Please GM, Fix the Corvette
10-15-2009, 04:49 PM
#91
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People know I'm far from being a Vette fanboy (look at my past posts), but the Mechanic manages to miss the point.
"Come on GM, give us a Corvette we the people want today, not the Corvette you thought we wanted in 1989. -- The Mechanic, Inside Line Contributor."
He fails to realize that the people with actual money to buy a Corvette today were the ones dreaming about one in 1989.
Car companies aren't in the business of being cool. They are in the business of making money, and selling cars. As mentioned time and time again in this thread, the Corvette is still America's top selling sports car, year after year. People might think that being "cool" sells. But "cool" to auto enthusiasts doesn't translate to real world sales. Our driving enthusiast definition of cool is skewed and insignificant in the grand scheme of auto sales. A Mustang is the embodiment of uncool redneckism, but sells like legal crack cocaine. Cars like the NSX, RX-7, Lotus are pretty respected, but barely sell, which probably adds to their coolness. Alot of people on this site that almost bought a Corvette bought something else that fit their own enthusiast perferences better. Almost all of those choices sell less than the Corvette. GM would be a fool to throw away the majority for the minority.
As uncool as it is, the Corvette nameplate is probably the oldest continous nameplate in automobile history that exists today. It's older than the 911, older than the Nissan Z-car. I don't know if you people remember, but it's always had the stigma of being a old person's car. If anything Corvette's image has only improved over the years.
If anything this reminds me of Top Gear's "cool wall." The coolness scale almost inversely correlates with sales. I'm sure those uncool top sellers wouldn't have it any other way.
"Come on GM, give us a Corvette we the people want today, not the Corvette you thought we wanted in 1989. -- The Mechanic, Inside Line Contributor."
He fails to realize that the people with actual money to buy a Corvette today were the ones dreaming about one in 1989.
Car companies aren't in the business of being cool. They are in the business of making money, and selling cars. As mentioned time and time again in this thread, the Corvette is still America's top selling sports car, year after year. People might think that being "cool" sells. But "cool" to auto enthusiasts doesn't translate to real world sales. Our driving enthusiast definition of cool is skewed and insignificant in the grand scheme of auto sales. A Mustang is the embodiment of uncool redneckism, but sells like legal crack cocaine. Cars like the NSX, RX-7, Lotus are pretty respected, but barely sell, which probably adds to their coolness. Alot of people on this site that almost bought a Corvette bought something else that fit their own enthusiast perferences better. Almost all of those choices sell less than the Corvette. GM would be a fool to throw away the majority for the minority.
As uncool as it is, the Corvette nameplate is probably the oldest continous nameplate in automobile history that exists today. It's older than the 911, older than the Nissan Z-car. I don't know if you people remember, but it's always had the stigma of being a old person's car. If anything Corvette's image has only improved over the years.
If anything this reminds me of Top Gear's "cool wall." The coolness scale almost inversely correlates with sales. I'm sure those uncool top sellers wouldn't have it any other way.
10-15-2009, 05:41 PM
#93
Originally Posted by Chris S,Oct 14 2009, 09:28 PM
People who complain about the Vette's interior for the $$$ don't seem to get that it also offers GT3 performance (using the GS model here) for about 1/2 the price.
If you have 50K to spend, and want the best interior possible, buy an Audi. If you want the most ass-kicking performance you can get for the money, get the Vette. Somewhere in between (like me), get an M3 or Cayman S. Yes, Chevy compromised in certain areas to hit their performance/price targets, but a better interior means you pay more &/or get less performance.
Chevy doesn't give a damn about all the people who bitch about them, since most prob. can't afford a new one anyway. The S2000 is dead from lack of sales, but the Corvette just continues outselling its competition year after year.
If you have 50K to spend, and want the best interior possible, buy an Audi. If you want the most ass-kicking performance you can get for the money, get the Vette. Somewhere in between (like me), get an M3 or Cayman S. Yes, Chevy compromised in certain areas to hit their performance/price targets, but a better interior means you pay more &/or get less performance.
Chevy doesn't give a damn about all the people who bitch about them, since most prob. can't afford a new one anyway. The S2000 is dead from lack of sales, but the Corvette just continues outselling its competition year after year.
But if I can buy an S and drop a crate LS2, LS3, LS6, or LS7 into it and have a car that outperforms and outhandles the Vette while having a much nicer interior and spend $10k less...why would I buy the Vette again?
And why can't GM do the same thing?
10-15-2009, 06:19 PM
#94
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Originally Posted by Neutered Sputniks,Oct 15 2009, 05:41 PM
Ok...
But if I can buy an S and drop a crate LS2, LS3, LS6, or LS7 into it and have a car that outperforms and outhandles the Vette while having a much nicer interior and spend $10k less...why would I buy the Vette again?
And why can't GM do the same thing?
But if I can buy an S and drop a crate LS2, LS3, LS6, or LS7 into it and have a car that outperforms and outhandles the Vette while having a much nicer interior and spend $10k less...why would I buy the Vette again?
And why can't GM do the same thing?
10-15-2009, 06:21 PM
#95
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Originally Posted by Neutered Sputniks,Oct 15 2009, 06:41 PM
But if I can buy an S and drop a crate LS2, LS3, LS6, or LS7 into it and have a car that outperforms and outhandles the Vette while having a much nicer interior and spend $10k less...why would I buy the Vette again?
10-15-2009, 06:34 PM
#97
Moderator
Originally Posted by Neutered Sputniks,Oct 15 2009, 09:41 PM
Ok...
But if I can buy an S and drop a crate LS2, LS3, LS6, or LS7 into it and have a car that outperforms and outhandles the Vette while having a much nicer interior and spend $10k less...why would I buy the Vette again?
And why can't GM do the same thing?
But if I can buy an S and drop a crate LS2, LS3, LS6, or LS7 into it and have a car that outperforms and outhandles the Vette while having a much nicer interior and spend $10k less...why would I buy the Vette again?
And why can't GM do the same thing?
10-15-2009, 06:38 PM
#98
Originally Posted by Neutered Sputniks,Oct 15 2009, 07:41 PM
Ok...
But if I can buy an S and drop a crate LS2, LS3, LS6, or LS7 into it and have a car that outperforms and outhandles the Vette while having a much nicer interior and spend $10k less...why would I buy the Vette again?
And why can't GM do the same thing?
But if I can buy an S and drop a crate LS2, LS3, LS6, or LS7 into it and have a car that outperforms and outhandles the Vette while having a much nicer interior and spend $10k less...why would I buy the Vette again?
And why can't GM do the same thing?
10-15-2009, 08:09 PM
#99
I keep hearing about people wanting a baby corvette or a more luxurious corvette.
are you forgetting about the solstice and the XLR?
maybe not great cars, but for first gen, not bad at all. And from the looks of it, not great sellers/money makers.
I personally would love a vette, just cant afford one right now.
i am waiting on the C7, so i can get a great deal on a C6.
are you forgetting about the solstice and the XLR?
maybe not great cars, but for first gen, not bad at all. And from the looks of it, not great sellers/money makers.
I personally would love a vette, just cant afford one right now.
i am waiting on the C7, so i can get a great deal on a C6.
10-15-2009, 09:21 PM
#100
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I'll take a C6 Z06 to drive around in place of my s2k. As long as its fun I dont mind the interior being crap. I've been told you can definitely tell the weight difference between the vette and the S2k on track though.