alanhang

they have announced that the 2014 production will be 18 units per hour. On an 8 hour work day that would produce 144 units per day. Over a five day work week, that would be 720 per week. overseas will buy more of this new vette than ever before. i see no problem with them selling everyone they make. I would not be surprised to see some overtime in there somewhere. As time goes on and the few people that dont like some parts of the car, as was the case in the previous c6 when it came out, I think production could hit 40 thousand units if they can meet the demand I believe there is going to be.

Big Dan 427

Alan do you mean 2014 MY production spread out until they start to build 2015 MY? And if these are all "base" models it's way too many IMO, they will instantly devalue the product if they flood the dealers, that is an awful lot of cars in a still bad economy IMO!

BAblackvette

I doubt they will produce that many

alanhang

I was referring to a full years production regardless how it falls between the 14 and 15

Big Dan 427

I figured you meant that! Even still that is alot of cars, not so sure there are even that many buyers in this economy! And don't forget if the car has any bugs it will slow sales quickly, I read alot of people who DO love the car want to wait for this reason! They should focus on a much less build number and make sure they have it right IMO!

rcallen484

I sure hope so. I would like for GM's biggest problem this time next year to be how to expand the BG plant without disrupting ongoing production

BWF07

It can go either way. The first C6 MY they produced over 37,000. and the first year of the C4 they did over 51,000 units.

alanhang

You could have a point ,but the other side of me wants them to hit a home run world wide in sales, I think the car is that good

Big Dan 427

As I'm sure you know I am not a huge fan of the car but that does not mean I don't want to see it succeed! As much as I know they are also going in a new direction with the C7 towards a more worldwide and younger crowd they need to make sure they hit that home run at home where the car has been an icon for 60 years! And again we don't know how many trim levels wil be available right away, lots of folks will want a more potent and optioned car assuming GM will have that. This is mostly speculation, lots of factors aside from the buzz will see how it plays out!

HolyRoller

37,000 sounds like a LOT, seeing as how 2012 production was 11,647. It would be great if sales more than tripled but I don't see it happening. Slight correction--the one shift at BGAP is 10 hours Mon-Thurs.

Batman 357

I think it's going to sell very well.

VADanno

More cars in "real world" beta testing will help GM find out weak spots for improvement faster. Plus it will drive prices down below MSRP faster. We aren't buying investments here...we are buying sports cars! My "buy threshold" is $50K, so that could mean a used '14, or an end of year '14 when they offer improvements in the '15 models.

Mike Mercury

the GM exec we talked to claimed the 2014 MY assembly line will eventually run up to 8 per hour. That's about 20k cars/year.

I hope its more... but thats what we were told on 1-17-13

the entire Corvette enthusiast community appreciates that.

BlueOx

Mike Furman @ Criswell says the sales goal for 2014 MY is 40,000 units. I think they will be lucky if they sell 15-20k the first year, no matter how good a car it is.

Big Dan 427

Appreciate that Mike! Another HUGE factor and I do mean HUGE is the timing of the release! Being in the car business I know how the best laid plans don't always pan out, meaning they need to get cars in the showrooms by September at the absolute latest! The planning frankly should have been more of a spring release so the summer season could have generated alot of more interest, if the car is late it will definitely not be good for early sales! I know if I was going to buy one living in New England and they did not arrive until lets say October I would wait, it may even behoove those who want to see the price come down which btw translates to not building more than there are buyers! Just my .02 cents!!

BlueOx

September ain't happnin...from the Bowling Green web site.
We actually agree on something...spring would have been a far better release.

alanhang

If you believe it will only move at slightly less than half the last c6 rate, I feel you are underestimating the appeal this car will have, not only based on the newness, the exotic look of it, but also so many other factors. Its hard to see them selling so little in an improving economy, and especially for those people that are invested in the stock market. The last few years have been excellent. Housing is finally moving up, and slowly jobs are improving. So you got a great new car, people making money on the stock market, and improving economy. I cant see them selling so few. Especially world wide. I have spoken already to a few friends in London and they are very impressed with the c7. They all think it looks life a ferrari. Not a bad car to look like in my opinion.

Big Dan 427

Glad to hear we do, now going forward we can or not with courtesy I hope!

So what does this mean as far as exact release date, I hope not near winter! Geez you'd like to think they thought this out!!!

BlueOx

It's not the car I question, it's the economy. I'd love to see it do 30-40k but I just don't see it happening.

BlueOx

It could be that in other parts of the world, this is a GOOD/BETTER time for it to hit the sales floors.

I said months ago that I thought this January reveal and late summer/early fall sales thing was one of the mistakes that the marketing team has made. And yes, I realize that marketing isn't alone in making these decisions. You've got engineering, plant schedules/upgrades, etc, involved also. I just don't see how they make 40k sales in the first year with this schedule. Now, if the price is ridiculously low...who knows?