C7pimp

The NSX was disgustingly overpriced. That's why.

Atari_Prime

The NSX is a tough one. They created a luxury mid-engine car rather than a track demon. So that added some dollars to the price. They also made the engine very middle of the road, so its not as fast as a lot of its competition. It ends up being a high priced luxury cruiser as a result. A pretty one, but that's not a big market. Also, it is very very much a halo car. They never had any intention or expectation of it making money.

The new BMW Z4 will sell and sell well. But it is more of a Boxster competitor than anything else. It's peppy but not fast, and the styling is a bit conservative. It's designed to be a moderate volume selling convertible and will be.

Not sure what to say about the Supra. It's a flop. It's ugly. It's underpowered. It's overmarketed. It doesn't live up to the icon of it's name. It is essentially a fancy GT86 and they will either end up making a lot of base models or it will go away very quickly.

Foosh

Exactly, and a great object lesson of what happens when you over-reach on price on a brand new model with no established reputation.

RapidC84B

A mid-engine V8 American car for < $70K is a compelling proposition. If they build it, buyers will come.

I hope they have some awesome colors... I want C4 Turquoise Metallic on my C5 with some race gold centered wheels with a polished lip!

Kodiak Bear

IMO, the NSX is over weight, over priced and over styled (whatever that means). The non turbo track version is a lot closer to what I would consider a spiritual successor to the original car.

Foosh

Nonetheless, I suspect the NSXs would fly out the door if there were an $80K model.

Supermassive

Ok, so the Acura was a car that everyone wanted after the fact, much like the Supra...these cars sold in limited numbers and had the anti Japanese car culture in America at the time to thank for it. The new NSX though was a failure due to more than a few things. First was price, it simply was over priced for what it delivered. It was universally reviewed as less than exciting, which is exactly what no one wants from a sports car. It wasn't exotic enough to warrant the price, and its looks are very polarizing. The car is quick and capable but has the soul of a sewing machine. It also failed because of the decade worth of hype and teases, only to be released to mediocre reception because it was nothing like what anyone actually wanted.

Japanese auto makers are ridiculously tone deaf when it comes to sports cars. The GT-R came out and absolutely wrecked the competition and its price was amazing...now its over-priced and obsolete. The platform is 11 years old now, and Nissan has pretty much forgotten about it. The new Supra is another tone deaf submission from Japan, its a reskinned BMW Z4 with less power...I mean who are they using for market analysis for these things. They said that they didn't want to mess with the identity of the GT86 by putting a manual in the new Supra...a car that costs half as much as the new Supra somehow affects it because of "identity". There is zero interesting cars coming from Japan right now, they are simply a bunch of manufacturers that make similar looking crossovers now.

Now on to the Corvette. Again.

There is no reason for GM to make a front engine car at the same time as the mid engine. None. It makes no financial sense. It doesn't make sense to dilute the brand and make a confusing array of Corvette branded vehicles. It doesn't make sense to try to milk a couple more years out of the C7 and its declining sales figures. The front and mid engine at the same time pipe dream is literally just for those stuck on stupid and I mean to be harsh here. The front engine Corvette has lasted for 65 years, mostly because the brass at GM was hesitant to go mid engine for fear of the unknown. Now we have GM establishing Cadillac as an EV centered brand, discontinuing production of sedans, and going mid engine with the Corvette in a bid to remain relevant in today's automotive culture. The front engine sports car is a beautiful machine, no argument there, but it is hampered by its layout in a performance aspect. Considering how amazing the Corvette has been at setting lap records throughout history, it will be interesting to see how GM fares at making a sports car with the engine in the right spot.

Just like the fools who cut off their noses to spite their faces over tail lights and missed out on the greatest Corvette platform of all time (I mean this, I respect older cars and classics, but the C7 was simply the best handling, fastest, best interior, and most modern Corvette relative to the time it was released), the C8 will turn away some of those too stubborn to realize just how amazing it is that we will for the first ever, be able to own a mid engine supercar for a fraction of the cost of the usual mid engine suspects from Lamborghini, McLaren, and Ferrari. It is also amazing because it will be more powerful and cost much less than any Porsche 911 as the P-brand has gone full luxury sports car on the auto world and priced itself out of the reach of the average sports car buyer. For the price of entry to a 911 that starts over $100k now, you would likely be able to option a really kick *** C8 that will trounce a lowly Carrera 4S in pretty much every performance metric.

jcp911s

All of these cars are Lifestyle/Fashion purchases using discretionary income left over when you've bought everything else. You don't buy them because you need them, you buy them simply because you can.

The competition for a Corvette is not a Porsche or Acura. Its a boat, an airplane, a beach house, a collector car, or a safari vacation.

If the car is good looking, fast and exciting it will sell. Do you look and feel good driving it? It will sell. If it is dull, it won't.

punky

It is abundantly clear that the C8 is not designed for the aging chrome wheel and round taillight fist pounders. The majority of that crew already have their last Corvette. A totally new ME format is just recipe that GM needs to keep this American icon viable for many years to come.

AORoads

I don't think it's all about cost-but it certainly does count for something. There are so many makes and models that are considered "sports cars" that sell in medium, light and very light numbers. This is what I believe (or hope) that GM looked at very closely and not just with focus groups or fan clubs. The list of cadavers, or cadavers-still-being-produced as "sports cars" is quite long. As just examples, not an exhaustive list: from Audi you've got two---R8 and TT. From BMW, how many US annual sales are there for the old Z4---mid- to very-low 4 digits per year. The Acura NSX is/was sad---it was sad in the late 90s to its demise, and it is doing so again. The Nissan GTR is also a sad case of triple-digit sales annually.

It really isn't a matter of individual opinions on this forum, or any other forum because Corvette doesn't sell in the low thousands----it has to sell in 5-digit numbers or it's dead. That's why $169K was stoopid. It's also why what "jschindler" said is NOT out of the realm of being good critical analysis of the Corvette market and buyer. Imagine this: all those car manufacturers above who have a long history of making cars have missed the mark. And there are others who have recently gone away like Viper. The jury is out on Toyota Supra, for now, but the '86" they make isn't selling in tens of thousands even tho its price is low at $26.5K (recent years has dropped below 10K units/year). It's also out for the Z4 BMW.

The total number of "sports car" buyers who will buy ANY car with 2 seats only is relatively small, and smaller than the total since many buyers won't buy their sports car with a Chevrolet nameplate. Simple fact of life. Still, Chevrolet has sold more "sports cars" annually with its Corvette than just about all others imported to the US.

Again, it has little to do with our individual opinions because we only make up a portion---a fraction of the Corvette buying public. And we had better hope GM and Corvette have hit a home run with the C8 to continue the big number of sales to those who are NOT on these forums, don't care to be on them, etc. That's where the Corvette nameplate's sales will rise or fall---on "our" buying the C8---AND THE OTHERS who know nothing about forums.

RACE U

All of those nameplates you list above have had a heck of a time in recent years staying in business. Most have been sold, whole or in part, or have merged into other car companies....so I hope relying on their financial success is not what GM has in mind for Corvette.

C2C3C4C6

You might have something there, it isn't the Vette that might go away, it's us septuagenarians who watched Route 66 and whose first Vettes had chrome bumpers that are going to exit.

lt4obsesses

There's really no argument against any of this. The high end, Ferrari, McLaren, etc buyer isn't just buying a car, they're buying a badge, a status. There is a better chance of some cross over from Porsche from those that buy that mainly because the current Corvette doesn't do it for them, being front engine. If the Corvette is better than the 911's and 718's, they will probably move over. But it won't be in the thousands. What this does leave out are those that really desire a mid engine 'exotic' that can afford a Corvette, but just don't want it as is, but would jump on the mid engine version. This pool of buyers might be fairly deep. I also think the number of Corvette faithful that will jump ship over engine placement is going to be rather small.

Dt86

Theres some very interesting points being brought up here. The C8 is a total game changer for Corvette. I just want to see how much of it actually resembles the Corvette brand or if it's going to be completely euro styled like so many GM products are becoming. If it doesn't have any styling cues that say "thats a Corvette " and you only know its a Corvette because it says it and has the badging then it is no longer a Corvette in my opinion. Its just a performance car they stuck the Corvette name on.

vdavenp802

Yes it will Kill the Corvette as we know it. How many mid engine Mustangs do you see.
I rest me case.
Ford GT,ooooh, big sales numbers, off the charts, cheap, yeah and did i mention the racing prowess.
Do you really need more evidence. GM overall needing to cut costs a new marque will not get it done.

SouthernSon

This could make a difference in sales. Has there ever been a rear ME that had enough room for luggage to take a weekend get away? I can't recall one right off hand. Maybe GM has found the secret to room in the front.

brit z06

My Corvette Dealer (the only one in the UK) tells me that the C8 will be available in right hand drive which up till now no Corvette has been.
I personally like the left hand drive as I think its part of the experience of driving an American car but the majority of "car guys " in the UK would nt consider a LHD.
If the price is competitive I think they will sell really well ,just like the Mustang has since Ford started selling it here with the wheel on the right.
Remember the UK is nt the only country that drives on the left ie. Australia, New Zealand ,Japan, India etc all potential markets for the C8.

Zaskar

Well said!!

jcp911s

I have always driven sports cars. I tracked/raced 911s, and used a 3.2 Carrara as a DD for 15 years. I have a '71 C3 Vert, and a Z51. I don't consider myself a dinosaur, but the fact remains that younger people (GenX, Gen Y, Millenials) have other priorities. Careers, college loans, kids, mortgages... gees what a s**tty life!

I sold my Alfa, spent 4 years driving my sister-in-law's hand me down Volvo, (driving to Harrisburg, we has to stop mid-way to add a quart of oil each way). living in a rowhouse in Philly, working 60 hour weeks and going to night school on the El in my spare time.

Surprise surprise, I bought an old rental house and restored it, we got promotions, I bought a used 911 for $17K. I pulled it into the garage (which did not even have a door at that time) and it was the proudest moment of my life.

There is a new generation of buyers that will appreciate great cars, and will buy them when they can... Corvettes are not "old guy" cars, its just that it takes alot of time before you can afford to buy one.

tcinla