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2020 Corvette revealed


akirby

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1 hour ago, msm859 said:

It looks like GM took a page out of the Porsche handbook.  They have a configurator up that you can design your C8.  Looks like one of the most customizable Corvettes in a long time.  They have a lot of "candy" options that I suspect will have high margins and should make GM some decent profit. LED lighting for the engine compartment with some carbon fiber trim pieces, 3 seat types, 3 interior levels, multiple colors, carbon fiber trim pieces inside and out, on and on.  The base price is probably just a teaser, average sales price will be interesting.

The question is whether Corvette buyers will go for that stuff like Porsche buyers.  Completely different demographic.  I do applaud the effort but I think they’d be more successful if they kept C7 as the entry level and moved C8 upmarket.

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5 hours ago, akirby said:

The question is whether Corvette buyers will go for that stuff like Porsche buyers.  Completely different demographic.  I do applaud the effort but I think they’d be more successful if they kept C7 as the entry level and moved C8 upmarket.

I have mixed feelings on this too but understand why the factory had to be reconfigured for one type only
but I wonder if GM has again cast off its current buyer demographic before establishing the new one.
IMO, they needed a longer transition on this with more time to run out the C7........

Maybe they  shoulda forward build a bunch of C7s with the 495 HP 6.2 Stingray Classic as a last hurrah
but time will tell if this is a master stroke to reposition Corvette or if it falls flat......I think it will be a bit of both.:(.

Everyone over on the GM boards is excited by C8 save for actual Corvette buyers who have been vocal
in their concerns but as usual, any dissent is dismissed as either old farts living in the past or trouble makers.
GM has a track record making unilateral decisions on product and telling established buyers what they will like,
keep in mind that the decisions on XT4, XT5 and Corvette were made 3-4 years ago ('15/'16) and in very different circumstances
 

Edited by jpd80
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I all honesty, though I hate the OHV engine, I'd buy one if I had room  in my life for a two seater. GM is not known for being able to pull off a Hail Mary, but I think they've finally done it. It is too bad they've done it with a low volume two seater, if this car is a success it'll sell 4,000 a month? Of course I'll wait to see how it performs. 

I see the C8 being compared to the GT500, it don't see that comparison. In fact, the car that is most in danger would be the ZL1 variants. 

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So,,, at the end of the day, how will success of the C8 be measured?  It certainly looks like the Corvette "faithful" stopped buying the front-engine C7, as evidenced by the fall-off in 2018.  Maybe the most vocal are just internet experts, who never would have purchased one anyway?

I am liking the look of the convertible,,,

HRG

US Corvette sales.JPG

C8 convertible.JPG

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8 hours ago, jpd80 said:

I have mixed feelings on this too but understand why the factory had to be reconfigured for one type only
but I wonder if GM has again cast off its current buyer demographic before establishing the new one.
IMO, they needed a longer transition on this with more time to run out the C7........

Maybe they  shoulda forward build a bunch of C7s with the 495 HP 6.2 Stingray Classic as a last hurrah
but time will tell if this is a master stroke to reposition Corvette or if it falls flat......I think it will be a bit of both.:(.

Everyone over on the GM boards is excited by C8 save for actual Corvette buyers who have been vocal
in their concerns but as usual, any dissent is dismissed as either old farts living in the past or trouble makers.
GM has a track record making unilateral decisions on product and telling established buyers what they will like,
keep in mind that the decisions on XT4, XT5 and Corvette were made 3-4 years ago ('15/'16) and in very different circumstances
 

The biggest complaint with the C8 is the lack  of a manual transmission.  All 4 of mine have been manuals, so I understand the concern.  They are presently still building the C7 and will have plenty of stock for those who don't want to make the leap to the ME C8.  And actually GM has been plyaing with the idea of a ME for decades.  The rumor was the C7 was to have made the switch but got cancelled after GM went bankrupt.

 

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1 hour ago, HotRunrGuy said:

So,,, at the end of the day, how will success of the C8 be measured?  It certainly looks like the Corvette "faithful" stopped buying the front-engine C7, as evidenced by the fall-off in 2018.  Maybe the most vocal are just internet experts, who never would have purchased one anyway?

I am liking the look of the convertible,,,

HRG

US Corvette sales.JPG

C8 convertible.JPG

Those are very typical sales numbers for generations of Corvette.  They fall off near the end of a generation 2012 - 2013 and spike when the new generation comes out - 2014.   You will see the same pattern every time.  

Actually that is the standard coupe.  They all come with a targa roof.

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10 hours ago, HotRunrGuy said:

So,,, at the end of the day, how will success of the C8 be measured?  It certainly looks like the Corvette "faithful" stopped buying the front-engine C7, as evidenced by the fall-off in 2018.  Maybe the most vocal are just internet experts, who never would have purchased one anyway?

I am liking the look of the convertible,,,

HRG

US Corvette sales.JPG

I can add a bit of color to C7 Corvette monthly sales, production and Inventory
These are the figures GM reported to the industry, I wonder why they are
lower than those in the press release.....

Corvette.......Sales..........Production.......Inventory (1st of Mth)
January..........800...............1,717............8,000
February......1,098...............1,672............9,000
March..........1,284...............1,816............8,000
April............1,372...............1,785............9,000
May.............1,875...............1,961............8,000
June............1,849...............1,844............7,000
July........................................................6,000 (84 days)

At the moment, National dealer stock of Corvette is around 4800 with about 800 of them manuals
Anyone that wants a front engine  Corvette has been given the message to get one while still available
So if we see a "gold rush" of buyers this month, that might signal that many have bought their last 'vette.

Edited by jpd80
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On 7/19/2019 at 3:17 PM, bzcat said:

Starting price under $60k... what the f'ing hell? Really? And this time, the engine is the in the right place. This will be the performance bargain of the century.

Half the price of NSX, not to mention R8 or Ford GT. And no BS required to buy one, no "invitation" needed, just order one from any Chevy dealer. GM is going to kick a lot of butt and sell a lot of C8. Much respect to what they've done and it's frankly amazing.

I still can't wrap my head around the pricing-the only thing I can think of is the base/cheap model is going to very limited and you'll have to step up the more expensive models to actually buy one. It makes no sense that GM didn't raise the price on the car-its not like the market for 2 door/2 passenger sports cars is that great that they'll sell 50k+ of them a year vs 25K or so they do now. 

Or how much ADM will dealers be adding when they get them in at first. 

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1 hour ago, silvrsvt said:

I still can't wrap my head around the pricing-the only thing I can think of is the base/cheap model is going to very limited and you'll have to step up the more expensive models to actually buy one. It makes no sense that GM didn't raise the price on the car-its not like the market for 2 door/2 passenger sports cars is that great that they'll sell 50k+ of them a year vs 25K or so they do now. 

Or how much ADM will dealers be adding when they get them in at first. 

Only One Thing Matters About the Mid-Engine Corvette: Price

Quote

But if it costs $100,000 or more, there’s no real point to it existing. What’s the point of GM, basically, making a non-turbo McLaren of a few years ago? It’s not new thematically, other than being made by GM. There’s nothing there to prove. There’s nothing meaningful going on there.

But if the car costs what a regular front-engine Corvette does now or even just above it, say, at around an R35-esque $70,000 mark, things are different. Then GM is advancing the sports car narrative. It’s then offering an exotic car platform at a non-exotic price. It’s democratizing a mid-engine powerhouse, and it’s not coming from some low-volume manufacturer. This is Corvette, not DeTomaso Panteras being sold by Lincoln-Mercury dealers.

 

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On 7/20/2019 at 3:23 PM, rperez817 said:

Yes sir. Here is the press release from April 2019. https://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2019/apr/0425-bowlinggreen.html

Overproduction is not an issue with Corvette. Fairly high proportion of this model consists of sold orders from individual customers. Also, Bowling Green Assembly is the sole production location for Corvette.

They added another shift.  If sales don't take off like gangbusters like they're planning, they absolutely will be overproducing.  That's all I'm saying.

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On ‎7‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 12:17 PM, bzcat said:

Starting price under $60k... what the f'ing hell? Really? And this time, the engine is the in the right place. This will be the performance bargain of the century.

Half the price of NSX, not to mention R8 or Ford GT. And no BS required to buy one, no "invitation" needed, just order one from any Chevy dealer. GM is going to kick a lot of butt and sell a lot of C8. Much respect to what they've done and it's frankly amazing.

big difference between the cars you are mentioning and a vehicle that will, in comparison, be on the roads in numbers atune to Fords escort in comparison. 

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2 hours ago, Anthony said:

Right, but what ever happened to making money off a product you sell? GM isn't a charity. 

I'm not saying they need to jack the price up that much, but when a limited production Mustang that puts out more HP then your base model Corvette does costs $15K more on a platform that starts around $25K, I'd wonder about it. 

If anything its a damning indicement that the Camaro isn't around for much longer and reinforces that it goes away in a few years, because it kneecaps the pricing it can have. 

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43 minutes ago, silvrsvt said:

Right, but what ever happened to making money off a product you sell? GM isn't a charity. 

I'm not saying they need to jack the price up that much, but when a limited production Mustang that puts out more HP then your base model Corvette does costs $15K more on a platform that starts around $25K, I'd wonder about it. 

If anything its a damning indicement that the Camaro isn't around for much longer and reinforces that it goes away in a few years, because it kneecaps the pricing it can have. 

 

What makes you think they won't be making money on it?  Remember, the C7 had no platform mates to share development or manufacturing costs and likely was just as expensive to build as the C8.  Yet, those started at $56k. Just because they stuck the engine behind the driver doesn't mean it is automatically more expensive to develop and build when you are starting with a ground-up design.

The BASE price of the C8 will be $60k. Like you said above: The base price of a Mustang is $26k, the base price of a F-150 is $28k.  We know what the ATP's are on those vehicles and they aren't close to the base prices. What makes you think it would be any different on the C8? 

To get an idea of how pricing on a Corvette can vary widely, check out this chart of 2019 vs 2018 base trim pricing (before options) on the C7 Corvette.  You'll get a better idea of how they make money on these cars.

 

345019414_ScreenShot2019-07-22at1_37_59PM.png.72d659b65ec39a81d017cacb588ea3d1.png

Edited by Anthony
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We haven't even seen the Z06 or ZR1 C8... This is a mid engine near-supercar (the ZR1 will be well into supercar territory) for the price of a BMW 5 series. I don't care if you don't like GM but objectively, there is really no bones to pick here. GM has delivered a world beating product that people who didn't inherit a fortune can buy. It's like the original NSX which was sold for about the same price as a mid level Mercedes sedan but was able to keep up with contemporary mid engine Ferrari.

GM is not a boutique operation. I have respect for what they are attempting to do which is selling a mid engine sports car at volume (and this ain't no Fiero either... ? ) and changing the sports car value proposition. Previous Corvettes were similar performance bargains but they had the engine in the "wrong place" so there was always an excuse for people to dismiss it. Nissan also duplicated (some may even say surpassed) what Corvette did with GT-R - same front engine rear drive layout that match the mid engine performance. So this is really a milestone car in the twilight era of internal combustion era... for $60k, you can buy a based model C8 or a Porsche Cayman 718 that both have engine in the middle, except one has a V8 and can do 0-60 in 3 seconds, and the other one has a 4 cylinder turbo that sounds like a Dyson vacuum. Sure... let's question why GM didn't raise the price... ?

Edited by bzcat
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I'd still take a Boxster over a Vette for the same money.  There is no comparison beyond the straight line acceleration.

The only issue I see with the low starting price is they had to cut some corners to do that.  I would have liked to see a more refined engine and a better interior and let it start at $70K.  But then again I'm not a corvette buyer.

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1 hour ago, akirby said:

I'd still take a Boxster over a Vette for the same money.  There is no comparison beyond the straight line acceleration.

The only issue I see with the low starting price is they had to cut some corners to do that.  I would have liked to see a more refined engine and a better interior and let it start at $70K.  But then again I'm not a corvette buyer.

You can have your better interior now - they offer 3 levels, 3 types of  seats and multiple color combinations.  The top level interior probably will be @$70k.  More refined engine - not sure what that is - DOHC twin turbo?  You can probably have that next year for @$85k.  As posted above the current spread on the Corvette is $57k - $136k.  That opens it up to a wide variety of purchasers.  That should be a good thing.

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2 hours ago, akirby said:

 

I'd still take a Boxster over a Vette for the same money.  There is no comparison beyond the straight line acceleration.

 

Can you at least wait until the C8 is on the road before sticking to that? No doubt the new MR layout will change driving dynamics over the old FR layout. 

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43 minutes ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

Can you at least wait until the C8 is on the road before sticking to that? No doubt the new MR layout will change driving dynamics over the old FR layout. 

No because it has nothing to do with absolute performance.  To me the boxster has better styling inside and out and is smaller and lighter.  Just my personal preference.

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3 hours ago, akirby said:

No because it has nothing to do with absolute performance.  To me the boxster has better styling inside and out and is smaller and lighter.  Just my personal preference.

Oh ok then, just say it that way then. You made it seem like it was performance based

 

For the record I agree with you. Porsche has making beautiful cars down to a science. The new corvette looks as generic as generic can get to me. 

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