grandsport4me1963

I just got back home from this event as well. The overall experience was great and included many, many highlights so I'll share a few notes and thoughts.

The Friday afternoon chat session with Corvette race folks was amazing. The stories told regarding the days of racing the old cars on their own dime without any GM support left us all feeling that Corvette may not be around today if it weren't for the few that went out on weekends on a shoestring budget and won races. Hats off to those legends.

Here is the list on the speaking panel:
Paul Reinhard
Bill Krause
Reeves Callaway
Doug Hooper
Dick Gulstrand
Joe Freitas
Doug Fehan

The gala was filled with plenty of speakers and auctions leading up to the unveiling of the C7. The "cyber gray" C7 was stuffed in a corner by the stage upfront so it was a madhouse of humanity trying to see the car the first night. The display car was moved into the center of a room on the Saturday following which made for a better picture (although I realize now that my iPhone camera didn't take the best pics).

Overall, the C7 was well received by the crowd. My thoughts are that it looks better in person than it does on the internet. I like the lines and the tail lights aren't that bad. This display car had no interior so that was a bummer. I'm still holding on to my C6 ZR1 though. All in all I was impressed by the engineering team at GM for this effort and I think the C7 will represent the brand as we move forward.

Finally, before I drop a few pictures on here, I wanted to say that it was refreshing to meet and talk personally to each of these people while at the lecture, gala and car show. They are all so knowledgeable, kind and easy to approach.

Paul Reinhart
Bill Krause
Reeves Callaway and his lovely wife
Doug Hooper
Dick Gulstrand
Joe Freitas
Doug Fehan
Corvette Mike
Noel Park
Jim Gessner
Doug MacDonald and his lovely wife (Dave's brother)

Every one of these guys have a passion for Corvette and love to chat about their experiences so thanks again.

Here are a couple pictures and I apologize about the quality...

Grand Sport (my favorite)


L88


Briggs


1st Corvette


C7 (horrible picture that doesn't do the car justice)


I took many more pictures of lots of historic Corvettes but wanted to share a few.

Brad

slief

Thanks for the write up and photos. I was there on Saturday. Loved the C7 but was bummed there was no interior in it. Just glad I got to see it though.

There sure were a LOT of really nice Corvettes there both on exhibit and in the car show. I've been to the Petersen several times and it amazes me that the exhibits constantly change! It sure is a neat museum with an incredible amount of automotive history. To have the West Coast debut at a museum like the Petersen and to do it during the Gala sure was fitting!

Thanks again for your post, photos and thoughts!

grandsport4me1963

First time to museum but I thought they had a good thing going there. Nice venue.

I went home thinking how tough it would be seeing that many quality Corvettes in one place at one time. I'm not sure it'll happen again (at least not until the 70th).

michaelinmech

Thanks for taking the time to share your impressions and your photos !!!!!

Bill17601

The one thing that people who see the c7 seem to say" it looks better in person" what does that say about the critics who have no seen the car?

slief

The thing is that the photos for the most part don't give any depth or dimension to the actual car. There are subtle things that you just don't see in the photos. Take for example the hood. It has many facets to it that are not always seen.. Look at the Red C7 pictures, you can't see those details at all. Instead of a very curved or rounded cowl like that on the C6, the cowl on the C7 is formed by sharper edges and straight lines. If you look at the rear facia, the rear of the car actually kind of comes to a very subtle point in the middle without any concave to unlike the C6 It instead is formed by several facets with sharper lines to create the rear facia something again not revealed in most if any photos. The front facia also comes to a point and is again composed of sharper edges to create the shapes. Much of those fine details are just not seen in photos but when you see the car in person, those things jump out for better or worse. For me personally, when I saw those details in person, I felt the rear of the C7 with its sharper lines and dimensions, fit the front and sides of the car given the sharper lines of the design details.

If a picture were worth a thousand words, seeing the C7 in person is worth ten thousand!

grandsport4me1963

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill17601

The one thing that people who see the c7 seem to say" it looks better in person" what does that say about the critics who have no seen the car?

Good point Bill. Keep in mind that when you're at one of these events that there is a lot of testosterone flying around and you're in a "Corvette" frame of mind with lots of others. That may bias the thought process a bit. Still, I like to step back and think about if I'd like to own/drive the car and the only thing that keeps coming back is...only if they exceed the 638 HP in my garage. C7 looks nice and will represent well but it needs more performance for me.

ldepalma

I was there also on Saturday, and have commented many times on this forum. The photo's don't capture the really sharp details and lines of the car. Also, I stood in front and back of the car and have to say, it looks very small when compared to my C6 although they say it's a little longer and one inch wider. Since it looks smaller the backend does not stand out like some people's comments who haven't seen the car yet. The rear was the most surprising of all. I don't think any other shape would have worked on this car. Oh, and another thing I liked, the Cyber Grey on the C7 looks way way better then on the C6. Because of the contrasting black on the vents and hood, the CG pops and I hate grey. Now I was going to get VY (which is what I have now) but I might be tempted to get CG. Tough choice. If you haven't seen the car in person, please find a way to do so before commenting how ugly this or that is. At the end of the day, it's still a Vette!! So let's get with the program. This is the future now....

Mr. Peabody

Thanks for sharing those pics and your comments. I can't wait to see one on person and really looking forward to seeing a green one

janky

I was also there on Saturday to view the car, other than a few minor nitpicks of the design it's an excellent looking vehicle IMO. Also spoke to a few other Corvette owners while we analyzed the car and we were unanimously pleased with the overall looks. Looks much better in person than pictures can do the complex lines justice, about the only thing most seem to agree on is the Stingray badge should go or at least be redesigned.

WaxWeekly

I've been wondering how many of us would have recognized each other's names if we were labelled with our forum names...

Sounds like a lot of CF members were at this event. I was there from about 9:15 AM until 12:30. Great museum and some amazing displays.

ldepalma

Yeah, I think the Stingray badge should be replaced with the word "Stingray" instead of the icon or at least redesigned. It reminds me of a sperm cell

Joe aka - KODAK

They have opinions that are just as valid as yours and they need to see the car, nothing more

Joe aka - KODAK

Except without the wiggle - The Fish is dead, shouldn't even be on the car in any form, the only coralation between the C7 and the real Stingray are the skinny tires

The only other thing is how poor on GM's part to display a shell and not the complete car

Brad - Thanks for the post - Great info and insite!

Bill17601

Thanks

ldepalma

yes, but that probably has to do with the fact that they don't have many pre-production models to spread over the country for everyone. Granted, I would of loved to see the interior but I was more concerned with the body overall. Now that I love the looks in person, the hard choice will be the color to purchase....

Mike Mercury

IMO, the C6 Z06 and ZR1 are complimentary to the C7.

I wouldn't rush to replace them with a C7 (unless I had money laying around to burn... and could own both at the same time). The C6 Z06 and ZR1 are worthy automobiles; and will serve the sports car segment for many... many years.

For me, I skipped the C6 genre alltogether; so I have no hesitation going from a C5 to a C7.

WaxWeekly

I wished I could see the interior. I wished I could sit in the new seats. I wished I could drive it a couple miles... I know they haven't made many mules, and appreciated the chance to see whatever was available. I also like the darker gray, so that was a plus as well. Still wont decide on black, white or cyber gray until I've seen all three in person.