Jim_Lammers

An article on the C7: http://www.autonews.com/article/2011...110919918/1172
I have seen these comments before - Corvette buyers are older. What car with a typical MSRP at $60k gets the youngest average buyer? Geez, I couldn't even consider any new car, let alone a nice one, until I was in my 30s. I bought my first new Corvette when I was 36 and it was only because my wife supported my desire to own one. Does BMW or Mercedes or Lexus have $60k vehicles that sell to under-35s in big numbers? I really doubt it. I think it is nice for the Corvette to appeal to younger buyers but they probably won't be so young when they finally purchase.

I am planning to be one of the first with a new C7 unless they are truly ugly/bland. I had a very good experience with my 2005 C6 and love my current 07. I guess I will be 48 years old when I start my new C7's engine

BSSN

I'm strongly considering a C7 after they come out and I drive one. Don't have to be in your 30's to own a nice car at all.

KevinK

The car itself doesn't have to be aimed at younger buyers, just the marketing. Which seems to be exactly what they are doing. The first step in a good marketing campaign is also the cheapest one...publicity in the media.

BobRBob

While it's true that most younger folks can't afford a Corvette, some of them can. It's the ones who can that GM needs to attract away from the competition who currently have a younger customer base. Also, it's not just people in their 20s and 30s. The average Corvette buyer is well over 50. They need to capture some of those successful folks in their 40s.

ockie

That's too funny. I wonder what the posters now think when I said this very same thing about the average corvette buyer. So many people chewed me out saying that most corvette buyers are kids right out of college. Boooooyah!


As for the younger appeal, I am all for it, doesn't matter to me either way. The GTR for example appeals to the younger crowds. When they say "younger", they may not mean 20's or even 30's... even 10 years younger will open up a huge market segment.


My hope is that they do not focus on volume which it seems it's all that GM is concerned about.

1KULC7

Its all about the price of the Corvette. I still have a hard time understanding what is so difficult about understanding that most young people buy the "other" sports cars simply because of the price, technology and gadgets, and the past history that many of the cars are more dependable then the Corvette (IN THE PAST, not the newer generation Corvettes)

I also beleive that GM is still suffering from the poor cars produced in the 70's and 80's when it lost a large part of customer based becuase of the poor quality and build of that generation cars.

So if we look at the fact, during the 70 and 80's the people who shifted from GM to nondomestic cars, bought the Datsun (Nisson) Honda, Toyota etc., their kids were brough up knowing these cars, and eventually their sports models.

The dilema of GM is to win back this generation with price, dependability, and cutting edge technology, much easier said then done, when this new generation reads whats on the internet, car magazines and Consumer Report, that still rates GM cars medioca at the best on an average....

Seems like Toyota and Honda still rule that generation. I certainly would like to see things change and Corvette get back to being the forerunner of the sports car world....

Jim_Lammers

I for one get plenty of interest and attention in the Corvette I drive from people of all ages. I think it has plenty of appeal as it is.

I think once a person is in the market for a real sports car at a certain budget, they go look at their options. Corvette is the wilder styling in the range, compared to BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche. So it would appeal to someone that wants a flashier car. Also some younger people have a general attitude that "cool" = not USA. So they hate Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Apple pie and Corvette. Hard to reach someone like that.

In other news, USA today picked up the same article:
http://content.usatoday.com/communit...young-buyers/1

texvette2

LOL LOL Way the economy is going, the 30 crowd won't be able to afford one.
They better keep there lips glued to the old *arts. I have said they need to appeal
to the younger crowd, but they will have to build a cheap camarovette.

Kozzzz

I think it's something worth shooting for. More often than not when I see a Nissan Infinity 350/370Z, G35/G37, and on really rare occasions when I see a Nissan GTR, Lamborghini Gallardo, Ferrari 430, etc. they're usually not being driven by old grey men. The Nissans have the youngest drivers, but I'd wager that the GTR guys are in their late 30s, and the exotic boys are still in their 40s.

It's not always the case, but I think there's some youth there that I typically don't see with owners of brand new corvettes.

I don't see very many Porsches around to notice what their drivers tend to look like.

The question becomes: what makes a car appealing to a 20/30/40 year old as opposed to a 50/60 year old? What is different about the cars I listed above and the Corvette?

ockie

I'm curious, what "other" sports cars are they buying that is so much better and cheaper?

BobRBob

There are none that I know of that are both better and cheaper. A new Corvette that attracts the affluent younger buyer will probably cost as much or more than the C6.

KevinK

Marketing, marketing, marketing. You don't have to BUILD a car to an age range, only market it to them. Seen Iron Man. Every car in that movie was an Audi, from the R8, to that suv that he lifted, to the cars that the SIELD agents drove. What age range is that marketing to? Me, and other 30 year olds. There is a new show on Speed, taking Gran Turismo players and having them race to see who makes it pro. All Nissan. Think that's marketed towards a younger crowd, as they watch stock and race prepped Zs tearing around a track? Where are you, Chevy? No where. Still building rockets. What was the car in " Risky Business"? Porsche. Accept no substitute. You want a specific generation to notice your car, GM, your gonna have to get with the times in marketing. Or die.

KevinK

Because I'll mail anthrax to their head quarters before I get forced to bail them, or anyone else out again.

BobRBob

(about the marketing, not the anthrax lol)

And the sooner they start the better because the process takes years before it starts bearing fruit.

z edge

I was 32 when i bought my first vette, 37 when i got my second one. Im not a spring chicken but not exactly 50 either. GM has no problem selling all the Camaro's it can build, some of which cost near what a discounted 1LT vette costs at some of the forum dealers. So while price may be a big factore in keeping people away from the current C6, marketing is too. Younger people think my car costs $60k when in fact i paid $41k. They give me blank stares when i tell them that, and also when i tell them how cheap my insurance is compared to theirs...

marketing, GM, marketing! Get the word out there!!

1KULC7

You bring up a good question and I will attempt to answer it based on my experienced talking to some of the younger people in the Northern Virginia area, specifically at Cruise Night at the Chick Filla in Dulles, VA. Because before this post was ever made I was very curious on why it seems a majority of younger generation have no interest in buying Corvetts (Younger Generation to me is between 19-35 years old) . I specifically talked to several people in there late 20's who purchased the Nissan 350Z. I talked to some others who purchased the Mitsabishi Eclips (Spyder), older Mercedes SLKs and a couple who purchased older Z3 BMWs. Remember I live here in Northern VA where there seems to be plenty of money with these kids... I know a 18 year old whose Dad bought him a Mercedes AMG for High School Graduation, and another one, her Dad bought her a brand new Porsche Boxer....so I asked them with the others about why they did not want a Corvette,,,,

It is interesting to note, what we call a Sports Car, they also use the same for what we call Sport Sedans, like the Honda's, Toyota, and Nissan sedans that they modify (ricers). But some did like the new Cruise, WRX, and older Cavalier Z series cars. Even talked to people with customized Mini Coopers....

All tell me the same things:

1. Never thought of the Corvette as its too expensive, and they were brought up with their parents owning Hondas etc.

2. They want to personilize their cars and if the bought even a used Vette they would not have the money to do it.

3. They tell me nobody would spend over $35K for a Sports Car, and the Corvette is way out of their league.

4. Several who own Sport Sedans told me the same thing about buying a Vette, they are not into spead but into video and audio equipment and a Vette is just too small to have a big As5 System with amps, power supplies and speakers...

5 The young girl with the Boxer told me outrite, its too big and hard for me to drive, and I want a car that better then American junk.....she said futher to me, "Did you ever sit in a new Corvette, the seats and interior are just cheap, I know because I took one out for a test drive and it did not compare to the Boxer, they cost the same and I feel much saver in my Boxer."

6. Several told me they would buy a Camaro or Mustang before a Corvette, because only old people buy Corvettes. Others stated the Camaro and Mustang have back seats and the Corvette just does not have the room for the "Stuff".

7. Talked to one guy with one of those "Soul" cars that look like boxes, he simply said, "Corvettes are just not cool, its not about the motor its about the vibs from the stereo that makes what a new car should be about, it the show and the vibs, not the power and performance."

One interesting thing that I heard from most of the younger guys and gals was they love looking at Corvettes, but the connect it with the older generation and they want their own car for their generation and it happens to be ricers..... I even hade one guy tell me that Japanese cars are much better then German cars because the German cars are very hard to work on and limited with parts and accessories.

So, I really do not fault them, in a way I admire them, they are building, buying and driving what they were brought up with. They use their cars for something different then we do. We are more geared for performance driving, they are more into cruising with music....not all but most I talked to even said this, "Even if a Corvette is built that would be in our price range, it still would not sell because we do not RELATE to the Corvette era, we are in a different then the old muscle cars.

Its funny because all love the old muscle cars and older sports cars, but would never give up what they have to have one.

I hope GM does their homework on this..... I found it very interesting talking to a lot of those guys... OK so that is NOT ALL their generation and I know many own Corvettes, but I specifically talked to the people with the Hondas etc.... Just interesting, take some time at the next cruise night and told to these guys, they will tell you like it is....So don't shoot the messenger here, I am only posting what I was told be these guys and gals.

TOBAD4U

I've heard many of the same above comments myself.

I was at the Bowling Green factory last week. Their daily production is only 80 cars, one shift only, Monday through Thursday. With these types of numbers I can see why GM would like to sell more Vettes.

Jinx

GM had a marketing opportunity with the Transformers franchise. Maybe that'll pay dividends when the C7 finally bows.

They'd do well to put some young TV character in a Corvette. Preferably on a show that doesn't immediately tank. Any USA Network show will do...

I doubt TV ads will help. Neither will the kind of online ads they've been placing. Not without throwing out everything they think they know about how to sell Corvette.

Corvette has been pitched on performance numbers since I was a boy. They think the image of the car is self-evident, but it is not, at least not in any way that's positive for most people today.

They need to flip it around. Don't talk about numbers or performance at all. Just show how cool it is. Reinforce how unlike ordinary automobiles it is, how aspirational it is, to people who look young and successful. In short, rip off the Germans. If you say something often enough with enough conviction, it will become true.

Also, the C7 should have enough personal-electronics wizardry in the cockpit to make Microsoft and Apple blush; that's what's aspirational today. (If it doesn't on Day One, then they've failed for another half-dozen years.) And the big debut TV spot (about the only one that Corvette ever gets) needs to show that off. Sell it as a sports luxury coupe; let the tire-smoking numbers reach those who care about such things through Motor Trend.

But no, we'll get one ad that doesn't go beyond "isn't it pretty? and look how fast!" and then it'll have to soldier on through another generation of neglect as the old farts like me line up to get another dose of Corviagra.

.Jinx

HarryWild

Today, their are even more people that are in their 30s that are millionaires who are small business people, investment bankers, CPAs and other professionals that could easily afford a $120K car. Of course, the way the Corvette is put together; it is not a daily driver like a Porsche or a GT-R or other similar cars.

CannedBullets

Don't they already use the Camaro as sports car that they market towards young people?