OMG

Some of you old farts are completely missing the point. The C7 looks as riduclous to you as the C1 did to your grandpa and his Model T, then emphasizing the importance of aerodynamics and performance is the utmost importance over radical looks, then knock the emxtremly functional hood scoops.

JoesC5

Well, to partially offset the youngsters buying a C7 I do have another friend(mid 60's) that has a new C7 on order.

JoesC5

Before the meltdown, all those old farts were buying 35,000 Corvettes each year. Now compare that with the number of Porsches, etc that were sold in the USA each year during that time.

Oh, and not "ALL sports/sporty cars in the $45k-$70k range" were sold to people in their 20's & 30's. Plenty of old farts buy those cars also. Not EVERY old fart buys a Corvette.

But, then my supercharged Mercedes DD wouldn't be considered "sporty"...or would it?

JoesC5

so 14% under 40 owns a C6 while 86% over 40 owns a C6. When did 40 become old farts?

I doubt if you were buying Corvettes when the C4 was released much less the C1, so how would you know how grandpa reacted to the C1.

CantonVette

The new C7 is definately appealing to younger drivers. Just placed my order for my first Corvette. I have been a Mustang owner for years (most recently 08 Bullit in Highland Green, sold last week to make way for my C7), and almost purchased a 2013 Torch Red Grand Sport last year, but was advised (well advised in hindsight) by my friends that work at GM to wait for the C7. Many friends who are European/Asian sports car fans are drooling over the new Corvette. After my order went in, at least 3 others did as well, all under 40 years old.

Definitely incredibly happy that I did wait, and can't wait to take possession of my new ride. My order was officially placed on the 18th (moved to QFP a day later) and details are listed below:

Final Order Specs - 07/18/13Vehicle and Option Code
1YX07 Stingray Coupe w/Z51 Option
3LT Preferred Equipment Group (Torch Red Exterior with Adrenaline Red interior color)
Q7T Black Aluminum Wheels
J6F Red Brake Calipers
NPP Exhaust System Performance
FE4 Magnetic Selective Ride Control

Never-Enough

You think it'll take a few YEARS?

These are just Corvettes not exotics. If you wanted a car that you don't see often, you should have gone w/the Viper.

Raiderh20boy

Well, I don't feel THAT OLD (66) but when my Stingray shows up (hopefully soon as it was ordered in May and # 1 on his list) it will be #7 for me starting with a NEW 1965 vert ALL PURCHASED NEW

Rapid Fred

You missed the point, Joe. I simply said I'd like to see the numbers. Neither you nor I know the distribution of ages. But if we could get the data, I would bet big $$$$ that Vette's recent distribution is much older skewing than other "sporty" cars (and I'd say your Merc, like BMW 3 series, probably fits that description for some buyers) in the same range (particularly within the $45K-$55K subset). This is not something that bodes well for the marque's long-term health.

Perhaps the C7 will fix that. Early indications are that it will draw far more youthful buyers back into the fold, than older Vette buyers who will be turned off. That is a win in my book.

genv6.2gm

bottom line to the older ppl upset the styling isnt to your liking.

The fact is the styling bringing in a younger buyer, will get you a better CAR. would you rather have a POS rattle box that was designed for only your age group? or a car that can still be ordered to your liking with a few styling cues that might not be what you exactly wanted. they still offer tons of options that will make the car appeal to different segments, no need to get your panties in a bunch.

Broadening the market of this car will get you a more quality car, Period.

I would care about quality of materials, the design, and how it drives first.

Jp23rockstar

Your probably right on the magnetic ride for such a low price. However I heard mark reuss said that the current 130r design is dated and it would be a more modern design if they plan to make a vehicle like that.

TTRotary

It has nothing to do with age. Many younger folks hate the styling flop of the rear (me included), and many "old farts" as you call them such as Bill 17xxxxx absolutely love it. And again, I think something like 99% of people of all ages love the car and the performance, except for the rear, which just looks plain stupid. Some can ignore that, but others are having a tough time getting over it.

IMO, the only true old farts are those on the design team who did the rear valence. It looks like an old guy's idea of what a child would like (Mattel Hotwheelz). I thought we left the Fiero and the DeLorean in the 80s, but I guess not.

JoesC5

Torch, I think we both understand that "sporty" cars (with back seats, etc) would be more skewed to the younger crowd that either only has one car or has a family, or both. But sporty cars with two seats, like the Corvette would be skewed towards the older crowd that use it as a weekend toy and have multiple other cars in their garage.

I do agree that the C7 will lower the buyer's age as more younger people like it's styling and will buy one, and less older ones don't like it's styling and won't buy one.

The question is: will there be enough young buyers to offset the loss of the older buyers? Just adding more younger buyers will not automatically mean that GM will sell more C7's then they would have with styling that is more in line with what the oldsters would prefer.

We won't know that answer for quite a while.

Rapid Fred

I hope Joe read your post, and the other similar sentiments on here. CAREFULLY. All anecdotal so far, but maybe the C7 gets Vette back to being the go-to hot car for young, upwardly mobile types like it was in the 60's, before the yuppies went all Porsche and BMW in the 70's (for good reason IMHO)!

Being a "poor" yuppie," I went all VW, Honda and Mazda for my sporty cars. Camaro? NEVER...

Now I got turned around about 9 years ago when I drove an LT1 C4 6 speed and was blown away. But, many people who develop an anti-Vette bias never give them that chance -- and that is no good for GM.

Welcome to the fold...

Rapid Fred

Good summary. I will disagree with you, strongly, on one issue. 2-seat sporty cars were NOT skewed to oldsters in the 60's. Back then Vettes, even at about 100% of the average annual individual income, sold like crazy to young men who were star-struck by the C2 and C3. If the C7 can bring back the 60's feel for young guys (and, let's face it, it will be 90% guys) then there is no way on earth GM loses more oldsters than they gain youngsters. Given there are over 50 million of them, of which probably 5-10 million are "well off," it would not require converting a high percentage of successful 21-35 YO's to sell a boatload of C7's -- especially if BMW 3-series, Audi TT & R5, Porsches of all stripes, Z-cars, even some Lexus and Merc models suddenly become a bit passé in that crowd. It can happen and we all should hope it does...

You are certainly correct that we have to wait at least 2 years, as well as consider whatever is going on in the US economy over that period, to get a better sense of whether they hit a home run or an infield dribbler...

JoesC5

My experience from the introduction on the 1953 Corvette upward makes it difficult to pinpoint an age group owning two seater sports cars. Very few Corvettes around back in the 50's, and even fewer in Little Rock, Arkansas, where I grew up.

First two seater sports car I rode in was owned by a man in his 40's, a 1955 T-Bird in 1956. My mom's dog's veterinarian had a new 1957 T-bird, that he drove until he died in the 1970's at age 75+.

First C1 I remember on the streets belonged to a 16 year old friend. It was a 1957, 270 HP 4-speed that his grandmother gave him for his 16th birthday.

I saw a few others(I remember the neighbors of my cousin, in Houston, TX, that had a new 1955 corvette. They were in their 50's).

Then in 1959, my best bud's father died. They had a 1959 Impala(bright red) hardtop. He(age 17) shortly talked his mother into trading that impala for a used 1958 Corvette, as their one and only family car. He then traded it for a new 1963 coupe(Fuel Injected) and then traded that for a 1965 XKE coupe and then traded that for a new 1968 Corvette. He never owned another Corvette after that. His last sport car was a NSX some 20 years ago.

Then I remember another friend(age 20-21) that had a new 1960 Corvette that his dad bought him while he was in college. His dad was Orval Faubas, the governor of Arkansas.

When was in the Air force in Wichita, Ks in the mid 60's, didn't see tow many Corvettes. One I remember was a 1965 roadster, 396/425 HP with side pipes, owned by a divorced man in his 50's. He was a traveling salesman and that was his only car(both personal and business). Another Corvette(1964 roadster) was owned by a guy in his mid 20's. His wife was killed in a car accident, and he received a $10k life insurance payment. He used $5k to buy the Corvette.

Then when I got out of the Air force, in Jan 1966, there was a yellow 1966 coupe in little Rock, AR with those hippie flowers all over the car. The car belonged to a couple in their 60's.

Yep, I remember a lot of young people that owned Corvettes back in the day, all bought by an older person for them.

JohnnyMac1

This is probably the stupidest post I've ever read. I'm sorry for making some of you read it again or read it for the first time as we are all dumber now for reading it.

genv6.2gm

na this is one is stupider.

JohnnyMac1

"na this is one is stupider."


You are right your new post is stupider..

genv6.2gm

you dont even counter my post with any intellect. no surprise tho.

Scissors

Bought my first Corvette for ~$47,000 at the age of 24. In today's dollars that would be about $64,000.

Believe it or not, and especially in today's computer-based society, there are plenty of 20-somethings who can afford a new Corvette. Not everyone slaves away for decades to do it.

Not sure what "cash in hand" versus a loan has to do with it, though. GM makes money either way.