C7 inventories affecting C8?
Melting Slicks
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From: AA/Metro Detroit
I guess another way to look at it: the C3 and C4 were about as radically different as the C7 and C8 will be, and not only were they not cross marketed in case people didn't like the space age design, there was a MY gap between them.
Race Director
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I've listened to both sides of the argument. Neither side has convinced me they know enough to be definitive. Nor would the plant-filler have to be a C7.5, although I think a business case could be made for it (which case, of course, might be pretty weak in today's environment.)
I have lived long enough to have learned that in conjecture discussions (like everything in the C8 section) comments are best couched in a lot of "maybes," possiblys," and "I thinks."
Race Director
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The C7 and the C8 will be more different than Porsche's mid and rear engine sports car variants. Keep that in mind as you evaluate the arguments pro and con re the "2 Vette theory."
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Some of us need to understand that the Corvette as we know it today will very soon no longer be produced. What is coming will be an entirely new performance targeted primarily to a different generation and buyer. The Corvette will not survive on sales to baby boomers alone and GM is well aware of this. Many of GMs loyal Corvette customers have already purchased their last. The 30-45 year olds who will be the next generations target audience are not looking for a "freshened up" C7 with 25 more HP. A mid engine, high revving, corner carver is perfect at this time.
Team Owner
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Some of us need to understand that the Corvette as we know it today will very soon no longer be produced. What is coming will be an entirely new performance targeted primarily to a different generation and buyer. The Corvette will not survive on sales to baby boomers alone and GM is well aware of this. Many of GMs loyal Corvette customers have already purchased their last. The 30-45 year olds who will be the next generations target audience are not looking for a "freshened up" C7 with 25 more HP. A mid engine, high revving, corner carver is perfect at this time.
Do you think people at GM never considered the Corvette being a mid engine design in the past(Hint: the mid engine design was seriously considered for the new 1963 Corvette per a SAE article written by Duntov in 1962). Every time the Corvette was being redesigned for a new generation, there were plenty of influential people within GM that wanted a mid engine Corvette, but cost was the deciding factor as to why the mid engine Corvette never became a reality.
Last edited by JoesC5; Jan 29, 2019 at 09:51 PM.
Melting Slicks
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From: AA/Metro Detroit
I completely disagree with this statement. The C4 was a radical (and needed) upgrade. It was, however, the same concept as the C3. Front-engine GT with ample space for two folks to take long trips, and performance that could go from road to track and back. Long nose, fastback, big bubble window, V8, transverse leaf IRS, etc, etc.
The C7 and the C8 will be more different than Porsche's mid and rear engine sports car variants. Keep that in mind as you evaluate the arguments pro and con re the "2 Vette theory."
The C7 and the C8 will be more different than Porsche's mid and rear engine sports car variants. Keep that in mind as you evaluate the arguments pro and con re the "2 Vette theory."
In any case, Corvette Forums might make up, what, 1% of Corvette owners? Even here, it is a relatively small minority saying they refuse to buy ME. Keep that in mind when viewing how the public as a whole is going to accept it. UNLESS it is some sort of limited, one off special edition, or a Caddy, it would simply be silly for GM to produce both at the same time. If you are resorting to such measures, you are already admitting failure.
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Drifting
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From: C&D 10 Best loop
It was a radical styling difference, I can say that would just as much turn off buyers as the rearrangement of the engine location. Even still, it seems to be the one generation most Corvette owners would have rather never had happen. IT was a design to take on the Euro sport cars of the day, departing from what a Corvette traditionally looked like. Sound familiar?
Last edited by Zaro Tundov; Jan 30, 2019 at 10:38 AM.
Burning Brakes
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Last edited by kozmic; Jan 30, 2019 at 10:54 AM.
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Bill
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Those Corvettes had 230 HP engines and weighed 3200 lbs. One of the main competitors was the 944 Turbo that had 217 HP pulling 2601 pounds around the track. So much for Porsche excellence.
Bill
Melting Slicks
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From: AA/Metro Detroit
I personally think you will see the same course of action. Yes, there are some here who refuse to buy a ME, but I think when it is announced and orders are opened up you'll see the FE die a quick death. Those that want the FE already have the opportunity to buy one, if they haven't I see no logic in assuming more than a handful will in the future.
Last edited by jefnvk; Jan 30, 2019 at 12:39 PM.
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You could have also made that same exact argument in 1967, 1983, 1996, 2004 and 2013. But the C3, in 1968 survived while being a FE, and the C4 in 1984 survived while being a FE and the C5 in 1997 really survived while being a FE and the C6 in 2005 survived while being a FE, and the C7 in 2014 survived while being a FE, so what makes you think that a C8 in 2020 can't survive while being a FE.
Do you think people at GM never considered the Corvette being a mid engine design in the past(Hint: the mid engine design was seriously considered for the new 1963 Corvette per a SAE article written by Duntov in 1962). Every time the Corvette was being redesigned for a new generation, there were plenty of influential people within GM that wanted a mid engine Corvette, but cost was the deciding factor as to why the mid engine Corvette never became a reality.
Do you think people at GM never considered the Corvette being a mid engine design in the past(Hint: the mid engine design was seriously considered for the new 1963 Corvette per a SAE article written by Duntov in 1962). Every time the Corvette was being redesigned for a new generation, there were plenty of influential people within GM that wanted a mid engine Corvette, but cost was the deciding factor as to why the mid engine Corvette never became a reality.
Race Director
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From: Middletown, DE
The C4 was an award winning total redesign. No reusing of a single one of those bolts GM had in the tub,
As far as "go" is concerened, it was competitive with its more expensive contemporaries, and better if you count turns (as most sports car drivers do). Continuous improvemt got them as high as 400 HP before the model died, and base models were putting out 330 HP (conservatively by all accounts) in 1996.
The C8 will be no more of a technological masterpiece (by 2020 standards) than the C4 was (by 1984 standards.) Maybe better to say they're both ENGINEERING masterpieces. I doubt we'll see much in the way of truly new tech in the C8. Now we can all hope that the quality of the 2020 Vette is better than that of the 1984 when it was introduced...
Instructor
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Thread Starter
Racer
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Some of us need to understand that the Corvette as we know it today will very soon no longer be produced. What is coming will be an entirely new performance targeted primarily to a different generation and buyer. The Corvette will not survive on sales to baby boomers alone and GM is well aware of this. Many of GMs loyal Corvette customers have already purchased their last. The 30-45 year olds who will be the next generations target audience are not looking for a "freshened up" C7 with 25 more HP. A mid engine, high revving, corner carver is perfect at this time.
Race Director
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From: Carlsbad Ca
I completely disagree. There are already plenty of limited production cars out there that can be had. Why take one that isn't, which makes it a lot more accessible to the masses, and turn it into something that is not accessible to the masses? If you want a low-volume exclusive car, go get one... that has never been the model for Corvette, and it will be a sad sad day if that is what it comes to... 