SanDiegoBert

Speaking for myself, I'm not a 'Jalopnik hater' . . . I don't really know much about them at all, actually.

However, I am not fond of the rendering provided by Jalopnik, certainly as it pertains to the rear fascia. I hope it is inaccurate, but time will tell.

Heh, as far as the GM publicity machine changing my mind . . . Are you kidding?!? I make my decisions based on the steak, not the sizzle.

chaase

I would still not buy a base C6. I don't like the look of the car. The design has grown on me a little since release but it just doesnt do anything for me. The GS/Z06 style is the only one I would consider spending the money for.

The current renderings do nothing for me.

Rapid Fred

All in the details. If Jalopnik nailed it 100%, which I doubt, then there are some ugly details that will be hard to take. I'm guessing a few subtle details will be different and will break in the C7's favor. I have gone back and looked at my coffee-table books which had extensive C5 design evolution photos, including a lot of late "detail adjustments." In almost all cases, the choices made for the final C5 were for the best.

Under camo you'd never have known the difference between iterations so let's hope the designers got it right (because at this point it is 100% dialed in for better or worse) again...

OnPoint

Well, you'll likely be able to get 2 of the 4 (paddle shifters and black).

slant

Same here.

Jinx

I bought a C6, in the first year, despite not liking its looks as much as my C5. In fact I hated the headlights. I still think the front of a C5 looks faster and more exotic than a C6. In fact I still hate the C6 headlights.

I bought the C6 because it was a better car.

I will approach the C7 the same way.

The day may come when regulatory pressures are so great that the next Corvette isn't a better-built better-equipped better-performing car than the last Corvette, but we aren't there yet.

.Jinx

joec

I'll make my final determination after I see the REAL car.. If it's not much different from my C6 then no...

LS1LT1

And as a devout (domestic performance) car guy, that is truly among some of my worst fears.
I try to imagine what many car guys might've felt back in 1970 (I was a mere child at the time LOL) with catalytic converters, low compression ratios and air pumps looming on the horizon and how we might be in a similar boat now.
The 430hp - 638hp Corvettes that we take for granted now might be mere pipe dreams just 5 short years from now.
Get it now while the gettins good...don't be like that guy back in the early '70s that said: "I'm going to pass on that 1970 Chevelle SS 454 LS6 and wait for the 1972 models because they'll be even more powerful and faster yet!" LOL

Patman

I find it odd that so many people want to avoid buying the first year of a new model. That's what the warranty is for! Besides, the first year of the C5 and the first year of the C6 really wasn't that much different reliability wise. So why deny yourself the pleasure of owning the latest and greatest Corvette? If I had the money I'd be first in line to order a C7 as soon as possible! I love the idea of being the first on the block to own one! Part of the fun of owning a new Corvette is the attention you get, and you'll definitely get more attention owning a C7 in the first year than you will once they've been on the road for 2-3 years.

jazzlove

I've already put my money down on a 2013 Carrera S.

BlueOx

That day will only come when, like in the 70's and 80's, car makers totally lack the will and imagination to engineer them correctly. For far too long, U.S. automakers sat on what laurels they had and really didn't feel they had to do much but add horsepower and new sheet metal every year.

Things are different now because they were dragged into doing more kicking and screaming by factors they couldn't control. Those factors included economy cars from Japan/Germany and the Arab oil embargo. This HELPED U.S. carmakers see that they had to jack up their engineering in ways they never had to before and the C6 is an amazing result of that. Think of it...a base Corvette...driven correctly, can get 30 mpg and yet, when driven correctly, can out-perform any stock 427 Corvette from the 'good old days'.

CRABBYJ

Just beware of being among the first, the first year. Do a CF search using TSB #05-06-01-001D on the '05 C6 crank bolt issue. Very scary for the first 11039 C6 owners.

chaase

Many people don't like the hassle of having to go to the dealer to have to deal with warranty issues. The other reason is that the last two generations of corvettes have had improvements made after a few years.

The C5 and C6 both got more power after a short time. There were more body styles available. The C5 got the MagRide suspension in '03.

Of all of the cars I have owned, I have only bought a first model year once. I have been very happy because it has been trouble free but it was a risk imho.

BlueOx

Just remember that bad things can happen in ANY year of ANY vehicle. It certainly isn't always a first year thing.

CRABBYJ

True, but before you comment you should read in CF how disappointed we very early C6 buyers were in how GM handled this particular issue. Do that search, please as I see your relatively new to CF.

BlueOx

I wasn't letting GM off the hook at all for it or anything else. My point was that people jump on '05s and yet there are plenty of issues with other years of cars.

More to the point, anyone looking at a used Vette of any year needs to do a lot of research into that particular car. And just because people had some major problems with the first year of the C6 doesn't mean there will be major problems with the first year of the C7.

Lots of people know a lot about the Corvette without ever having been on CF. There are lots of Vette sites and other internet resources. I researched and bought my used '05 over a year before I first visited CF and I knew about this issue when I bought it. That said, I wouldn't be here in CF if I didn't find it a great resource!

Fortunately, I've never had any major problems with mine...knock on wood!

CRABBYJ

BlueOx, your informed research before you bought your used '05 C6 is how everyone should approach buying a sports car. And this thread is specifically about what to consider before being among the first to spring for a first year C7, especially the early run. I'm only trying to inform the unaware.

I will wait a little longer and hope to buy a '14 C7 over the winter when major problems should be identified with what we suspect will be a new motor and maybe other parts of the drive system, suspension. The prices may even be more civil by then as well.

So what was your '05 C6 VIN, >11039???? If not, had it been repaired or done proactively before needing to?

Slynky

I'm here for the C7. I'll be a first year buyer (mid-year) IF:

(1) The design suits my taste
(2) Horror stories haven't filled CF
(3) I can get the price I want

I Bin Therbefor

Right after WWII, there was meeting held in Detroit which was chaired by the then engineering head of one of the Big Three. The purpose was to examine the results of folks having to keep their cars longer than normal due to the war. The conclusion was that Detroit was putting too much quality in the cars and the cars were lasting too long. A delibert decision was made to cut back the quality so that cars wouldn't last longer than 40,000 before requiring major repairs. The desire was to get the car owner to trade every three (3) years.

The success of the Japan came after Japan, adopted quality control measures, espically those advocated by Deming. One interesting story is that Toyota offered Shelby all the SW. He turned it down on the advise of a Detroit exec who said the Falcon would run Japan back into the ocean.

All of which says competiton is good.

I love that the Viper is back. I wish Ford was producing the GR-1.

BlueOx

It is >11039. I'd have to go back and look at my records but I do know there was a flywheel replacement done to it before I bought it but that is all I remember. It might have even been done before it was sold. It certainly had to have been done under warranty.

I had one of the minor recall things done but I wasn't having any problems at all with it.