Is GM capable of making a quality Mid Engine car?
 

They can't even get my A8 transmission to work right let alone a whole new to GM mid engine sports car platform. They tried with the Fiero. True to its name it was quickly discontinued due to spontaneous combustion. I honestly don't think I would ever plunk down $100K plus for a GM engineered mid engine car. GM has never been able to get it right and when something goes wrong they don't do right by the customer. To risky a venture for me.

With all the problems GM has with the C7 I doubt they can build a mid engine car of any quality..

I would not buy a first gen (certainly first YEAR) mid engine from any manufacturer.

Some have mentioned an ultra low production car with a price tag equaling the Ford GT. NO WAY would I buy a mid engine car from GM, especially for $400,000.

GM has a problem designing/building a high performance front engine car. Every week, over in the C6 Z06 section, someone posts about blowing their low mileage LS7. Most of the C6 Z06's are out of GM's warranty, so that $15,000+ new engine comes out of the owner's pocket.

I sure don't want to buy a GM mid engine car and then have the 3 year BTB/5 year powertrain warranty expire, and leave me with the repair bills on a car with only 15,000 miles on it.

Others in the game, such as Ford and Acura, etc, at least have some experience designing/building mid engine sports cars.

At this point, only the NSX rings my bell, but I have a problem paying $160,000 for a car. That's a lot of coin for a car that sits in my garage most of the time.

As for the NSX, it appears that Acura has set up their facility to produce around 2,400 cars annually. Since they plan on selling them for around $160,000+, I'm guessing that is the point that makes sense as far as a decent ROI. I don't see how GM can sell a mid engine car for less than Acura can, especially, if they have less volume.

:iagree: At least to this big of a diff in auto reworking of the car.

You do realize that every Corvette made since 1997 is a mid-engine car, right?

GM and quality is an oxymoron

The dream of a mid engine Corvette has been around as long as I can remember, and I'm old. Would I want a mid engine Corvette, and the problems/difficulty of fixing anything that goes wrong. Probably not. The Corvette tax is high enough as it is, and with a mid engine we could be looking at Jaguar/Mercedes or even higher repair cost. IMHO

You do know what this thread is about, don't you?

It's about cars that have the engine mounted behind the passenger compartment but in front of the rear axle, not in front of the passenger compartment.

If you want to talk about front engine Corvettes, I'll have you know that my 1964 is more of "your" mid engine design than the C5, C6 and especially the C7 with it's(1964 Corvette) 48%/52% weight distribution. Next in line would be my C6 Z06 with it's 49%/51% weight distribution. The C7 Z06 is around 51%/49% weight distribution.

Well let's hope that if there is ever a mid-engine Corvette they don't take the drive-train from the front of a FWD car and stuff it in the back. The Fiero was a cool idea that got ruined because the money people forced it into being a parts bin car. How do you build a mid-engine car from parts bins when you don't have another mid-engine car in the lineup?

I am not sure if the problem is can they build one, I think the bigger problem is who is going to fix it when it has problems ? Your local Chevy dealer ?:rofl:

This...............


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...52c914cc47.jpg

I think the whispers of a mid-engine Corvette "sometime in the near future" is but a smokescreen to divert attention from the issues they are having with the C7. I'll believe there's a mid-engine Corvette when I see it. in any event, does anyone really believe they could sell a mid-engine Vette at the price point Corvettes are selling for now? Look at the C7s For Sale board. Majority of the people who buy them now can't afford them. Pipe dream and a diversion

Loved Fiero, and some other models in the Pontiac line. To answer your question: Yes, and I'm definitely not a GM fanboy, more the opposite.

Don't worry about plunking down $100K, as you will not be able to touch this anomaly for anything near that price point- 4x that is more realistic.

I doubt GM is too worried about any venture risk to you... :lol:

No.

Surprised at the negativity in this thread. And you all have Corvettes.
A modern motor car is a very complex machine.
At least express a bit of encouragement and show some optimism that the engineers and designers will bust their asses to get it right - if the accountants ever approve the model in the first place.

Who designed and built that 100% race car? Any photos of it coming off the assembly line in Bowling Green?

I have to agree, if left to engineers and designers it will be a good vehicle. But if accountants and bean counters drive the design based only on manufacturing costs and ROI then I would be very worried.

Back in the day the accountants ruled GM...I think they're less obtrusive today..." no more crappy cars" .... at least the intention is there...the execution is critical...the team needs to make a case that they will make a profit.

Every single item in any product has a price point that has to be met, whether it's going into an automobile or an air conditioner or an electric motor.

It's the job of the industrial engineers and manufacturing engineers to design the production equipment and processes to actually build anything that comes from the product engineer's brain.

Everyone involved in bringing a product to market has to keep the price in line with it's intended function in the marketplace, not just the so-called "bean counter's". In all my years in manufacturing(engineering and management) I never saw an office door that was labeled "Bean Counter". Never saw a business card that was printed John Doe, Executive Manager of Bean Counting.