rcallen484

If you build it, they will come

bj1k

There was one of these throw back cars at a 2000+ car cruise and it got more attention than any other car there.

lt4obsesses

I hope it flops like a big round rock thrown in the water...because then I will be able to pick up a used garage queen for next to nothin' after GM changes it in 2016. Because I love it.

DaveFerrari458

I agree with some of the things ur saying but for me there a lot of reasons that I love Corvette's but NONE of the reasons I love is due to the relatively low starting price of under $60K. Price (up to a point of course) has nothing to do with it!

In fact anyone I know whether Corvette guys or non Corvette guys that are loving the C7 are not saying their interest is there because of the price. Most don't even mention it....some do say they can't believe how under-priced the car is though. And it's not like all these guys are multi-millionaires (some are though).

But it seems like a few people on this site are only buying a price point versus a car. And it seems like some are really stretching their capital to get Corvette's which on paper is really out of their price range and makes no sense to purchase. But I guess any car that exudes this much passion in people will have this affect......you will find some selling a Kidney to get one. I think I remember Dave Hill was saying the same thing in one of his past interviews. He was saying some save their whole lives just to buy a Corvette while to some money is not an object. That says a lot about a brand whether a car or not.

Don't get me wrong, I'm going to negotiate the hell out of the dealer I buy a car from but I am more than willing to pay more for a high quality and Complete Sports car which the C7 seems to be. I for one think it's very under valued at $60-80K (just a guess of price range of a coupe) and let's say I were comparing it to a 911, I would buy the car even if the prices of the two cars were reversed.

lt4obsesses

And those two points you've made are exactly what GM is banking on with this car.

RJRSW

Yes I remember and no the original 63 sting ray received a very warm reception for the new look from C1 owners like myself. The strange rear on the 61 and 62's finally looked like they belonged on the vette.

They were very much praised for their new look. I bought a new 63 split window mainly for the look. It turned out that I ended up hating the poor visibility and noisy and hot cabin but the look was spectacular. Traded the coupe after only 6 months for a 64 convert and was much happier with the new design.

DaveFerrari458

Exactly!

JoesC5

I went to our club meeting last night in Branson, around 60 in attendance. One couple had gone to the Barrett-Jackson auction and had a chance to view the red C7 up close and talk with GM personnel.

The president asked how many liked the C7. About a 1/4 of the hands went up. He then asked how many didn't like the C7. About a 1/4 of the hands went up. Don't know why 1/2 didn't have an opinion, but speculate that they haven't been paying attention to the C7. Not a lot of excitement(hardly any) about the C7. A few might purchase a C7, but most will just keep what they have. I only know of one Corvette in the club that is driven daily, the rest are weekend toys, with extremely low mileage. I seriously doubt if any will be traded in on a Porsche, etc, because they don't like the C7.

These are all owners of Corvettes, mostly in their 60's, with a few in their 50's.

Oh, and a side note about current Corvette owners. We have 20 cars going to Colorado in July and when trying to line up motel reservations for that large a group, we discovered that one motel in Manitou Springs already had 30 rooms booked for a Corvette club out of Iowa for the same nights we are going to be there. Last year, while on a trip to New England , we ran into another Corvette club when we spent the night in Greenfield, IN and another club when we were at Niagara Falls. Corvette clubs like to do long distance trips and from my experience, the ones doing the trips are in their 60's.

RJRSW

Pretty much what I'm seeing also.

I think that the 2 design disruptions and GM's money woes had a huge negative effect on what the C7 became. It is more of a makeover of the existing C6 then anything close to a real evolutionary change like occured with most other generation rollouts. It is not what the engineers and designers really wanted to do according to the head corvette engineer and was a compromise to meet a deadline more than anything.

I do not think that the C7 is new and different enough to really generate the need for a current vette owner to generate the need or desire to upgrade.

What is hard to understand is all the effert that they went to with the aluminum frame and carbon fiber body parts to cut weight but the car ended up weighing 100 pounds more than the C6, where is the advantage to those changes?

The most radical new thing is the direct injection and cylinder deactivation. Pretty much everything new on the C7 could have been done with the existing C6 generation. As far as the new roof design of the coupe the design changes on C3 coupes over that generation was far more dramatic and the changes to the interior design from early C4's too late C4's was very similar to what the C7 is showing in contrast to the C6.

I have owned all 6 generations and the C7 is the biggest let down and disappointment to date and nothing that already wasn't being done elsewhere.

alanhang

was your 63 a big block?

alanhang

vastly increased rigidity is the answer to your question of what was the point. The car has advanced dramatically in every weak point of the c6. I had a c6 vert, and this new car looks like a huge advance in a number of ways to me.

RJRSW

There was no big block offered in 63 only engine options were the 327:

Base Corvette 327 cu. in. 250 hp engine $0

L75 327 cu in. 300hp Engine $54

L76 327 cu in. 340hp Engine $108

L84 327 cu in. 360hp fuel injection Engine $430

Never owned a big block, the friends I had that had owned a big block vette spent more time in the shop for repairs than they did driving them.

RJRSW

They already were doing the aluminum frame on the C6 Z06 and wasn't that car lighter and more rigid than the steel frame C6 cars and not heavier?

The C7 changes are evolutionary and not at all revolutionary and all could have been done during the C6 generation. I had greater expectations and expected far more that what they came up with.

not08crmanymore

Huh?? The C7 looks like a chiseled version of the C6,only the Chiseler got drunk halfway thru completion.It's not that dramatic a design departure from the C6.What it is is an uglier,heavier version though.That is the problem.

lt4obsesses

First, where did I miss GM announcing the actual final weight of this car? Did they announce the HP/Tq numbers as well? They haven't as of yet. So the answer to the weight question is, we don't know.

I can only say that for those that are dissappointed, I'm sorry that it's not what you expected. Not sure what that would've been. Mid engined? 700HP for $49,000? What? Round tail lights? What exactly were you expecting it to be that it is not?

And what of the interior? For years I've been reading nothing but complaining and moaning about the cheap seats, and as Jeremy Clarkson calls it, "the Fischer Price" interior. Well, now you have nice seats, even a competition seat if you want it. and those plastic trim pieces that are supposed to look like aluminum? Guess what, on the C7 they're really aluminum! Everything is wrapped, and even in Napa leather if you want to throw in a couple of extra dollars.

You've got more power, if that's your thing. How much more? Guess what, we don't know yet. Weight? Well we don't know for sure, but even if it is the same, the car is stiffer, more sturdy, and better balanced with a lower center of gravity, oh, don't forget more downforce. People who drive these cars will know what that means. And you get a stiffer aluminum frame, like the Z06 and the ZR1...in the base car! The BASE car!

Styling, ah yes, the warmed over styling. Do you realize that the Corvette has had the same basic, repeat, 'basic' shape since 1963? Do you know why? Because it works! It's simple aero and weight distribution. The Ferrari F12 looks like it, Aston Martin looks like it, Maserati looks like it, it is a basic shape that works in front engine, rear drive sports cars. But styling cues? You mean to tell me, that other then the basic shape, long hood, short rear, high fender wells, again since 1963, this car looks like a C6? I really don't think anyone who has any clue about Corvettes will ever mistake one for the other.

This car is a huge leap forward for Corvette in all areas. This thing is the real global competitor the C6 was supposed to be. If y'all can't see that, you need to stop looking at the lights, and start looking at the whole car.

If you don't like it, fine, that's your right. Don't buy it. But don't call it a warmed over C6, because it is anything but that.

JoesC5

That's my experience with big blocks. 65 396, blew it up. 69 427, cracked piston at wrist pin. Luckily, I heard the knock before it had a chance to let go, so I was able to save it.

RJRSW

The majority of people out on the street will not be able to tell one from the other.

I had my C6 convert sitting next to my C5 convert in the garage and the majority of non corvette owners thought the C5 was the newer car of the two.

I guess your expectations for what the C7 could have been were just far lower than what mine were. The C6 was already a worthy competitor on the track and I do not think that was the problem why the sales continued to decline. I hope I'm wrong but I think that after the flurry of buyers that buy more because it is the latest thing subsides that the sales will still struggle and for me that is sad because it could be the last corvette generation if they do. Gm has already axed a number of their brands that had been around for longer than the vette because of lagging sales. I think if they do not maintain a sales rate of at least 30k a year the C7 will be the end.

JoesC5

I was doing some yard work and had the garage door open when some guy doing his evening walk strolled by. He looked in my garage and saw my cars and walked up the drive to get a better look. He asked if my 56 Vette was a Camaro. That's your typical person.

Gmumd48

If the C7 Drives as well as the testers say, then you will want one. It will all depend on the performance and oneness with the car.

Problem is the Corvette never made a great track car that lasted until the C-5 Z06

Now if you were 27-34 years old and were comparing a Corvette with a 911 and a BMW M-3, and you are really in to cars the Corvette will look like a cruisers car that someone retired or empty nested bought and takes more pride in polishing than driving. That Generation will be in sun city soon

I for one like that the race guys have made an impact in the Corvette

having been involved with Porsche, my 98 993C2s, 73911E and 356D all sound and feel like someone wanted them to be driven fast and often, and love Corners. Tried to drive a C-2 and C-3 on a track and the cornering was downright scary I loved the looks just wanted to live a bit longer


THe C-7 if it has that quality will win in a demographic that counts and Its not you or me its younger people that want a world class car.

We will see. I wont buy one till I have had some seat time and can feel the car. I can tell you one thing the other parts of the car world are taking notice, just not the curmudgeons of the old Corvette thought.

New Corvettes like corners and speed, like Porsches and Bmws have for many generations

lt4obsesses

They did pertty much exactly what I expected them to do. I expected the styling to be reflective of the Stingray concept, of course turned down a few notches, it is this. I expected a vast improvement to the cockpit, it is. I expected then to improve handling, they did. Did not expect so much the chassis redesign, but it's a good one. Also did not expect the functional venting, this will work well. But I did expect them to go to the race team for some handling and aero specs, they did.

So, you didn't answer the question, what exactly was it that you were expecting?