How many years will it take GM to get the C8 right?
 

Sorry to have to ask these questions but I don't have much faith that the C8 will be affordable or start as a great car.
I expect GM to play the market game and drag us along with the next best option. example c7, GS, Z06, ZR1.

Do you expect the C8 to start as a better car than any of the C7 models?

How long will it take for a C8 mid-engine to out perform the C7 ZR1?

I wont buy one until at least the third model year. Even then it still wont be 100% but it will be highly tweaked by then.

I'm afraid i must agree! there are always a few bugs to work out as well as maintaining demand... it's too ALL NEW not to have problems.

What’s the overall consensus of other generations? Yes I still hear C7’s occasionally have problems to this day, but I’ve also heard a ton of people say their 2014’s have been super reliable. What about the other generations?

I bought a new 1968 Corvette in the fall of 1967. Bottom line.... it was a disaster. I think I spent more time at the dealer than driving it. My early 1984 C4 wasn't much better.

My new 1997 C5 was FANTASTIC!!! Other than the occasional electric fuel pump 'hum' that I'd drown out by turning up the sound system, it was perfect.

Our new C6 was, likewise, problem free. The same can be said for our very early C7 'vert',

Based on our experiences with the past three generation 'first year' models, I will not hesitate to get a C8 as soon as my name comes up on the list. My only concern is that they won't have some of the 'trick' running gear available until a few years down the road. That will just give me a reason to flip for a new one. I'd like to think that the days of bringing a new car to market BEFORE it's totally ready are well behind us.

From my perspective, it's a lot like buying a new computer.... you can keep on waiting or you can jump on board and enjoy the ride while others wave at you from the sidelines. Oh, and another thing.... The sticker price will never be lower than at introduction. I have to laugh at those who waited a couple of years to get a new C7 at $2K or $3K off sticker. When they bought theirs, the sticker was up over $3K from the introductory price!

No reason the C8 shouldn't be great right out of the door I mean it's 2018 but.............................

The first year C6 had numerous problems, the most famous probably being the wobbling crankshaft pulley. Mine didn't have that but it was a nest full of electrical gremlins. My battery had to be replaced within 6 months of purchase. The tunnel heat on the C6 was bad, the GPS was a notable joke and took a PHD and a 60+ page manual to program it, the A4 tranny while reliable was not a good fit, my ECU shorted itself and left me stranded about a year after purchase, the removable hard top needed much fiddling before it finally quit rattling when installed not to mention how hot the car got with it installed requiring purchase of an aftermarket sun shade.

And yet, being my first ever corvette, it will hold a special place in my heart. It also taught be never to buy a first year model.

GM will of course hold back on some features so they can release them over the first few years to stimulate sales. That being said, I bet the quality of the car is very good. Here are the reasons why i believe that:
1. Since the C5 GM has done a pretty good job of delivering quality from year 1. Perfect no, but not bad.
2. I've read many claims the mid engine car was started as a C7 and got pushed to C8. This indicates the gestation period of this car has been unusually long... giving the dev team time to really tinker.
3. As the first ME Vette, after DECADES of speculation, there is probably more effort being allocated to this generation than normal. You can bet your boots GM has reverse engineered every exotic ME in the market to figure out how and why they do what they do.

I hope I'm right.

I had this very conversation with Mike Furman and he basically told me that the manufacturers try, and succeed with greater frequency, to get it right the first time these days. You are so correct, it is 2018.

I'm in for a 70th anniversary edition GS.

No idea why i feel like posting this



pure trollery i guess.

Seriously though, my C6 (2009) still had the wobbling crankshaft pulley as well as the popping roof. The pulley was replaced however the roof never quit popping no matter what i tried. At least it didn't delaminate like some of the earlier C6's did. It was a fun car but the ride quality was HIDEOUS. You run over a leaf in the road and it felt like a pothole, if you were unlucky enough to actually hit a pothole, it felt like you had just ran over a curb. I was never so glad to get rid of a car in my life.

By contrast, my C5 had zero issues in 5 years and 60k miles of ownership. Loved it and as the last year of the C5 they really made that car spectacular. Wish i still had it.

My C7 experience thus far has been similar to that of the C5, mostly trouble-free since Nov 2014, although not a DD and only 15k miles or so, this one only had one issue and that was resolved with the triple flush on the A8. Everything else is a dream.

Hopefully the C8 will be more like the C5 and less like the C6.

Only time will tell.....

I had my new 2007 C6 for ten trouble-free years. I've had my C7 for just over a year, so far zero issues. The only reason I wouldn't buy the C8 right away is because I want to enjoy my C7 a few more years. Well, that, and I don't usually buy a new car the first year it comes out anyway.

5 years based on historical data.

I have worked for a tier 1 auto supplier since 1982. The difference in development and testing processes since then has been remarkable. New vehicle launches are so much better across all manufacturers. The C7 launch is testament to this fact. The issues with it were pretty minor and were fixes for the issues it did have were pretty quick in coming.

The launch of a new architecture will be a whole new challenge. I do anticipate more issues than the C7. How quickly and effectively GM responds to the issues will be key.

Given their track record on mid-engine cars........NEVER!!!!

While I'm not sure of the generation name or year of the new ME, I'm in agreement w. mitchykid, fyreline, and Boiler. I also have a feeling that since the C5 of '97, there's been a lot of talk and action about first year models----especially due to forums like this one!

News travels fast---bad news travels around the world and across the country in way under 5 minutes. You don't have to wait for next month's car mag. And with that fast news comes potential buyers who will shy away if the news is bad. Can't afford bad news, or bad posts.

For the ME, WADR (with all due respect) to the FE cars, they really are trying to get it right, the first time. Sure, it's my guess but if you think about the history of this model from Zora onward, the anticipation, and the attempt to compete with exotics around the world, it is a high-bar to meet, and to exceed. I believe they, GM, know it, and that is their goal: meet and exceed.

I say, first year is no problem of a significant nature. :cheers:

Wait for the ‘Z06’ version to be released in the 3rd(?) model year and I bet it’ll be pretty well sorted.

Even more importantly the dealerships might have a clue how to service/maintain/repair a ME version by that time.

Bish

C5 and C7 are my experiences.
The C7 is a wonderful car hell both are but they did and do have issues. I realize no car manufacturer is perfect. But the C8 A8 torque converter issue really bugs me, this is no small problem.
My C8 is a early 2016 so I am one torque converter revision behind the last revision. It has been to the dealer for the flush and is presently OK. I have the ranger installed to prevent v4.

Someone mentioned reverse engineering. GM did reverse a 308 Ferrari back when the fiero was build-really.
It toke GM years to get that to a fairly good car and they deleted the model.

I will not be jumping on an new C8 mid-engine car.
A used garage queen ZR1 will be a great buy in a few years.

Setting aside obvious higher-horsepower models introduced in later years, the first-year car will probably be missing a significant feature that will be added to the second-year car. Sometimes it's obvious, and you can decide whether or not it matters to you -- with C6 and C7 it was the automatic transmission. Sometimes it's not obvious, and you might want to wait a year to see what it is -- with C5 it was Active Handling. (But you might have thought it was the convertible.)

I had a first-year C6 (manual, so the carryover automatic wasn't relevant) -- it worked out fine, and I didn't have any issues that weren't also second-, sometimes third- and sometimes all-year issues. I'd have had no reservations about a first-year C7, but GM was building a few six-speed five-door four-lobe three-pedal too-good-to-be-true things and I had be one grinning idiot behind the wheel before they came to their senses.

Used 2005 manual for about 9 mo, no issues.
New 2008 Z06 for 3 years, 20k miles: leather dash bubble and AC compressor bearing - all warranty
New 2011 ZR1, 6 years and counting, 13 week end HPDE, 22k miles and counting: Initial front rotor "shakes", replaced front rotors, new front tires, solved 80% of it -all warranty-
For my track record, nothing to really complain about. Each model had added things, more notable would be the PTM on my 2011 which my 08 did not have...

I suspect GM will do as usual and take about 2 years for a Z06 like model and another 2 after that for a ZR1 like with the inbetween Z51 and GS offerings.

just a guess lol