vettedna

Well you be the judge of that. It is hard to tell. He did say he liked everything about it.
https://andoniscars.blogspot.com/201...confirmed.html
So it will look stunning. Not much, but still a something.

KnightDriveTV

What was interesting about that section of the conversation about C8...is he did quickly hint to the fact that there is a "legacy loss" with a mid-engine car, but he asked in a form of a question "should we let that go"? Interestingly, the conversation immediately took on the subject of going too far with the Cutlass and going down a wrong pathway. Knowing that he can honestly ask that question, at least inspires one to acknowledge that these questions have been asked internally about the mid-engine Corvette...as I think that's the big risk here.

I can't help but think of Jeep and certain brands, with very high levels of enthusiast dedication, who have made moves that came with strong backlash, if it infringed too heavily on legacy. For Jeep it was as simple as the round headlights...the base felt that was a defining core that couldn't be left behind. With Corvette, the pop ups to C6 flushies created a little disturbance but that couldn't be avoided. C7 taillights same...but taillights really weren't the defining aspect of Corvette.

To me, Corvette is simple to define...practical, affordable, hits way above the belt in terms of performance, looks great...basically does a lot of jobs and brings excellent value with a legacy and strong core. Will ME disrupt that....remains to be seen. I personally think a mid-engine car struggles due to the fact frontal area is so valuable when you need a lot of heat rejection (due to power/performance), so it can't help from infringe on the only real storage space you have to work with, aside from having a gen1 NSX or Ferrari 308 type of rear boot area (which often leads to higher maintenance/repair costs/costs of ownership). It's also inevitable that mid-engine appears more laid back and low slung and the older owners need fairly decent ingress/egress to own it.

Shaka

^^^ SUVs look like the cars of the 30s.

JerriVette

Shrike6

Steve Garrett

^^^ +1

DaveFerrari458

How is a $60-150K car (toy) affordable??? You might want to use "relatively".

DaveFerrari458

Saw an interview of him a few years back and he was talking about the Corvette and some of the stuff he was saying seemed just generic answers that came across as not knowing the real answers or the proper product knowledge about the Corvette. Came off Kinda salesmanish.

Dominic Sorresso

Zaro Tundov

There's not really anything about the C8. They asked, he appropriately evaded.

I think as Simcoe's direction becomes more prevalent on new GM products we're all going to miss Welburn even more. His shoes are not easy to fill.

KnightDriveTV

For the demo that buys the car, in terms of a non daily use vehicle, it is certainly affordable, especially on the lower end of the line. Ford pickup trucks occupy much of that price range, as do Escalades, and many 4 dr sedans, etc. The average new car sale price in America is somewhere in the mid 30's last I checked, so yes expensive relative to that...sure.

fasttoys

Zaro Tundov

It's less expensive in the sunbelt where it can be daily driven year round. In the snow belt it's a toy that requires another daily driver since you generally cannot safely drive a Corvette in the winter.

Actually I believe a set of proper rims and snow tires would make it fine for the winter except for ground clearance, but the prevailing belief is that one must have an AWD/FWD vehicle to get through winter.

C7pimp

Yep, snowy winters are absolutely unmanageable with a Corvette. The ground clearance turns your car into a snow plow with one decent storm. A second car is a requirement climates like this.

LIStingray

It is not just ground clearance, but it is also rim and tire durability - for large portions of December to April, the roads in most urban areas around the Northeast take a beating and large deep potholes are the norm. Today alone, my Jeep went through at least half a dozen pot hole that were 2-3" deep and 3-5 sq. ft. in size - so unavoidable without hitting another car. Lots of people with regular sedans (Camry's, Civic, etc) that are pulled over after hitting these potholes - can't imagine a Corvette with its low profile rubber and $400 rims would be any better. On the other hand, my Jeep GC Trailhawk seems to take those in stride.

Zaro Tundov

Steel wheels and Blizzaks will transform almost any car into a winter warrior unless it hugs the ground like a Corvette.

RWD + winter tires > FWD + all season tires

tobaccokid

Ed Wellburn has forgotten more than most people on this site will ever know. I've had the opportunity at events where my '68 IMSA Trans AM Corvette race car has been shown to talk with Ed.. He is very personable, friendly, a pleasure to talk to, and is extremely knowledgeable. Always enjoy a discussion with him. Comments to the contrary are without any basis.

C7s

Yes he has!

Sin City

Well lets agree to disagree. Class guy? Yes. Good design instincts...Some of GM's worst came out during his period. I'm still not crazy about the sharp creases on GM vehicles, particularly Cadillac, which are legacy from his period.

He is absolutely right that the Cutlass one one of the hottest selling vehicles in the world and they screwed it up and lost to the Camry. And where is Oldsmobile today?

RapidC84B

Same... and I own a C7. Was hoping the C8 would bring some of the curves back like the C5. I'm probably going to pick up a C5 convertible to keep for a long time. They aren't making new cars any simpler.