L98auto

For those that remember, how was the C4 Corvette received by enthusiast on the street? The magazines seemed to adore it when it hit but I'm more curious how the average Corvette enthusiast felt. Personally, I was young but remember Chevy dealers with C3s proudly displayed for years. The C3 body style seemed endless, like it might never change. My late father's dream car was a Corvette and he was not particularly thrilled by the more sedate looks of the C4 and neither was I. He must have changed his mind, because when he did break down and get one, it was a C4. Perhaps it was because the newest C3 was 6-7 years old by that point and he bought the car to use or perhaps the C4's technical superiority wore him down. It took many years for me to reach the same feelings. While a '69 is still my dream Vette, I've cooled on the looks of C3s overall. I still love them, but there's something about the clean and balanced lines of a C4 that I find attractive now. Despite the performance bargain older C5s are beginning to represent, I still can't get past their looks. Its all just opinion and there are no wrong answers, but how did the more conservative-looking C4 fair back in the day coming out of the era of the Shark cars?

RWDsmoke

I agree with you. My dream car was/is a c3 chrome bumper convertible. I remember in 1990 seeing a new c4 parked next to a new Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 and thinking how plain and under powered the c4 was compared to it. But the c4 grows on you. And they certainly drive and ride much better than a c3. I'm not impressed with the c5 looks either.

DWAVette

I graduated HS in 83, so I was at my peak “car-phase” during this transition.
I was a Corvette fan, but barely had enough money to keep my crappy old pickup truck running. No Vette for me.
When the 84 came out, I thought it was amazing. Futuristic. The instrument cluster was technical magic. Was completely different from the boxy Citations, Cavaliers, Grand Prix’s, LTDs, etc we saw in the late 70s, early 80s.
Smooth lines. Low profile. Soft on the eyes. Very appealing to me.
The car looked somewhat like the Ferrari from Magnum PI.
Recall, back then the Vette was very fast for a stock production car, especially when compared to cars like my 1979 Monte Carlo with that weak-sauce 305.
You can go back and look at sales figures for the 84. I think it was over 50K were sold - an enormous number considering Corvette sales.
Since the late C3’s and C4’s both caught my dreams, I had to get both to check the box.
So now, I have an 82, 91, and 99!

CorvetteMike2024

I remember the excitement when the C4 came out. I liked them from the first day I saw one. To this day I still like C4's. I purchased an 89 Convertible new. I still have it. I put 350 k miles on it. I wish I could drive it. Cant pass the California smog test. Hopefully some day I can drive it again.

vinco

There was a kid in my high school class who drove an 84 red coupe. While most of us thought the car looked cool enough, we never gave it a chance, because to us it was just a car that a spoiled rich kid drove, and we would never be able to have one. Fast forward about 8 years from graduation, and I got my first C4 - a black on tan '88 coupe with an automatic. I loved that car even though I had to rebuild both engine and transmission before I could even drive it. Fast forward yet another 25 years, and now I have a C5 that is a light project, but I still find myself pining away for a C4 6mt car!

DWAVette

Just move out to Louisiana! Antique plates - no inspection of any type ever again. Unless you vote Democrat - then just stay over there.

L98auto

I beginning to think that, taken aside from the era in which it was produced, the C4's clean lines make it a timeless design. The tech and interior is not of course, but I think Palmer's design work was pretty special. The C4 did look ahead of its time compared to other vehicles in '84 but aside from things like the digital dash, its forward looking design aged better to me than than some other "futuristic" designs of the past. No art exist in a vacuum however, so the society and culture of the time period will always skew the public's (and car enthusiast) perception of any car, including the C4.

As I began to properly appreciate the C4 many years ago, the later C3s began to look a bit silly and excessive to me. They were very much affected by their era. Perhaps it was the performance strangulation from emissions or the crazy over-the-top custom Vettes of the mid-late 70s, but they seemed little more than a boulevard cruiser. Think Boogie Nights. Porsches, which I had incorrectly thought of as little more than an expensive VW, began to look pretty amazing when one considered the power of the 930 Turbos coming out then.

I guess nowadays, I've learned to love them all, regardless of era. I understand the struggles the Corvette team had in the 70s, dealing with diminishing power levels yet high sales numbers, resulting in corporate not really caring to inject much capital in a platform who's performance was atrophying. It makes what McLellan and his team did in creating the world class C4 all the more amazing.

DWAVette

Come on, man, when you say,
“the later C3s began to look a bit silly and excessive to me.”

You mean you don’t just love this?

BMH95

well, those are the best wheels for a c3, IMHO; but the rest looks like a matchbox car!

L98auto

I believe I saw that car in person at Carlisle one year. It looks worse up close. Honestly, I can appreciate it for being the time capsule it is, but won't be rushing out to create a replica any time soon.

SJW

When the C4 debuted, I was not a fan. It took me years to warm up to it to the point where I might consider owning one. Driving one did a lot to change my mind about that and I've since owned two, and still have one of them. They are vastly superior cars compared to those that preceded them, by all measures except styling, which is a highly subjective thing, and simplicity.

Live well,

SJW

jay23ls

Love this thread. I was born after the C4 came out but I'm a big fan of the 80s and early 90s. I'm currently working on my retro video game collection 🎮🕹 after washing my '94 last night. Really enjoying these stories and first impressions! 👌

PS If it wasn't for the C4, the Corvette would have died in the 80s for sure. The early 80s C3 was that auntie who was way past her prime but still showing whatever curves she had left. The type of auntie to let everyone know when she'd get a compliment from anyone no matter what the convo was about 😁

Chestermo

I was 26 in '84. I never gave the C4 a chance since I was pretty much a horsepower fiend, and more of a Camaro guy. I couldn't have afforded one anyway. Lately, I finally realized that the performance began to come back in the late 80s. And the prices are right so I bought a '92 six speed this past May. I get it now. I love to drive it. I just finished "Corvette From the Inside" by Dave McLellan. I agree, he did a great job considering what he was up against.

jay23ls

I have another Corvette book, which I forget the name of. I hadn't heard of the one you mentioned. I'm glad you brought it up. I just ordered it! 😀👍

DWAVette

Another endorsement for McClelland’s book. Very interesting. The other book you mention, does it happen to be, All Corvettes are Red?

silverja

The introductory fourth generation 1984 Corvette sold 51,547 units, second only to 1978. It was completely a change in direction. It was now a world class sports car that was totally redesigned to outcompete with Porsche and even Ferrari. So good on the track that the unbeatable C4's were banned and had to run in their own class.

Many discount the significance of the C4's impact. Its was the starting point that lead to the evolution of today's amazing C8. In its day there was nothing close in price for its performance value.

walleyfisher

I remember when my local Chevy dealer recieved its first '84 corvette and had a open house in their show room, people were lined out the door to see a "84 Corvette in person. They had it roped off so nobody could touch it with both doors open and the hood up. People were just amazed that GM made a flip up hood on a Corvette, and the fighter like digital dash. The car was just stunning to look at that moment. It had a sticker of $25,000 on the drivers door (sticker shock). My buddy a week later put money down a one to order one with a 4 speed and was told he would have to wait 4 months for GM to release Corvettes with stick shifts.

People today can say they do not like the styling of the C4 but at the time it was a broad stroke with a new brush and everybody wanted one, it wasn't untill later people became disapointed in the lack of horsepower. Yes I am a co-pilot of my wifes '84 Z51 4 speed and it still can put a smile on your face when you drive it and I remember that night when I saw my first one back in October of '83

drcook

For myself, I prefer the C2's. I still regret having to sell the '65, but back then (early 90's) single dads did not get child support. The kids and I needed a house to live in, more than I needed the Corvette.

With that said, my '96 drives nicer, gets better fuel mileage and is easier to go long distances in.

But if I could get my hands on a C2 coupe with a 427 in it, well........

The bad thing about the cars from back then was the bird cages and the frame (back by the kickups) would rust out. People buying them now have to be very careful, and would be wise to have a car inspected by someone such as Bair's Corvettes in Pa (because they know what to look for and have no emotional attachment to buying the car). Paying a disinterested party can save lots of money.

ls777z

I’m guessing this is the real one. I don’t see the steering wheel....unlike Richard Rawlings who got took.

vader86

I was a kid when the C4 was out, always liked the lines of it, though the chrome bumper sharks were my thing.

Well received overall but the build quality, that really hit them hard early on, and in some sense they didn't recover until the later C4 years.