Bob Paris

from Jim Mero, a Corvette ride and handling engineer of 34 years

Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/06/...#ixzz5rsL2mBfF

mirage2991

this article was pointless...literally pointless

jefnvk

It concerns me that GM's premier test driver considers a 50/50 weight balance to be perfect, when a half century of racing indicates that balance is closer to 43/57 or thereabouts.

ByByBMW

I have to agree, all the article really says is he is "worried" with no real substantive reasons.

70RT440

Dear God...this is ridiculous. This comes down to nothing more than "this is the way we always did it, so this is the way we should be doing it!" With nothing to back it up except anecdotes about the current ZR1 smoking a 458 Italia.

It should also be noted that the whole golf bag thing is a non-issue. People in the Corvette's target demographic are quickly losing interest in Golf.

Foosh

Thanks to the above 4 posters for saving me a click.

Red67John

The key quote is at the end of the article: “...he reckons it will still be “crazy popular.”

Jeff V.

Pre-C8 : Corvette Forum worships Jim Mero and his legacy at GM.
Post-C8 : Who the hell is this guy to criticize God's Own Automobile?

ShagVette

"Mero said he countered the points saying the mid-engine car offered far less utility. The C8 Corvette will still fit a golf bag, but perhaps not much else in its “frunk.”

- VERY worrisome

Mcrider

Mero's qualifications are beyond question. These are concerns he has and valid coming from one with such a history as his.

I honestly have to laugh at this forum sometimes.

Steve Garrett

I think Mero is qualified to talk about the C8. I'm pretty darn confident that GM engineers didn't design and build the C8 based upon if a golf bag fit in it or not........please people.

NewYuriCity

Honestly the article is misleading as hell. I didn't listen to the podcast referenced in the article, but I listened to another one where Jim talked a little about the C8 and he sounded very excited, that this car is going to beat everything on the racetrack. This was the podcast I listened to:

https://speedsecrets.com/speed-secre...r-test-driver/

dmaxx3500

its a car,,not a pickup truck

fyreline

I don't think anyone can disparage Mero's contribution to making the Corvette what it is. Having said that, worrying about golf club carrying capacity vs. enhanced performance is what I would expect from a RETIRED engineer. It's a CORVETTE, for God's sake.

Foosh

I'm not criticizing Mero, who I have a great deal of respect for. I know what it's like to be interviewed by so-called journalists and have my remarks twisted beyond recognition. It's happened to me on many occasions.

mirage2991

by the way, a on a mid engine, the front "storage area" is called a boot...but keep using the word frunk and chevy will be the laughing stock of the rest of the world....boot up front, trunk out back...that's simple

JC7

I agree with him!

Steve Snake Driver

True, but a part of the Corvette's appeal has been and probably will be, is that it is a PRACTICAL sports car. Yes, people can fidget and fuss over whether it's properly deemed a sports car or a GT car, but it is practical.

B747VET

So, let me get this straight....

Mr. Mero has Corvette development involvement and Corvette track experience that goes far beyond anyone on this forum but, hey, he didn’t say what “we” think or want what “we” want so why even listen or at least consider what he is trying to subtly and respectfully convey? Why didn’t he disclose “secrets” to this group? Doesn’t he know that nuanced communications are an automatic fail to those who fervently believe that their personal wants are more important than any real world marketing or performance considerations?

This C8 sub forum has long been hampered by this type of generally disrespectful severe know-it-all rigidity that has no foundation in reality whatsoever. Fortunately, in about two weeks all this arrogant blathering will fade away.

Mr. Mero is merely conveying what what many Corvette insiders are concerned about. The C8 will either be a critical hit or not. It will either be faster and better handling than a C7 ZO6 or a C7 GS or it won’t. It will either sell or it won’t. A few key GM executives have either been highly visionary or they have put the Corvette into a box that it will have trouble escaping. In that vein they have hopefully not solved a problem that didn’t exist to begin with.

Bottom line, what a relatively small number of Corvette fanatics think is irrelevant. The masses will control whether or not the C8 ME succeeds, not a small gathering of ego driven forum commentators who need the world to recognize the truly prescient nature of their relatively inexperienced but natural brilliance.

Personally, I prefer to consider the understated long standing Corvette knowledge base of individuals like Mr. Mero or the late Dick Guldstrand to what passes for “knowledge” in this continually disrespectful C8 sub forum.

NineVettes

Agreed. Mero did say some stuff like:

"Thus, he was there when executives signed off on the move to a mid-engine layout. He recalled the engineering team rented what was considered the best mid-engine and rear-engine sports cars at the time. The benchmarking group included an Acura NSX, Ferrari 458 Italia, Audi R8, and a few Porsche 911s. In benchmarking tests, Mero said the current Corvette Z06 “smoked them.” It gave the team pause, per Mero’s comments, to perhaps reflect on the switch to a mid-engine layout"

And

"Mero hasn’t been a part of the team for years now, but he said the C8 engineers will need to “reinvent the wheel” to try and perfect the car’s formula. He noted the mid-engine car will not offer a perfect weight distribution (50/50) and understeer will be a big problem to overcome. This is a man who’s completed 15,000 laps in Corvettes, so he knows a thing or two about how they behave."

Sounds like he was talking about a lot more than golf clubs...

And there is no one on this thread including me, who has the experience and competency to question Mero's opinions re Corvette performance, technical background/engineering, driving ability. If you want to question his position (assuming it was quoted correctly) it's a free country and your right to do so. However, it would be nice if those folks would share with their readers, what their extensive background is in these areas so the rest of us could understand and respect the technical underpinnings of your opinions.