it is not that far in advance. I am rooting for a January 18 announcement with deliveries starting late summer / early fall!

elegant

Sorry, but you are ahead one year on your hope. The ME reveal will be Jan. 13, 2019.

SSsedanM6

I hope I don't regret posting this, but the fulfillment deadline is 4 months from now.
Like I said in my original post, take it or leave it. It's true regardless,

JerriVette

That ll be awesome and just another reason I will definitely have to own the long awaited mid rear engine corvette ...

It's been forty years at least since we saw the first rear mid engine corvette concept car....I think it was around 1971 or 1972 as far as I can remember drooling g over the magazine corvette showing us what was coming..

Havi g a dct transmission is yet another dream to come true..

I really wanted my next sports car after forty years of driving manual sports cars to try the ownership experience of a dct..

Thanks for the heads up and if it ends up not happening...that's ok too...

Btw the c8 rear mid engine will be five grand more than the base c7 tops...

Which I think is 55 grand....get ready for a few dollars more and maybe a five grand uptick tops...for the same engine transmission comparisons...

This new rear mid engine corvette is going to rape Porsche....lol (kidding )

If I remember correctly Porsche charges 4 grand extra for the dct PDk over the manual version...and they sell very few boxsters or caymans....with its turbo 4 cylinder motor...

jimmyb

"Fulfillment" as in "GM receiving transmissions"?

ByByBMW

While the Boxster and Cayman combined sell less than other Porsche models, their year to date and monthlies aren't terrible. Actually, pretty much as expected.
http://press.porsche.com/news/release.php?id=1054
Their small SUV, the Macan, outsells all other models.

Boiler_81

GM along with every other OEM in the world is a Just In Time manufacturing operation. There is no place to store 30K+ transmissions.

If the car is a 20 MY, first tools are done for produce prototype parts. Final production tools for volume are still not done. The supplier and GM will not produce final hard tools until the last minute due to potential design changes which may come to light by issues found during the testing of prototype vehicles.

It is possible your source had the terminology confused. GM corporate purchasing negotiates the pricing and terms with suppliers. The terms will state an annual volume target. Corporate purchasing will also release the tooling purchase orders.

The manufacturing operations release an order against the negotiated purchase agreement. Suppliers will produce to the release and deliver to the assembly plant to meet the run rate at the plant.

RonnieC6Z

I agree with the "take it or leave it". I will leave it. You are talking about a new model that will not hit the streets for another 18-20- months at the earliest, and you know for sure because you have it on good word from a completely reliable individual, but you cannot reveal who this individual is. I have seen stories just like this for as long as i can remember, and they all turn out to be B.S. Maybe Chevy, for the C8, will only offer a DCT, or maybe both a DCT an a manual. I can't say, and odds are, the same goes for any of us on this forum. If the main competition for Corvette remains Porsches and high end Mustangs, logically, a manual will be offered in the C8 because competition continues to offer manuals. In fact, Porsche is offering manuals in more 911's than they were just 2 years ago, and will continue to offer them in the Boxster and Cayman. For those who think Chevy is targeting Ferrari, Lambo,& McLaren buyers with the C8, they need to do some re-thinking. The bottom line is just wait and see.

vetteb_96C

This forum always beats up anyone who comes here with new or inside information. If it's not what they want to hear it can't be true or they put down the person who chooses to share what they know. It's pathetic.

I could spill lots of info but it's not worth the ridicule, flaming and arguments that ensue.

NY09C6

Code name Zerv is not getting beat up. There is a difference between the two posters.

NoOne

You place orders for a full term. It does not mean you are taking delivery.

The supplier has to tool up for that many units. All their suppliers have to be able to source the parts and deliver them, etc.

Conditional orders like this are placed all the time early in the timeline. They are placed for planning. If a Tier 3 currently supplies 500K parts and now needs to supply 1M but only has capacity for 500K the machines, people, training, tooling, testing, etc. doesn't happen over night.

Once that is done you have to go through quality on top of it.

Nobody is going to go spend millions, if not 10's of millions of dollars to tool up for higher production without a contract for X amount of orders.

So regardless if this is true or not that is how it works.

Suns_PSD

It's an interesting post, and I don't doubt it.

I know these modern automatic transmissions are flat faster, but I don't feel in touch with my car driving them. For me it's between a C8 and a Porsche Cayman, and if there is no manual transmission available in a C8, I would buy the Cayman.

That said just because they ordered 30K automatic transmissions does not mean they are not going to order 5K manuals as well.

Champ203

Thought I read rumors of potentially two platforms being revealed - ME Corvette and ME Caddilac - might need 30,000+ units....

Peace,
Don

LightningBolt

If the ME is offered as automatic only, I for one will not be buying one.

I realize the DCT can outperform a manual, but for me a manual is just more *fun* to drive.
Right now, there are more rumors flying around about the C8 than ending predictions for Game of Thrones. 2019 will put an end to rumors for both!

PurpleLion

I have driven the original BMW SMG, a Ferrari California DCT, a few paddle shift automatics and countless manual gearboxes. I can certainly understand the desire to continue to interact with the car using a manual transmission. The automatic transmission paddle shifters that I have tried have been terrible mostly, I guess, due to their lack of immediacy. The SMG was terrible for normal driving. The California was great, mostly like a manual except that it shifts faster than a person can. Less involving? Probably, but if you are worried about lap times, it is a define advantage. However, I must admit that I have not had enough seat time in a DCT to really know what it would be like at a track.

Regardless, a modern DCT can both function as a manual and an automatic, therefore obviating the need to provide two different transmissions. Furthermore, most sales are automatics. So, I am sure, a DCT would seem to be the perfect solution for a manufacturer. Especially for a manufacturer that is designing a mid engine sports car, given that the packaging requirements for the engine, transmission and differential are so tight.

Boiler_81

Sure, GM has all of the suppliers lined up and sourced. Part of the PO is the projected annual volume and program life. This is not an parts order per say but is a purchase agreement with obligations for each party.

I've been on the receiving end as a supplier for many OEMs as an engineer and a Program Manager. Though I have not worked on a GM program since the late 80s. I know how the system works at other OEMS and it's a pretty standard process across the industry. As with any project, you need to work back from the start of production to derive hard dates for tooling and subsupplier kick offs.

The OP stated there is a delivery target of 30K+ units in the next four months. No way that is happening. There is a huge difference in cutting a PO to kick off a supplier to support a 30k+ annual volume and taking delivery of 30k+ units in the next four months.

NoOne

I did not see the part where he said delivery within 4 months. If he did say that, as you said, way off base.

We have a few Tier 2 and Tier 3's as customers but I haven't ask around much.

If it has a DCT, great, if it doesn't its not like I'm going to go out and get a 911 instead.