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Old 07-10-2012, 04:29 AM   #1
AVANTI R5
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Default C7 Chevy Corvette Front and Rear Fascias Revealed by Supplier Video




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D’oh! Someone at Omega Tool Corporation decided to produce a video extolling the virtues of its plastics tooling technology, likely in an attempt to gain more automaker business. In so doing, however, the Tier-1 supplier may have put a pretty big account in jeopardy: that of GM and, specifically, its new plastic-fantastic 2014 Corvette. It’s a car people have been dying to see, and that’s the way the General likes it. (That said, we know some stuff: Check out spy photos and more information on the C7 here.)

The screen capture above comes to us from Jalopnik, which was the first outlet to report on a Corvette Online post about the video—the latter originally touted the clip as a look at the process behind C6 bumpers, but the site’s commenters quickly noticed otherwise. (Jalopnik also has a full gallery of screen caps, as well as a version of the video that was salvaged before Omega took its down. Be sure to check it out if you’re a fan of finite element analysis.)

2014 Chevrolet Corvette C7 (artist's rendering)

From what we can see, our most recent rendering of the C7 Vette’s front end is pretty true to life. Angular headlamps cut into the fascia, there’s a large rectangular opening below the point of the nose, and it will again be made of molded plastic, at least on base models. This version of the fascia also looks like it will accommodate—need, really—a splitter or curb-defense device. Although it’s hard to tell from the engineering renderings, the front clip appears as a short front overhang, something that we hope accompanies a shorter overall length.




Of equal interest is the look at the rear bumper provided by the video. It’s a little tougher to make out the overall shape versus that of the front piece, but we can see inset portions that will house a pair of lighting elements. Combining this with information we’ve gleaned from a source who should know, it appears the Vette may ditch its four individual circular taillights in favor of the circles-within-a-protruding-bar units seen on recent Chevys. We expect much fury and anger from Vette traditionalists.

There’s also a clue as to the shape of the rear deck; what looks like a bump at the top of the fascia suggests a tapered boat-tail that will continue from the backlight and terminate at the trailing edge of the car. It has been long rumored—and our spy photos corroborate—that the C7 would in some way adopt this C2 design element. So that’s a point in each of the retro and modern columns, keeping things balanced at least on the tail.

Other items of note regarding the next Vette include the installation of GM’s new small-block V-8, which will add some kind of variable valve-timing tech and likely will see a reduction in displacement with no power decrease. The Z06 and ZR1 should return sometime after the base models arrive for 2014. And it’ll be rear-wheel drive.

Oh, there is one more thing we know with certainty: GM will be tightening the leash on its C7 suppliers
http://blog.caranddriver.com/c7-chev...+and+Driver%29
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Old 07-10-2012, 11:20 AM   #2
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Disappointing.

Looks like a C7 as a C6 facelift.

I saw a 2nd gen Prius this morning with pretty much that same fascia. Boring intake, and headlights cutting in from above.


The jalopnik sketch is basically a face-lifted C6. Why would the hood need to be that narrow? Just trying to make service more difficult?

what is the killer change that makes the C7 better than the C6? At least the C6 isn't ugly and bloated like the C5 was. C7's improvement isn't the aesthetics.
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Old 07-10-2012, 12:09 PM   #3
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Old 07-10-2012, 01:19 PM   #4
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Still hard to tell, but I agree, it does look to be more of a facelift. Hopefully Im wrong, but seems lukewarm from these terrible 'photos'. Come on Chevy, COMPETE for crying out loud, you can do it, its a flagship, go big!
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Old 07-10-2012, 02:03 PM   #5
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You realize that the prius bit was a bit of a hyperbolic jab, right? and funny because it isn't that far off.

So many people around here completely mis-interpret anything next to my user name, that I just want to make it bluntly clear.

The serious question is the last line... what is the killer improvement that would make anyone want to wait for a C7 rather than buying a used C6 for a heck of a lot less money right now? Or make someone, with a nice C6 already, want to trade up?
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Old 07-10-2012, 02:17 PM   #6
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Um if the improvement would be a multi-valve cylinder head, that in itself would be akin to moving the Himalayas with a slinky
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Old 07-10-2012, 02:23 PM   #7
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XLR had a Northstar V8. It didn't catch on much.

Previous C4 ZR1 engines had DOHC and 32 valves... but the new C6 ZR1 did not replicate that trait.

And multi-valves via pushrods starts to get problematic, there isn't a lot of room for more pushrods in the same short block length, and compressing two valve springs with the same pushrod means that the pushrod has to be much stronger and more expensive... or risk bending between the cam lifter, and the rocker arm.

Going to overhead cams would probably piss SBC lovers off to no end.
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Old 07-10-2012, 02:30 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by HipToBeSquare View Post
You realize that the prius bit was a bit of a hyperbolic jab, right? and funny because it isn't that far off.

So many people around here completely mis-interpret anything next to my user name, that I just want to make it bluntly clear.

The serious question is the last line... what is the killer improvement that would make anyone want to wait for a C7 rather than buying a used C6 for a heck of a lot less money right now? Or make someone, with a nice C6 already, want to trade up?
Simple,

Interior, interior, interior
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Old 07-10-2012, 02:58 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by HipToBeSquare View Post
XLR had a Northstar V8. It didn't catch on much.

Previous C4 ZR1 engines had DOHC and 32 valves... but the new C6 ZR1 did not replicate that trait.

And multi-valves via pushrods starts to get problematic, there isn't a lot of room for more pushrods in the same short block length, and compressing two valve springs with the same pushrod means that the pushrod has to be much stronger and more expensive... or risk bending between the cam lifter, and the rocker arm.

Going to overhead cams would probably piss SBC lovers off to no end.
Dear GOD MAN you did not actually think I was talking about multiple pushrods!

Hell yes I am talking about DOHC. Look how good the coyote V8 is in the mustang. I would love to see a variable timing 4 valve DOHC V8 in the vette at about 4.5 liters making the same HP as the 2012 Vette does with far more displacement.
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Old 07-10-2012, 03:08 PM   #10
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you realize this is no where near the finished product and tier 1-2 suppliers routinely used disguised pictures unless the product has already been released?
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Old 07-10-2012, 08:30 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HipToBeSquare View Post
Disappointing.

Looks like a C7 as a C6 facelift.
Quote:
Originally Posted by left footed whooten View Post
Still hard to tell, but I agree, it does look to be more of a facelift. Hopefully Im wrong, but seems lukewarm from these terrible 'photos'. Come on Chevy, COMPETE for crying out loud, you can do it, its a flagship, go big!
The same could be said of every new generation of Porsche 911 since the 1960s. To answer the "why would a C6 owner upgrade?" question, the answer for a person who cares mostly about driving the car is "they wouldn't" but many of the people who buy these cars buy them to tell the world that they can afford a new Corvette (or Porsche), not because the new car is the better buy from a value perspective.

It doesn't need to be a quantum upgrade on the last generation, just regular, consistent evolution over time. Porsche taught us that about sports cars and Honda and Toyota taught us that about every other kind of car. I'm reminded of the C&D line about the ~2003 Pontiac Grand Prix, something like "evolving at it's own pace" implying that stagnation was a recipe for extinction. Pretty prescient in retrospect. GM finally learns that lesson and you guys want every new generation of Corvette to be like the difference between the C4 and C5. The C4 was in production for 12 years!

That said, it could very well be a quantum upgrade on the C6 and none of the relevant upgrades would show up in these pictures. Make your own top ten list of desired upgrades to the 'Vette, would any of them show up in renderings? None of mine would.
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Old 07-10-2012, 08:37 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by HipToBeSquare View Post
Disappointing.

Looks like a C7 as a C6 facelift.

I saw a 2nd gen Prius this morning with pretty much that same fascia. Boring intake, and headlights cutting in from above.


The jalopnik sketch is basically a face-lifted C6. Why would the hood need to be that narrow? Just trying to make service more difficult?

what is the killer change that makes the C7 better than the C6? At least the C6 isn't ugly and bloated like the C5 was. C7's improvement isn't the aesthetics.
You know why the jalopnik sketch is a face lifted C6? BECAUSE IT'S A GODDAMNED BLOG RENDER.


It is an absolute wonder no one has hired you to design cars. Maybe you'll get the call as Sergio's heir apparent at Pininfarina.
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Old 07-10-2012, 10:38 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HipToBeSquare
And multi-valves via pushrods starts to get problematic, there isn't a lot of room for more pushrods in the same short block length, and compressing two valve springs with the same pushrod means that the pushrod has to be much stronger and more expensive... or risk bending between the cam lifter, and the rocker arm.
<<Thinking to myself: Oh my god, I can't wait to read Scrappy's reply...>>

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Dear GOD MAN you did not actually think I was talking about multiple pushrods!
<<Read it in DeForest Kelley's voice>>

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Old 07-11-2012, 01:35 AM   #14
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@Scrappydo,
I addressed all three possibilities of increasing the number of valves in the SBC engine.

1: more pushrods.
2: pushrods pushing more valves per rod.
3: overhead cam arrangments.

After decades of crowing the praises of pushrod compactness and small block size... and not accepting DOHC versions previously en-masse, (C4 ZR1 and XLR Northstar), I don't think DOHC is going to be hugely popular for SBC fans. After C4 ZR1, there wasn't a corvette fan outcry for the C5 to have wider application of a multi-valve engine, and XLR was a sales dud for more than one reason, but nobody really swaps XLR-V supercharged Northstars into Corvettes to get the DOHC engine specs.

I am not an SBC devotee... and frankly I think SBCs are overplayed and ubiquitous... I prefer DOHC engines. But I know how SBC fans can be about their beloved pushrod engines.

Corvette is the SBC home field sports car. A technical upgrade to DOHC could do more image damage in the loyalist's eyes, than it's technical benefits. Corvette already has three levels of power, all of which are more than public roads readily allow use of. Power isn't really Corvette's problem.

@ptclaus98
Even just the front fascia looks derivative of the C6, if you disregard the rest of the Jalopnik render, which the fascia is consistent with. It has a similarly boring front end as the C6's rectangular intake and rectangular fog lights. About as boring as the Gen2 Prius. I hope it ends up being more compelling than Jalopnik's render suggests... I said that on Jalopnik, when they first put forward that rendering.

@gpshumway
Evolutionary changes are fine... but I am not sure what GM could have up it's sleeve that wouldn't piss off corvette loyalists. Maybe they'll have something compelling... I am wondering what that will be. That is why I asked.

And Porsche is good about actually TECHNICALLY improving it's cars, and steadily growing horsepower ratings, and improving handling, feedback, and design details, in an evolutionary sense. There was a jarring effect from 993 to 996... and perhaps a bit of one again for the new 991 being longer and more Grand Touring oriented, but by and large, there have been steady upgrades like turbocharging... better suspensions... more recently the replacement of tiptronic with superior PDK... there have been improvements that get people to trade up, and to make newer cars qualitatively better than their predecessors. Porsche is the master at incremental improvements, not just periodic changes with little functional difference.
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Old 07-11-2012, 09:11 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HipToBeSquare View Post
@Scrappydo,
I addressed all three possibilities of increasing the number of valves in the SBC engine.

1: more pushrods.
2: pushrods pushing more valves per rod.
3: overhead cam arrangments.

After decades of crowing the praises of pushrod compactness and small block size... and not accepting DOHC versions previously en-masse, (C4 ZR1 and XLR Northstar), I don't think DOHC is going to be hugely popular for SBC fans. After C4 ZR1, there wasn't a corvette fan outcry for the C5 to have wider application of a multi-valve engine, and XLR was a sales dud for more than one reason, but nobody really swaps XLR-V supercharged Northstars into Corvettes to get the DOHC engine specs.

I am not an SBC devotee... and frankly I think SBCs are overplayed and ubiquitous... I prefer DOHC engines. But I know how SBC fans can be about their beloved pushrod engines.

Corvette is the SBC home field sports car. A technical upgrade to DOHC could do more image damage in the loyalist's eyes, than it's technical benefits. Corvette already has three levels of power, all of which are more than public roads readily allow use of. Power isn't really Corvette's problem.

@ptclaus98
Even just the front fascia looks derivative of the C6, if you disregard the rest of the Jalopnik render, which the fascia is consistent with. It has a similarly boring front end as the C6's rectangular intake and rectangular fog lights. About as boring as the Gen2 Prius. I hope it ends up being more compelling than Jalopnik's render suggests... I said that on Jalopnik, when they first put forward that rendering.

@gpshumway
Evolutionary changes are fine... but I am not sure what GM could have up it's sleeve that wouldn't piss off corvette loyalists. Maybe they'll have something compelling... I am wondering what that will be. That is why I asked.

And Porsche is good about actually TECHNICALLY improving it's cars, and steadily growing horsepower ratings, and improving handling, feedback, and design details, in an evolutionary sense. There was a jarring effect from 993 to 996... and perhaps a bit of one again for the new 991 being longer and more Grand Touring oriented, but by and large, there have been steady upgrades like turbocharging... better suspensions... more recently the replacement of tiptronic with superior PDK... there have been improvements that get people to trade up, and to make newer cars qualitatively better than their predecessors. Porsche is the master at incremental improvements, not just periodic changes with little functional difference.
How all these conclusions come up just from renderings.

There are a big difference between the 911 and the Corvette, not even talking about technical, but the company, image, and market. The 911 has major fan base worldwide, while the Corvette mostly just North America.

The renders may look like "just a facelift", but they are evolutions of Corvette designs, just like from C5 to C6 and past versions. Like the 911. The new Viper looks much like a face lifted original GTS, and I'm glad they chose with the design than some of those early renders that look like Alfas, and Ferraris.

I agree with you on DOHC, it could do more damage than good. the Corvette does not need it and it has plenty power and efficiency.

The pushrod is tradition and unique to the all American sports car.
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Old 07-11-2012, 09:37 AM   #16
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I'm sure chevy going to just half ass their hero car design. We can all play armchair designer/engineer and wax-poetic on how a front end dictates push rods vs OHC engine design or we can wait for more info to roll out.
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Old 07-11-2012, 09:51 AM   #17
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If they put a manual crank on the vette that would be unique as well. But they moved on.

The original ZR1 engine was a beautiful thing. It was killed off not because people did not love it, it was killed off because it was being built by a non union shop and the UAW killed it off. It was also rather expensive compared to the old standard pushrods of the day.

The northstar was never really used widely and I do not know it story. But the writing is on the wall. Keeping an inferior head on the corvette will eventually hurt it. They are painted into a box now with the current direction of the tech. They need to break free and get themselves a new direction.

The traditional baby boomer purchaser of the vettes are not going to be around forever.



This is a growing trend. Year after year sales are declining. The amount of people who grew up wanting a vette is shriveling. The now want GTR's and Mustangs, STI's, etc. There is far more competition out there. Other muscle cars of the boomers generation are taking Vette sales as well.

Vette sales are slowing down... year after year. (granted 2008 did not help)

2007 40,561
2008 35,310
2009 26,956
2010 22,194
2011 13,596

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. As the boomers start to die off, their death grip on marketing demographics is dying with them.

The chance to make the vette a more modern flagship that it should be can become a reality. To capture the next generation of buyers they need to freshen its image.

I think a Vette is a stellar performance car. NO arguing that, but I have NO desire to ever own one. It is an old fat white mans car. That is who drives it. Granted that is a stereotype and generalization with exceptions to the rule, but every stereotype is based in fact somewhere.

From SEMA research:

"...82% are between ages of 40 and 69 (median age being 53)..."

The box they are in is shrinking. Fuel economy is getting tighter. They cannot keep making 6+ liter cars. You can only gear it down so much before it becomes impractical.
You can only remove weight so far before it becomes stripped out and raw, and 53 year old men do not usually like stripped out and raw.

They need to use a smaller displacement DOHC V8 engine, with direct injection that gets equal power but far better mpg. Then they can give it a true performance 6 speed and drop the killer overdrives on 5th and 6th. I think the C6 is a great size, but if they could shrink it a bit more that would be great, but not really sure where they can take off any size. They have that 2 golf bag rule I think.

Most of all, they need to look at what other people do in 50K dollar cars and make an interior bespoke to the Vette. Make it a special place.
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Old 07-11-2012, 10:14 AM   #18
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I'm fine with the Vette using pushrods, btw. I'll take a lower cowl height over a more power efficient engine... besides, you can make more than enough power with the LSx engines for any type of driving I'd hope to do.
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Old 07-11-2012, 11:59 AM   #19
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I'm fine with the Vette using pushrods, btw. I'll take a lower cowl height over a more power efficient engine... besides, you can make more than enough power with the LSx engines for any type of driving I'd hope to do.
Plus the current range of LS motors are very light for how large they are and lead to an overall reduced engine height=good thing

Plus a pushrod valvetrain will almost certainly be lighter than a multi-cam/multivalve setup.

Maybe I am a bit biased but I love how flexiable my bolt on LS3 motor is in my 2008. Cuising on the highway in 6th at anything less than 80mph yields MPG between 29 and 31.


Oh BTW i'm 36 so I guess I'm really not an average corvette owner...
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Old 07-11-2012, 06:08 PM   #20
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If Corvette is going to eschew pushrods... and really become something for a new generation to latch onto...

It should go mid-engined at the same time... and make the break from one generation to the next as stark, and thus clean, as possible.

If they are going to raise the ire of traditional corvette fans... then the corvette should truly be non-traditional in every respect.

Changing only ONE thing that Corvette has been known for all this time... will only piss people off.

Kind of like making a 4-door turbo-boxer Subaru WRX... with 2WD. One major change on a platform that has expectations attached to it. BRZ being 2WD is much better as a different car, than if they had made one change to an existing car that people know for being a certain way.
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Old 07-11-2012, 08:57 PM   #21
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HIP, never go full retarded...mid engine vettes are talked about every new generation. Never going to happen. THe Front Mid layout just gives way too much trunk space to give up.

A DOHC engine can be made lighter than an LS engine. The Coyote is lighter than the latest crop of LS engines. I can be done, it just takes clever packaging. THe cowl height is such a meaningless statistic. Aesthetics can be made to look fabulous with any engine.

I would take increased efficiency over cowl height.
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Old 07-11-2012, 09:04 PM   #22
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I would love to see the vette shrink in size and weight - more akin to the 50's vette. Powered by a high revving 3.0-4.0 v8
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Old 07-11-2012, 10:20 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO View Post
Vette sales are slowing down... year after year. (granted 2008 did not help)

2007 40,561
2008 35,310
2009 26,956
2010 22,194
2011 13,596

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. As the boomers start to die off, their death grip on marketing demographics is dying with them.
I shouldn't really have to point this out, but:

Not saying you're wrong, but these numbers don't support your point; these are all from the same generation model. Dwindling sales numbers within the same generation of any vehicle are completely matter-of-course. You always see that. Your sample group really needs to show a decline over C4-C5-C6 generations to be valid. I haven't checked those because I'm a lazy bastard, so they may in fact still support your point. But even if they do, they still wouldn't necessarily mean you're right, what with the C4 being during the economic boom of the 1980's and the C6 during the modern economic downturn, I'd expect the sales numbers to decline regardless of average customer age. So that's a hard point to support, honestly.

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The box they are in is shrinking. Fuel economy is getting tighter. They cannot keep making 6+ liter cars. You can only gear it down so much before it becomes impractical.
You can only remove weight so far before it becomes stripped out and raw, and 53 year old men do not usually like stripped out and raw.

They need to use a smaller displacement DOHC V8 engine, with direct injection that gets equal power but far better mpg. Then they can give it a true performance 6 speed and drop the killer overdrives on 5th and 6th. I think the C6 is a great size, but if they could shrink it a bit more that would be great, but not really sure where they can take off any size. They have that 2 golf bag rule I think.
I know you've been campaigning this for a few years now. You're probably right about the displacement, but I still fully expect the next motor to be some form of direct injection pushrod probably in the 4.5-5.7L range. We know they've been testing DI LS-motors since like 2006 or so. The improvements in power and economy in GM's engineering of the SBC/LS have shown little sign of stopping, and they still have some fairly major technologies they've yet to leverage in improving the Corvette engine (Viper-style cam-in-cam, direct injection, engine stop-start, etc.). The box they've painted themselves into may be shrinking, but I still think the pushrod has another generation or two left in it. Or rather, I think GM thinks it does.

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Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO View Post
Most of all, they need to look at what other people do in 50K dollar cars and make an interior bespoke to the Vette. Make it a special place.
I understand that's a priority for the C7, and I'm glad for it. I never empathized with the criticism, but I acknowledge it's validity. I think I've repeated my maxim how "STI owners get a car with a crappy interior that competes with sports cars and Corvette owners get a car with a crappy interior that competes with exotics for like $10-15K more". But even I would agree it's time for the Corvette to take a step up.
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Old 07-12-2012, 09:40 AM   #24
SCRAPPYDO
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Well we both know your right Skunkers on the keeping pushrods in the motor. DI will go a long way into breathing new life into the LS engines. It just baffles me that the biggest power adder in a NA car is freer flowing heads, and they do not take advantage of it.

the cam in cam timing I have to admit is awesome. I was very enamored with that feature of the Viper when it came out. (about the only thing I was enamored with)

If the vette got cam in cam timing and DI, I think the pushrods could be made to last 10 years.

Your point of the same model year is noted, but from 1998 to 2006 Vette sales were always in the mid 30 thousand sales. In 2007 they nudged 40 thousand. But has been declining ever since to just 13000 cars in 2011. Besides the 1997 slump of only selling 9000 cars, sales have not been that dismal since 1961.

The vette is a great package, its numbers and LeMans victories prove it. But nevertheless, its desirability is waning.
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Old 07-12-2012, 10:22 AM   #25
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I drove a base c6 the other day and was very the wife also liked it, but hated that it was a 2dr.

So i showed her the 4 dr version (the GTO, and G8) and she made the pukey face.

Soo... why cant GM make a stretch 4dr version (like the aston martin rapide) version of it?
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