wilfie

Well all of us and the Automotive press would be all over any new announcement even at a flea market, swap meet, cars & coffee or a dog fight.
The question is what more visibility, image, and desirability can a manufacturer get to the great unwashed that have money (or spouses)
The auto show announcements are out of favour for that and the risk involved.
A C8 might seem pretty boring if some fancy electrics or hybrids show up. Never mind the "concepts" that are displayed that are soon coming.
What would be the public reaction to a Tesla and a C8 side by side announcement?

C5Driver

They will most likely have a stand alone event a week or so before the Detroit show. A very splashy highly publicized introduction at some near by Detroit venue.

Bikerjulio

US GP is Oct 21st in Austin Texas. Just saying.

sunsalem

Nice thought, but F1 isn't about Sportscars.
If GM wants to debut it at a race, they would do it at one of the IMSA Weathertech ones where Corvette Racing competes.

elegant

I believe you are “relatedly” correct, and by that I mean, they could do a one lap reveal of the C8.R/ME.R before the actual reveal of the ME at an IMSA Weathertech race.. As we know from Doug Fehan at the BASH a couple of weeks ago, the # 3 and # 4 crew chiefs were not present at the BASH (even though their names were on the agenda as discussion leaders), “because they are home working on the C8.R — which as you know, takes a while to develop.”

Therefore, IMO, Corvette may surprise tease the ME.R out in the same “one-lap special” just as they “debuted” the C7.R at Laguna Seca in 2013.

If so, I believe that this fall’s, October 4th Petit LeMans would be when they would similarly do a hit-n-run, one-lap reveal the C8.R, and just like the C7.R Laguna Seca tease, they would run it just one lap, bring it immediately into the pit, then directly into its transporter to hide it. That would confirm the basic, but not the exact shape of the ME, with its headlights and taillights completely remaining covered as would be the rest of it in its one thin layer, vinyl-zebra-wrap; and, would be part of GM’s fall intro ME teaser process (just like the one they used very successfully in the October-December, 2012 time period immediately before the C7’s 1.13.13 NAIAS reveal).

Even if the proceeding were to exactly occur as I have imagined it, it would not answer the “exact when and where” the ME would be subsequently revealed, still leaving, among others, LA, Detroit, Chicago and New York as the exact time and place.

Quinten33

wilfie

If Chev is going to trickle announce like the C7 they better get going!
If they stretch it out like the NSX they'll get the same thing Acura got.

skank

John, I was there when they did the C7R single Lap and ducked into the transporter. It was done during the Monterey Classic Car Week at the Monterey Historics Event at Laguna Seca. Like I said in my above posts 53, 56,and 58, the Mid engined Zora would have a perfect debut at MCCW at numerous events (Pebble Beach Concour D'Elegance Concept Display, Quail Event) over the course of the week. They could also run their hide and seek lap at the Laguna Seca Historics like they did that day. Most people don't remember this, but they did the same exact thing with the C6 ZR1 at Laguna where Johnney O'connel ran a hide and seek lap. Both videos are below. Both cars were shown for the first time then put away immediately and both at the Monterey Historics. That's Corvette test driver Jim Mero riding with Johnny.

http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2013/...y-laguna-seca/

vetteship

Reveal it already , it's been talked about for years now (probably even before I was born)

TBIRD57

sort of sad to witness the decline of auto shows...always eagerly looked forward to them over the decades. i remember when my dad and uncle took me to my first one and saw a chrysler 300f convertible-never forgot it.

gets a little depressing to see so much of what was disappearing.

sunsalem

I like that idea.

EXACTLY.

cam30era

If GM is going to race the C8.R in the IMSA WeatherTech series next year, it must be submitted to IMSA in early December for homologation and wind tunnel testing. I doubt that they would both plan to race it next year + plan a reveal in Detroit in January. All the elements would be in place for a marketing disaster. So... where will the reveal be before 12/1????

RedDropTop

Excuse me if this been discussed and I missed it.
The Bowling Green plant tours resume in January 2019. Would that be a clue that GM would reveal the ME at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2019?

elegant

If January, that would reinforce a January NAIAS reveal. However, I talked 1-to-1 with Kai about this at the BASH and he was clear that they have not yet set a date for the BGA tours to resume, his saying we still have lots of things to consider, decisions to be made.

We all hope it is January.

tbasco 6

When the tours were stopped in June, 18 months was given as the shut down period. The Museum site still shows reopening late January, 2019, but as we all know, these things are subject to change. The thing I keep questioning in my mind is with the 19 model deliveries starting in January of this year, will it be an extended production run well into 2019 with the ME production starting September of next year? Or could it be that 2019 production will stop later this year with production of a 2020 C7 starting thereafter, with the ME production starting mid 2019? Any thoughts?

elegant

According to an internal GM document dated December 12, 2017, 2019’s are scheduled to be produced through next March. However, even in that document, GM calls the March end of 2019 production an “estimate.”

If 2019 production continues through around March, then about a 6-8 week Plant shutdown, then next, extremely slowly, BGA would start ramping up of 2020 production. That production ramp up pace will be extra complicated — for both front engined C7’s and ME’s are going to go back-to-back down the same line. Which all leaves to a SWAG that first customer ME deliveries will be around September 2019.

At the same time, this all hinges on progressive testing and development of the ME as per GM’s schedule. Stuff happens which can slow things down, for as one specific example, the 2019 ZR1 was delayed in its testing and development process.

So we, including GM, are projecting into a future that has a lot of interim development and testing confirmation ahead, thus there could easily be adjustments of the production estimates a month, two months or even a little longer.

nlneilson

Perhaps a Mattel model will be out long before that.

I bought a model of a U.S. Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarine long before
the data was to be released to the public. Yhey have a way of getting
accurate information ?$$ maybe.

tbasco 6

Thank you, this clears up a lot of my confusion. If this schedule is close, I should be able to see production during a plant tour while at the NHRA reunion late June.

elegant

I think one of the reasons that Kai said they had not decided when to resume tours was because BGA honestly has way higher priorites and on their plate getting ready for the big ME change, and second, if they say definitively in January at this time, since so much has been leaked out, that would confirm at the latest that the ME’s reveal would be is NAIAS.

I have known Kai since days after he became the Plant Manager, and he was IMO being totallly honest, that the Corvette team does not yet know when the tours will actually begin, i.e., they have “bigger fish to fry” than zeroing in one Plant tour resumption schedule at this time.

Michael A

I have never understood debuting the Mustang and Camaro in New York City. I can't think of a more non-auto oriented city than that. Maybe if they were debuting a taxi cab it would make sense. Add to that they are debuting a car on a show where the hosts hate cars, in a time slot viewed by the unemployed, I think these auto executives have lost their minds. Time to use common sense.

It's really funny to read all the comments about how the LA Auto Show is perceived as a green/clean car event. I attend the LA Auto Show every year, and while the media, manufacturers and show management push that agenda, the attendees aren't interested. While I find those green cars interesting from an engineering standpoint, the public couldn't care less. I am typically the only person looking at them. What few actual greenies there are, they don't attend car shows. Cars are a necessary evil to them when public transportation can't get them where they need to go. They can read the EPA sticker with the MPGe figure easier at a car dealership.

Meanwhile, the luxury and exotic car booths at the LA Auto Show are mobbed with people, to the point that you can barely move. If the C8 is as exotic looking as I think it will be, and GM puts up a flashy, well thought out booth with the C8, the Chevy booth would also be mobbed. People in LA love cars that make a statement.