From GM AUTHORITY: Who's Gonna Buy The Mid-Engine Corvette C8?
06-09-2019, 11:52 AM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
From GM AUTHORITY: Who's Gonna Buy The Mid-Engine Corvette C8?
excerpts:
...most are looking for a sports car that looks exciting, drives well, and makes good noises on the onramp while traveling from A to B in comfort and style. Going mid-engine doesn’t help those folks at all.
At the end of the day, we can’t help but feel like the mid-engine Corvette C8 is an answer to a question nobody ever asked.
Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/06/...#ixzz5qMnyAEEA
...most are looking for a sports car that looks exciting, drives well, and makes good noises on the onramp while traveling from A to B in comfort and style. Going mid-engine doesn’t help those folks at all.
At the end of the day, we can’t help but feel like the mid-engine Corvette C8 is an answer to a question nobody ever asked.
Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/06/...#ixzz5qMnyAEEA
Popular Reply
06-09-2019, 12:29 PM
Race Director
Well, it's great to be a writer, I suppose....
The Corvette is, first and foremost, a sports car. The chief engineer stated numerous times that (in his learned opinion) the front engine platform was at the end of the line, in terms of traction. So, Tadge was able to sell GM management on the benefits of mid-engine. This unbelievably STUPID notion that the ME should have been a Cadillac shows a remarkable lack of UNDERSTANDING of Corvette and it's place in the sports car world, and an equal lack of UNDERSTANDING in what a VERY troubled brand in Cadillac needs to get back on track. An ME sports car does NOTHING for Cadillac, anymore than the Audi R8 helps Audi (and Audi is HEALTHY).
All in all, a piece written to garner the all important "clicks" but lacking in ANY real intelligent thinking or reasoning.
The Corvette is, first and foremost, a sports car. The chief engineer stated numerous times that (in his learned opinion) the front engine platform was at the end of the line, in terms of traction. So, Tadge was able to sell GM management on the benefits of mid-engine. This unbelievably STUPID notion that the ME should have been a Cadillac shows a remarkable lack of UNDERSTANDING of Corvette and it's place in the sports car world, and an equal lack of UNDERSTANDING in what a VERY troubled brand in Cadillac needs to get back on track. An ME sports car does NOTHING for Cadillac, anymore than the Audi R8 helps Audi (and Audi is HEALTHY).
All in all, a piece written to garner the all important "clicks" but lacking in ANY real intelligent thinking or reasoning.
06-09-2019, 12:17 PM
#2
Racer
Without taking them on point by point, my expectation is that the C8 will be very popular, especially if the quality is there, and they're making some assumptions which history and logic belie. A well-executed mid-engine car is a joy to drive, there's no reason why the cabin can't be first class, it appears there will be storage space fore and aft, and the styling appears decent (just another exotic? what's wrong with that? and it still looks like a vette). The Porsche 718 Boxster is a blast to drive, both reasonably practical and amazingly agile, in a package that's more expensive (in all but base trim) and far less powerful than it appears the C8 will be. A C8 vert could blow it away in the market, and can offer pretty much everything the C7 did, and more.
06-09-2019, 12:29 PM
#3
Race Director
Well, it's great to be a writer, I suppose....
The Corvette is, first and foremost, a sports car. The chief engineer stated numerous times that (in his learned opinion) the front engine platform was at the end of the line, in terms of traction. So, Tadge was able to sell GM management on the benefits of mid-engine. This unbelievably STUPID notion that the ME should have been a Cadillac shows a remarkable lack of UNDERSTANDING of Corvette and it's place in the sports car world, and an equal lack of UNDERSTANDING in what a VERY troubled brand in Cadillac needs to get back on track. An ME sports car does NOTHING for Cadillac, anymore than the Audi R8 helps Audi (and Audi is HEALTHY).
All in all, a piece written to garner the all important "clicks" but lacking in ANY real intelligent thinking or reasoning.
The Corvette is, first and foremost, a sports car. The chief engineer stated numerous times that (in his learned opinion) the front engine platform was at the end of the line, in terms of traction. So, Tadge was able to sell GM management on the benefits of mid-engine. This unbelievably STUPID notion that the ME should have been a Cadillac shows a remarkable lack of UNDERSTANDING of Corvette and it's place in the sports car world, and an equal lack of UNDERSTANDING in what a VERY troubled brand in Cadillac needs to get back on track. An ME sports car does NOTHING for Cadillac, anymore than the Audi R8 helps Audi (and Audi is HEALTHY).
All in all, a piece written to garner the all important "clicks" but lacking in ANY real intelligent thinking or reasoning.
Last edited by jimmyb; 06-09-2019 at 12:30 PM.
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06-09-2019, 12:42 PM
#4
Drifting
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St. Jude Donor '10, '17-'18-'19
I think the C8 will do as well as the C7 has done if not better. There are loyal corvette owners and all the C8 has to do is continue to be the best bang for the buck in the sport car world. If GM brings it in at 65K for a well appointed base model and then spices it up with a Z08 and eventually a ZR8 hyper car it will be a win win for everyone. JMHO
06-09-2019, 01:24 PM
#5
Seems like click bait to me. If the car looks good and price stays about the same as the C7, all the same people who have always bought corvettes will buy it and it will bring in new buyers. Maybe it will help shed some of the old man’s car image. If the price goes too high it will be a disaster and quite possibly the end for Corvette. If prices jump much, I personally will keep buying Porsches, but if price is similar to C7 and it looks great I’ll likely buy one.
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06-09-2019, 01:37 PM
#8
Team Owner
I remember being at our club's annual spring picnic last Sunday. Out of some 35 Corvettes(and one 1955 Chevy convertible. and he has another half dozen Tri-Fives and a C6 GS convertible) there, maybe 6 or 7 of them were C7's. The remainder were obsolete C5's and C6's(and one C4, as his ex-wife got the C6 in their recent divorce settlement).
Out of the 8 Corvettes in my immediate neighborhood, there is one C1, one C2, two C3's(one being a 1980 with 800 miles that belongs to the local GM Zone manager), one C5, two C6's and one C7.
A friend that doesn't live in my neighborhood has a C1 and a C5 pace car and a C6 pace car Callaway. Maybe he could afford a C7 if he wasn't a broke CPA with a wife that is a MD(radiologist). He also has Jeep, a Tahoe and a Lexus with a retractable hardtop. Barely enough cars for the two of them. He keeps one of the Corvettes at his very expensive lakeside home on Table Rock Lake and the others in his very expensive neighborhood in Springfield.
Last edited by JoesC5; 06-09-2019 at 01:47 PM.
06-09-2019, 01:41 PM
#9
Drifting
“...most are looking for a sports car that looks exciting, drives well, and makes good noises on the onramp while traveling from A to B in comfort and style. Going mid-engine doesn’t help those folks at all.”
This is why it’s clickbait. C8 will look not only exciting, but exotic; will have better balance and driving dynamics than the C7; having the engine directly behind your seat sounds great; cockpit upgraded from the C7.
Last sentence only makes sense if you believe the C8 will be a step back in all the listed attributes...cmon man be real.
This is why it’s clickbait. C8 will look not only exciting, but exotic; will have better balance and driving dynamics than the C7; having the engine directly behind your seat sounds great; cockpit upgraded from the C7.
Last sentence only makes sense if you believe the C8 will be a step back in all the listed attributes...cmon man be real.
06-09-2019, 01:49 PM
#10
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Aug 2011
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I remember being at our club's annual spring picnic last Sunday. Out of some 35 Corvettes(and one 1955 Chevy convertible. and he has another half dozen Tri-Fives and a C6 GS convertible) there, maybe 6 or 7 of them were C7's. The remainder were obsolete C5's and C6's(and one C4, as his ex-wife got the C6 in their recent divorce settlement).
Out of the 8 Corvettes in my immediate neighborhood, there is one C1, one C2, two C3's(one being a 1980 with 800 miles that belongs to the local GM Zone manager), one C5, two C6's and one C7.
A friend that doesn't live in my neighborhood has a C1 and a C5 pace car and a C6 pace car Callaway. Maybe he could afford a C7 if he wasn't a broke CPA with a wife that is a MD(radiologist). He also has Jeep, a Tahoe and a Lexus with a retractable hardtop. Barely enough cars for the two of them. He keeps one of the Corvettes at his very expensive lakeside home on Table Rock Lake and the others in his very expensive neighborhood in Springfield.
Out of the 8 Corvettes in my immediate neighborhood, there is one C1, one C2, two C3's(one being a 1980 with 800 miles that belongs to the local GM Zone manager), one C5, two C6's and one C7.
A friend that doesn't live in my neighborhood has a C1 and a C5 pace car and a C6 pace car Callaway. Maybe he could afford a C7 if he wasn't a broke CPA with a wife that is a MD(radiologist). He also has Jeep, a Tahoe and a Lexus with a retractable hardtop. Barely enough cars for the two of them. He keeps one of the Corvettes at his very expensive lakeside home on Table Rock Lake and the others in his very expensive neighborhood in Springfield.
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68roadster (06-09-2019)
06-09-2019, 02:01 PM
#11
Le Mans Master
excerpts:
...most are looking for a sports car that looks exciting, drives well, and makes good noises on the onramp while traveling from A to B in comfort and style. Going mid-engine doesn’t help those folks at all.
At the end of the day, we can’t help but feel like the mid-engine Corvette C8 is an answer to a question nobody ever asked.
...most are looking for a sports car that looks exciting, drives well, and makes good noises on the onramp while traveling from A to B in comfort and style. Going mid-engine doesn’t help those folks at all.
At the end of the day, we can’t help but feel like the mid-engine Corvette C8 is an answer to a question nobody ever asked.
06-09-2019, 02:11 PM
#12
GM Authority continues to post totally useless articles to fill their quota. Over the past several months j have noticed them posting articles about stuff that could have and should have been mentioned a long time ago. With articles like this, I must dismiss them as we are already past this stage.
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06-09-2019, 03:45 PM
#13
Drifting
gmAuthority lol. GM must be cringing (or maybe laughing?) when they see such speculative crap posted under a name that the otherwise unknowing assumes comes straight from some reliable inside source.
06-09-2019, 03:51 PM
#14
Race Director
Perhaps the C8 will be what the C7 should have been. Or..... I can always wait on the C9.
06-09-2019, 04:35 PM
#15
A lot of folks who bought C6 and C7s have absolutely no interest in earlier Corvette gens. I didn't, and never had any desire to own one. I don't have any interest in Corvette clubs either, and it doesn't surprise me they are heavily populated with 30-60 year old Corvettes.
That's not really a slam on older owners, it's actually a hopeful sign that Corvette continues to attract new owners, which is essential to it's survival.
That's not really a slam on older owners, it's actually a hopeful sign that Corvette continues to attract new owners, which is essential to it's survival.
Last edited by Foosh; 06-09-2019 at 04:39 PM.
06-09-2019, 04:46 PM
#16
Le Mans Master
A lot of folks who bought C6 and C7s have absolutely no interest in earlier Corvette gens. I didn't, and never had any desire to own one. I don't have any interest in Corvette clubs either, and it doesn't surprise me they are heavily populated with 30-60 year old Corvettes.
That's not really a slam on older owners, it's actually a hopeful sign that Corvette continues to attract new owners, which is essential to it's survival.
That's not really a slam on older owners, it's actually a hopeful sign that Corvette continues to attract new owners, which is essential to it's survival.
Last edited by Michael A; 06-09-2019 at 04:49 PM.
06-09-2019, 04:48 PM
#17
Le Mans Master
I guess GM Authority doesn't believe in improving cars. GM Authority's "do nothing" approach has not worked out well for GM's other car lines, so I don't understand why they would think it would work for the Corvette.
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khartford (06-10-2019)
06-09-2019, 06:26 PM
#18
Without taking them on point by point, my expectation is that the C8 will be very popular, especially if the quality is there, and they're making some assumptions which history and logic belie. A well-executed mid-engine car is a joy to drive, there's no reason why the cabin can't be first class, it appears there will be storage space fore and aft, and the styling appears decent (just another exotic? what's wrong with that? and it still looks like a vette). The Porsche 718 Boxster is a blast to drive, both reasonably practical and amazingly agile, in a package that's more expensive (in all but base trim) and far less powerful than it appears the C8 will be. A C8 vert could blow it away in the market, and can offer pretty much everything the C7 did, and more.
Couldn't agree more. C8 owners who have never driven a mid-engined car before are in for a treat. As I posted on another thread , my brother has a GT4 which I driven on several occasions and it is far more fun to drive than any 911 I've owned.
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06-09-2019, 06:38 PM
#20
Race Director
^^^^^
Freakin' gas waster
Freakin' gas waster