Originally Posted by WaxWeekly (Post 1585321438)

There was a little bit of pent-up demand. I doubt we'll see it stay near 4000 a month for more than a month or two, but I have no doubt this will far exceed the ~12k units that finished the C6 run.

Originally Posted by C7_Stingray (Post 1585321472)

:iagree:

Close but no cigar... let's say as we know figuratively we already see Mustangs or Camaros at every city block but I think the total sales will reach between 25k-30k per year... maybe even +/- a few Gs. No way will it be at the 80k-90k figures like the pony cars. C7's entry pricepoint is too high plus it's only a 2-seater...

Originally Posted by WaxWeekly (Post 1585321438)

There was a little bit of pent-up demand. I doubt we'll see it stay near 4000 a month for more than a month or two, but I have no doubt this will far exceed the ~12k units that finished the C6 run.

Originally Posted by JoesC5 (Post 1585321489)

I believe that the 3,929 figure is for ALL Corvettes sold by the dealers to retail customers in Oct, 2103. That would include any left over C6's sold during that period, I believe.

Originally Posted by C7Amaybe (Post 1585321517)

No, the number is new registrations, including fleet or any bulk sales. But it doesn't matter, each month is the same accounting.

On second thought the number may be inflated if all those demo units are counted in.

Originally Posted by Glen e (Post 1585321956)

And dealers can report it sold to themselves to support their sales velocity and support allocations...very hard to tell with hot cars what truly went over the curb to true paying customers...

Originally Posted by Red Lightening (Post 1585322234)

Sales will remain strong through 2015. Usually by the third model year you will see sales level off or even decline somewhat. Larger Dealer discounts will start appearing on the Stingray in the 2016 model year once the shock and aww factor dies down.

Originally Posted by JoesC5 (Post 1585322296)

Believing that prices will hold firm at MSRP until 2016 MY is delusional.

Originally Posted by Vetteman Jack (Post 1585322292)

Whether it is a C6 or a C7 that was sold, still a good number of new Vette owners.

Originally Posted by Greg00Coupe (Post 1585322341)

C5s sold in years > 50K units a year. You don't see them on every corner. You see a lot of them but not on every corner.

Originally Posted by JoesC5 (Post 1585322261)

If a dealer "sells" it to themselves don't they have to go to the DMV and register the car, buy license tags, and pay sales tax on it?

Originally Posted by JoesC5 (Post 1585322296)

$1,000(since January 2013) to $3,000 discounts(today) are already starting and there are still two months remaining in 2013. Believing that prices will hold firm at MSRP until 2016 MY is delusional.

Originally Posted by Glen e (Post 1585322497)

Nope...only sold in the Chevy system.....known a "burning a unit"....downside is warranty starts....but they will sell it soon and most people don't check.....it is unscrupulous but nevertheless done on hot product....

Originally Posted by asphaltrecycler (Post 1585322528)

Sustained 30k production? Not a chance, Lance. As I have stated before, this market segment is on the MAJOR decline..In other words, there are not enough ready, willing and able customers out there to sustain these production numbers. Rest assured, Government Motors is fully aware of this. After the first years hype, if they can sustain a run of 15k units, that will be a relative home run.
Remember, and Dave from Kerbeck, feel free to pipe in, for the past two plus years, a 1SA 'Vette could be obtained for under $40k in the wrappers and they still only produced just over 11.5k units a year...Point being, even price could not stir up credible additional sales. And there was nothing wrong with the C6.

Originally Posted by asphaltrecycler (Post 1585322528)

Sustained 30k production? Not a chance, Lance. As I have stated before, this market segment is on the MAJOR decline..In other words, there are not enough ready, willing and able customers out there to sustain these production numbers. Rest assured, Government Motors is fully aware of this. After the first years hype, if they can sustain a run of 15k units, that will be a relative home run.
Remember, and Dave from Kerbeck, feel free to pipe in, for the past two plus years, a 1SA 'Vette could be obtained for under $40k in the wrappers and they still only produced just over 11.5k units a year...Point being, even price could not stir up credible additional sales. And there was nothing wrong with the C6.

Originally Posted by Dave@Kerbeck.com (Post 1585323428)

Here's where I will disagree with you. That 11.5k units was more due to the fact that everyone knew that the new car was coming.

If you want to sustain 25-30k units per year you can due it but it would require a new model in about 5 years, 6 max. And you would have to realize that the last year wouldn't hit those numbers because of people waiting for the next model.

Dave

Originally Posted by JoesC5 (Post 1585323511)

Dave, you do have to admit that the 2004's production of 34,064 was very close to the norm for the C5 from 1998 to 2003(average of 34,150 annually), even though everyone knew the 2005 was going to be a new model(C6).

Originally Posted by Larry/car (Post 1585322108)

My dealer said they sold eight. Have not seen any in central Pa to date.

Originally Posted by OnPoint (Post 1585322729)

I'd rather they slow down a bit and get the paint jobs and rear fascia fitment right.

Originally Posted by C7Amaybe (Post 1585321503)

I think a big chunk of it were C6s sold at steep discounts. Still has Corvette ever been sold these many a month?

Originally Posted by Dave@Kerbeck.com (Post 1585323428)

Here's where I will disagree with you. That 11.5k units was more due to the fact that everyone knew that the new car was coming.

If you want to sustain 25-30k units per year you can due it but it would require a new model in about 5 years, 6 max. And you would have to realize that the last year wouldn't hit those numbers because of people waiting for the next model.

Dave

Originally Posted by Gary '09 C6 (Post 1585325934)

the economy crashing in 2008, and the slow/spotty recovery since then, no doubt heavily impacted Corvette sales

Originally Posted by asphaltrecycler (Post 1585322528)

Sustained 30k production? Not a chance, Lance. As I have stated before, this market segment is on the MAJOR decline..In other words, there are not enough ready, willing and able customers out there to sustain these production numbers. Rest assured, Government Motors is fully aware of this. After the first years hype, if they can sustain a run of 15k units, that will be a relative home run.
Remember, and Dave from Kerbeck, feel free to pipe in, for the past two plus years, a 1SA 'Vette could be obtained for under $40k in the wrappers and they still only produced just over 11.5k units a year...Point being, even price could not stir up credible additional sales. And there was nothing wrong with the C6.

Originally Posted by Glen e (Post 1585325973)

and will do so in a heartbeat again.....very scary for the future vette #'s

Originally Posted by v26278 (Post 1585326142)

GM, at least the Corvette team, deserve some credit. The car is hot, they priced it well and sales are strong. Next up is the vert. Then the HIPO, which should generate a lot of momentum. I'd say for the foreseeable future the Corvette is alive and well. That's great to see

Originally Posted by Dusty Starbucks (Post 1585326734)

I completely agree that the market segment is in a serious decline, but why?;

• is there more competition for the sports car enthusiasts dollars?
• Gen X/Y are a different breed of car buyer that doesn't lust after or value hipo cars the way older generations do?
• is the economy in a state of uncertainty that brings less confidence in a better future?

All three are obstacles for car companies and these are precarious times that require careful manuevering and decision making by any business, especially American businesses. Globalization is a great equalizing force and the effects of it are everywhere, including domestic car sales and competition. Our children have less disposable income and more uncertainty about future economics (and fuel availablity) than we did back in the day when everything went one direction....., up.




Indeed. (Glen's comment was on economic uncertainty)



Expect a very hard look by GM at production of a specialized market segment car and a prediction by GM that production numbers of those cars to be quite low, which in turn, largely contributes to selling price, which will further deminish returns. Tricky balance.

Corvette may be the flag ship car for GM, but it is not what they are banking their future on, quite the contrary. It is a market segment entry that is closely watched to determine that segment's ultimate viability. Some of us will see the day that everything changes and that squabbles between forum members over C6 and C7 will look laughable in the face of a future that poses a very different set of issues and choices.

The C7 has renewed interest in a declining sub-segment for GM and don't think that they are not looking for increased market share in the segment. It is their modus operandi. It is about sustinence in a declining segment. A segment that is becoming diversified across more companies and competition.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/memb...-13-157315.jpg

As can be seen here, GM is and should be focused on trucks. Something that American car companies corner the market in. The ability to produce the C7 comes directly from % market share in trucks and an increasing market share in alternative energy vehicles. Without those, Corvette would not exist. Corvette cannot sustain itself, by itself.

4000 Corvettes is an outstanding number when looked at in this light. Is it sustainable? No. It was queued up, but the good news is that it is a positive sign and that this new design has brought renewed interest in the segment.

Here's some data on competition;

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/memb...-13-157320.jpg

And here is some data that shows trendline, which is what the executives at GM look at and strategically plan with (older, but you can extrapolate this and guess what the rest sort of looks like);

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/memb...art-157317.jpg

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/memb...les-157319.jpg
Should you expect a hybrid Corvette in the future? I think yes. It makes sense even as a platform.

One more that shows a decade of roadster/coupe sales of German cars and is indicative of a trend in sports cars.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/memb...les-157321.jpg

As far as I can see, this is an interesting game to be played out and one which I will be interested to see the results of. The C7 has upset some of the balance, but there are forces that will greatly influence the car's success that go far beyond the horsepower and 0-60 times.

Sorry for the long post, it wasn't planned.

Originally Posted by v26278 (Post 1585326865)

All good points, but as someone famously stated, the future's uncertain and the end is always near, let it roll, baby, roll.
You can look forward to the end of Corvettes as we know them, I'm looking forward to a C7.

Originally Posted by asphaltrecycler (Post 1585327721)

Very well done with the facts and figures!
Would be interesting to see the same data trends for well equipped full-size pickups...Kinda funny, back in 2005, I bought one of the first King Ranch F-150's in Connecticut...No one know what a King Ranch was....People thought I was outa my tree flopping down $44k for a pickup..Now they are a very common sight...
Go figure!

Originally Posted by JoesC5 (Post 1585322435)

C5's ran around 31,000-35,000 annually for it's entire run(except for 1997 when they only had ~5 months of production). I still see plenty of them running around today.

I do see more homeless people on the corners than C5's though.