stepheng

Sorry, bit of a mistype there, I tried a C7 coupe and hated the noise with the roof off (way more than the C7 Z06 vert I ended up). The rear glass was not down of course.

stepheng

Agreed! Plus if you have to put the top in the "frunk" space then it basically means I and my wife cannot head up to the Rocky Mountains with the roof down for a weekend away (assuming we can get grandma to look after the children). Needs to have a button to remove the roof without losing storage space for an overnight bag or two (or just groceries which I sometimes get with the roof down)

VETTE-NV

So if the car will have a targa roof, where will it be stored? It seems that it would be too wide to store in the front.....perhaps a slot behind the engine in which to drop it?

Although it still works (sort of) on the FE C7, the whole concept of lifting off a roof and storing it somewhere in the car seems a bit dated IMHO. Something retractable seems to make more sense from a design and convenience stand point on a modern car.

VETTE-NV

Bingo. I've had my C7 coupe for over year. The top has never been off. My last C6 was a convertible....the top was rarely up. Big difference.

A targa is not a convertible. I bought a coupe this time because I love the roof line of the C7, but I do miss having the convenience of dropping the top with the touch of a button. If they do offer a convertible version of the ME, I'd probably go for that. But unlike Joe, I don't have a bald head to scorch.

JoesC5

With the average age of the C7 buyer being in his low 60's, I bet there are quite a few of them with a bald spot on top.

JoesC5

Wouldn't a retractable hard top have to have compartment to store it in when it is lowered(just like the present soft top has a compartment). That's why the C7 coupe has 15 cubic feet of cargo space and the convertible only has 10 cubic feet of cargo space .

But I do agree with you, that storage space with a mid engine Corvette will be at a premium and it will be worse with either a soft top or a retractable hard top.

On my new 1998 C5, once the targa top was installed during assembly at Bowling Green, it was never removed during my 10.5 years of ownership. When I traded it in for my 09 C6 Z06, I was glad that the magnesium roof frame was bolted solidly to the windshield frame with 4 bolts and to the B pillar roll bar with 6 bolts, making the car very tight.

I have noticed that when we go on our long distance road trips(where cargo space is at a premium), that when we do leave our luggage at the motel/lodge(like in the Rockies), and are cruising around, that it is rare that the coupe owners remove their targa tops, and not all the convertible owners drop their top.

Spike5

This is the “Frunk” in a 488 Spyder. Great storage for a ME car. Not as good as a Boxster. But, I don’t think we can expect that of the C8 ME.

The bigger deal for me is the question of engine visibility. Typically, Spyders do not have a visible engine. On the other hand, coupes with flowing glass rear canopy do. And, if GM does make the engine visible, please make it showpiece. NO Plastic covers!!!

JerriVette

In previous generation corvettes with targa tops which has always been a personal preference to use compared to previous generation corvette convertibles the large rear window does create a buffering noise because of the huge rear hatch area..

Just turn up the radio...or listen for the engines roar....open air motoring however you get there is intoxicating for many....

I think we can see in the spy photos that design of a rear hatch has been eliminated.....

I'd imagine the new targa or rather retractable top would solve that buffeting issue that most targa top owners were willing to endure for open air motoring as the small veritable window looks to drop down into the rear firewall.

Maybe the non convertible c8 will just allow for the targa top to sit on the engine Bay Area under a cover and under the hatch put there manually ...

I'd go that route as I'm a cheap bastard and I just leave the roof off all summer and most of the spring and fall as well. If someone is going to steal the car they can do it with the targa roof on or off so what the hell..

How many of us are card carrying members of the flying targa top club still cracks me up...

I hope we still can have a function of open air motoring without purchasing the extra five grand convertible. That would be my preference ...

It is possible the standard car though will be a solid roof no targa and the open air motoring would require an extra five grand convertible option code..targa or t tops have been part of corvette coupes since 1968 though...

I'm not big into checking off every option other than some performance codes during ordering but I'd definitely be ordering a removable roof as for me....that targa or convertible capability of letting the sun shine in is an intergral part of enjoying corvettes...(for me and for many)

Many in this forum are insisting six figure base pricing for the rear mid engine c8 and IMO rather than seeing that there is a potiential that things like open air motoring with a lift off roof might become a five grand option with a cool system like the 488 has and those types of production and marketing moves would systematically raise the average individual pricing higher ...which for open air motoring I'm ok with...as that's money well spent...

When I was younger I never used the targa roof ....and then my previous z06 didn't have roof off capability so I didn't care...but this present corvette targa has shown me the value of open air motoring....

I could at this point never give it up....

Just hopeful the cost differential is similiar to the present coupe versus convertible in cost differential....that would be preferable to massive price increases....I think Mazda does their retractable hard top mx5 for 1800 dollars....

I'm afraid to ask what Ferrari is charging to go from a 488 coupe to a spyder...

Again...Maybe the standard coupe has a manual targa stowage system and the convertible is fully automated with rear window retraction as in the Ferrari 488 video from doug ..we won't really know until a spy photo shows up with the c8 and its top off... Thanks for posting the 488 spyder video....it was fun to watch.

That guy dougs expressions in his videos crack me up. Easy to see why he has one million subscribers...

jimmyb

Well Joe, you made the same claim in this closed thread:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1596651566

Your post, #30

And Zymurgy asked you for a source....
And you claimed you had posted sources before.
And then Zymurgy said he searched your posts and couldn't find a single corroboration of your claim.
So he asked again for your source.
And we still have crickets.

We got it 4 years ago, you don't like the C7. But making stuff up....

Paulchristian

If not 60s, definitely 50s, correct? These are two seater cars that are expensive...it stands within reason to expect the primary buyer is an older gentleman with disposable income and no requirement for additional seating space. Not many younger people with school aged kids have the cash for a two seater. Are there younger people who buy? Sure, but it’s logical to assume they are the minority. The same is true for 911s but I’d venture to guess more young professionals drive Porsches than corvettes...at least that is my observation. Simple logic to me. The C7 has brought more younger people to corvette, but, and I am guessing this is probably true for all expensive sports cars, the majority of buyers are more than likely successful people, at least in their 50s, with kids out of the house and disposable income.

MaryAnnB

Exactly. We don't like Coupe at all. Never liked it. If there was not the Convertible shape, we wouldn't have purchased any of our Vettes.

This is a big deal actually. We don't want Targa or Manual or whatnot. If I am paying $100K for a car, I can afford $4K or $10K repairs. Besides, it is under warranty, isn't it? Why would I care if it broke?

25% of Corvette sales are Convertibles. Many of us who bought stock Convertibles could also afford and like a Z06 and ZR1 Convertibles as well. This option was not available in this past, so we settled with stock. GM lost money that it could have sucked from us.

GM realized that, albeit a bit late, and they developed their entire platform based on that premise with C7. Both Z06 and ZR1 available as convertibles now.

It would be crazy to imagine C8 would be any different.

jimmyb

There's a big difference between 50's and 60's, no one is doubting that the Corvette age demographic IS older because of the reasons you listed. It ALWAYS has been.
My issue is with Joe using ANY thing (real or in his imagination) to denigrate the C7, which he hates.

MaryAnnB

I think he is accurate:

Young people do not have money any more. Those that do, have lots of it, so they can choose exotics as well. And apparently they do.

There is also this whole eco-crap going on.

jimmyb

It's kind of funny that folks are hand wringing about hard top convertible reliability....it's not like it's some kind of cutting edge, brand new tech. One guy tells ONE story about a "friend's" SL top failing and everyone's "See, it's bad". When mag ride came out, it was the same thing: "Oh sure, it's good, but wait till one of those shocks fails..."

Power tops aren't exactly new!

MaryAnnB

I can't believe we are having "Targa is the same as Convertible" conversation here.

I just called the showroom to ask about existing Convertible stock for a friend. And the Sales Person said... but T-Top is the same! Right.

A T-Top is not the same at all. It is so good to drive in a bit of rain and press a button and put the top up without changing your course on the highway.

It is so good to press from a button from 100 yards away and start up the engine... and press another button to put the top down... to everyone's amazement!

Also as in my Huracan Spider review, the Spider is like a coffin. Same as T-Top. It is NOT the same feeling as being in a Convertible Corvette.

C8 will without a doubt have a Convertible option. GM is not stupid. They know where the money comes from.

jimmyb

Well, he (Joe) is not accurate based on your Edmunds quote. Joe claimed that in 2017, the average Corvette buyer was 63 years old. If 46% of Corvette buyers were over 55 years old, then for the average to be 63 years old (as Joe states), that 46% would probably need to be 80 to balance out the 54% UNDER 55.

I'm OK using the 911 in this comparison, but the R8? That's silly. Audi sold a TOTAL of 772 R8's in ALL of 2017 in the U.S. That sample size has NOTHING to do with Corvette sales volume, or even 911 volume (which is 1/3rd Corvette's sales volume in the U.S.)

JoesC5

"The median age of a Corvette owner has risen from 54 to 61 during the past 10 years, according to research firm Strategic Vision"

That was from 2003 to 2013, and it has gone higher since then.

Strategic Vision is a legit research firm. jimmyb isn't.

jimmyb

^^^^^
There's Corvette "OWNER" and then there's Corvette "BUYER"

"Buyer" average age is 59 years old. And that makes MaryAnn B's Edmunds quote WRONG. So, who's right? Edmunds says 46% of buyers are over 55, and Strategic Vision says average buyer is 59, the numbers don't match up in any way.

http://autoweek.com/article/detroit-...empt-get-gen-x

And Joe....At least I post a link, you don't so who's actually legitimate?

JoesC5

Except in a few isolated cases where a Corvette has been won as a prize or received as a gift, any logical person would say that a Corvette owner is also a Corvette buyer.

Based on my observations, most buyers/owners of new Corvettes(C7) are over 60, and when I see a younger driver, he is usually in an older Corvette(C5 and C6) that he most likely purchased used.

That would tilt the age limit for owners/buyers of C7's upwards(over 61).

jimmyb, if you want to argue "links" then start your own research firm to prove Strategic Visions is wrong. For me, I believe them vs you. I didn't do the research, I just posted what Strategic Vision reported.

There are several links that said exactly what I quoted, these being a couple of them. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/corve...ive-david-lamb https://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-...173431426.html

MaryAnnB

Without knowing the exact ratios in Edmunds, It'd be difficult to determine this. But if 46% are over 55, perhaps 50% are 50-54, with only 4% being less than 50. if 20% of those over 55 are over 70, then average could easily reach 60.

Regardless, that is not that important. The whole shabang with brutal C7 looks was that GM was saying young people are not buying new Corvettes any more and they were trying to entice them with a more hip design.

I think most young people are not able to buy anything any more... either because they have no money, or they are into eco-crap. That is just my opinion though.

I don't know why Joe does not like C7, but that is really not my concern. We love ours and enjoyed it greatly. My Stingray-Huracan comparision here: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1594510232

We dislike ZR1 looks though. Each to his/her own.