yellowmnm

First of all, they are most likely to discontinue the C7 according to everything I have heard now! Yes there were rumors of that! It has changed by recent comments from Gm executives. my Guess is the base C8 will probably sell for $ 64,995 to $69,995.

tcweidner

ok, we will see, the plant set up says otherwise.

lt4obsesses

Somewhere there is video of Ruess talking about the ZR1, in it he states the car marks the end of a generation. But it was a very vague statement. Could it mean that C7 production stops and the mid engine car is the C8? Or does it simply mean that the ZR1 is the last new edition for the generation?

There is a solid argument for either scenario, the mid engine is the next generation, period, and it being a separate model and the FE continues alongside. It's really anybody's guess at this point. I personally have hard time believing that they are going to turn their back on the FE design that has served Corvette and enthusiasts so well for so many decades, and put all their eggs in the mid engine basket. While the mid engine design will allow for more advancement in terms of track performance, it will reduce much of daily driving and touring utility the FE design allows. (at least when thinking in terms of tradition ME cars). That's a tough call for the person that has to make that final call.

Zaro Tundov

Consider the business perspective: if they continue to sell the C7 alongside the C8, who is going to buy enough of each model to keep them profitable?

The Corvette brand depends on a cohort of loyal enthusiasts who buy ONE sample of every Corvette generation. If the C7 continues, then some of us will buy C8s but the rest will stick with the C7 since it's still technically current. Thus GM is assured lower C8 sales.

Does that sound like the sort of business case GM's bean counters would approve?

There will only be ONE Corvette, the C8 ME Corvette. C7 production will cease to make way for C8 production. Believe me.

tcweidner

From a business perspective it make sense for the c8 to be the new top of the line zr1 type option. I doubt it will even be called the c8, more like the corvette zora or zr2 or something along that line, and will be a low production car, while the c7 continues on.

I dont see anyway they can produce a mid engine supercar for less than 100k, No way. Corvettes are known for the reliability, thats why many Ferrari owners have corvettes. Corvettes are the dependable toy.
I think the ME car will be all about a high end option that will allow Chevy to keep the corvette name at the top of the american muscle car list. They have to do something to compete against Dodge,and the ME will allow that.
But hey I would love to see a ME reliable super car for 65k, but Im a realist, so Im not holding my breathe.

rsvette12

"There will only be ONE Corvette, the C8 ME Corvette. C7 production will cease to make way for C8 production. Believe me."

EXACTLY

Zaro Tundov

Corvettes are known for reliability? I love my Corvette but come on.

You're mistaken about the price. There is nothing inherently more expensive about a ME car and we've seen plenty of budget ME cars like the Fiero and MR2. The C8 may even be cheaper to manufacture since it doesn't require the hardware to transfer torque from one end of the chassis to the other. Affordability is part of what makes a Corvette a Corvette and GM will not give that up to chase after Ferrari and Lamborghini buyers. Usually those buyers don't know anything about cars anyways, they just buy 'em because they want a flashy high-status item to make them feel superior.

tcweidner

Yeah, they are WAY more reliable than other higher end cars, its not even close.

as for Feiros and MR2, they are basically go carts, Fiero was a piece of junk.

Again I hope you guys are right and somehow Chevy pulls it off and its a 65k car, I'll be sure to pick one up at that price, personally I'm thinking it may more likely be a super hyper car, perhaps like the Porsche 918 spyder, a wonder car everyone drools over but cant afford.

But I guess we will see soon enough

Zaro Tundov

tcweidner

how many exotic sports cars can be daily drivers like corvettes can be? have you had the privilege of owning Italian sports cars? yeah own a couple and see what high maintenance means

Zaro Tundov

By "high end" I'm thinking Lexus, Porsche, Infinity. Corvette doesn't hold a candle to them in terms of reliability, especially forced induction Corvette models.

tcweidner

Forced induction Vettes are 600+HP, they have nothing in common with touring cars like Lexus, Infinity, etc

Zaro Tundov

The Lexus RC is a performance car, very high quality and reliability. But if you want to compare Corvette to Porsche then that's fair. Porsche is far higher quality in materials and build, but it should be for the price. On reliability Porsche wins hands down. They would never validate a motor as unreliable as an LT4. Same goes for BMW.

tcweidner

BMW? now you're just pulling my leg.... BMW..... hahaha.... Those cars have caused more issues for me and the cars guys around me that we dont touch em anymore... BMW... good one.....
Porsches are Ok I guess if you like a car sounding like a lawnmower. or have a mil for the 918 spyder....me and my group differ on Porsches and one of the guys actually has one of the most sought after Porsches in the world in his collection... but anyway have a great day......

JerryU

No way would I consider a Camaro! We'll maybe I could replace my ProStreet Rod with a '67 that I would add a tubbed "real frame." And now GM has a larger NA engine than the 502/502 I bought for my '34 - that could work!

Just checked and they want $15,000 for an assembled 572 cid, 720 hp crate motor. And like I bought my ZZ502 can't even get that in ~30 boxes "you assemble yourself." They only come assembled. Only paid ~$5000 from GM for one in parts, 18 years ago!

No Camaro for my DD but an option would be a way overpriced Porsche. In SC we have a max $500 sales tax on cars but each year we pay a personal property tax. That Porsche for the first few years would be ~$2000/yr. That '67 Camaro would be "0" as they go by the black book value. So a $100,000 street rod over 25 years old has no personal property tax!

Zaro Tundov

You think Porsches sound like lawnmoweres just because they don't have burbling V8s with 50 year old valvetrain tech?

About BMW, you're right that they aren't as reliable as a Lexus, but compared to GM any of Germany's big three build more reliable cars. Really it's kind of hard to find any company other than FCA that makes more unreliable products than GM. I always dump my GM cars after the warranty expires because otherwise it's just a constant stream of money poured into a car that won't stay fixed.

tcweidner

Whos talking about GM cars, we are talking about one specific , their best and only GM car I would ever buy at this point. Corvette.. Style, performance, and yes reliability. Kicking *** for over 60 years for a reason.
so my next car will likely and hopefully be one of the following, c8 or Maserati Gran Turismo or Mercedes AMG GT, after that I'll likely retire and buy older cars since I can tinker with them and I wont have the finances to afford 100k on a car, still need to get me a black/Red C3 but that takes time to tinker to make sure its not a rattler, then who knows, maybe I'll just play VR games and buy cars in there

lt4obsesses

It's not really a matter of the two models competing with each other, all the money goes to the same household so to speak. Keep in mind also that a great number of parts and systems would be shared between the two, most likely. The mid engine car, as has been brought up, may not be the 'C8", but more like it's own edition with it's own timeline. Point is, that there is a viable business case for selling two different formats.

Zaro Tundov

I guess there's going to be a lot of shocked and surprised folks around here when the C8 and only the C8 rolls out of BGA, is named a "Corvette," and has an engine behind the cockpit.

Then all those who swore they would never buy a mid engine Corvette will go dark for a short while before coming back to tell us how wonderful their new C8s are and how they rule over the lesser front engine vehicle kingdom.

raylo

Yeah, due to economies of scale and being an "American" car no way the C8 will be just a limited run high priced halo car with GM continuing on the FE for the masses. I'll be sad to see the FE go but my mind will remain open to the ME C8 until we can see them IRL to evaluate people room, storage, etc. We already know the performance will be there.