Does C7 Production Continue Into Mid September?

[John]

Update on SR, GS and Z06 orders: Thanks to Mike Furman, for sharing earlier that for the current Corvette ordering consensus (starting three days ago and ending this coming Tuesday), that 2019 coupe Z06 production now has a target production week (TPW) of August 19th, and that Stingray and Grand Sport orders being accepted now have a TPW of August 26th. However, C7 convertible and ZR1 orders are not longer able to be submitted.

However, C7’s August 19/26th week’s production schedules now appear to be possibility further extended, that is if source who appears to extremely knowledgeable, “SuperChevyICM,” a person who likely works for a GM dealership, his posting what could well be GM official information yesterday on a post on Corvetteforum, specifically:

Current consensus cycle is for build weeks thru Sept 9th (Both Vet and Z06).

Note that in GM ordering language, the term “Vet” applies to both Stingrays and to Grand Sports, and additionally in GM speak, a “build week” of September 9th traditionally means the week of Monday, Sept. 9th though Friday, September 13th.

Yet, as always we are looking for additional corroboration, for we later receive that, that would mean that C7 production continues through the first two weeks of September, a three week additional length of time than we earlier officially had learned.

Still, as noted before by Mike Furman, SR, GS and Z06 coupe new-order-submittal-acceptance continues until the July 11th consensus — so there are still three weeks left for all who wish to still order those three coupe C7 models.

However, nothing in the GM information provided would preclude a further extension beyond September 13th, e.g., there might be additional production weeks after those (for either the Stingray, GS or Z06 coupes, or just some of those models, beyond September 13th). We sure do not know whether that would be happening or not, yet. I doubt it, but perhaps C7 production might continue into throughout the entire month of September.

C7 production ending is a prerequisite for later C8 production starting, with an critical intervening factor being the length of time necessary to convert the plant from specific C7 processes and equipment to those different ones required for C8 production. Of course, during the plant changeover, there must also be retraining of all current BGA employees to “C8 level four job mastery,” and perhaps joint training and then integration in the assembly process of the 400 new employees which will help create the second, C8 BGA assembly work shift. As to their training, would the new-to-BGA employees be co-trained alongside current BGA employees, delay trained, or integrated in some other manner?

Of course, extending C7 production within BGA, as there is only one assembly within the plant, and the massive, expect two month, plant changeover to C8 production, speaks volumes of support for GM Authority’s prediction this past winter that C8 production starts this December — especially that most believe the changeover of the Plant itself is a two month process, and possibly longer.

[jagamajajaran]

I believe C7 production will continue through September.

[ZORA 69]

If the C7 production is prolonged it certainly makes sense that the C8 is further away form our garages. Maybe the February estiates to see this car at dealerships will become aharsh reality for those of us that are getting impatient. .

[ZoraC2]

Approx 10 weeks to switch tooling from C7 to C8. This would corroborate exactly with early reports that production could start in December 2019.

[Frenzy36]

OK , Then when would the Ordering start to submit our orders and checklist?

[John]

My best estimate, and it is just that is that initial orders for the first consensus will go in (be accepted by GM) around Sept. 15-October 15th. We might learn a specific, start of ordering date at the reveal or if not, then by the NCM 25th Anniversary (end of August).

A caution to all on this issue if I might please, and that is in GM’s world, any dealer can order a vehicle as soon as the option codes are officially announced, but they can and often are announced before GM is ready to accept orders. If a dealer says to a customer, I have submitted your order, that could still amount to no more than your buying a Powerball ticket before the drawing IF either the order is submitted before the first consensus that GM starts to accept orders has opened, and/or if your dealer does not have allocation even when there are officially opened consensus. In both of those circumstances, your order is not going to move forward — but remain on hold/limbo status.

Additionally, order submittal date has zero preference in terms of GM picking (accepting an order). So to continue this cautionary tale, and to provide a specific example, if your dealer were to submit your C8 order on August 20th but that dealer has no allocation when the first ordering consensus starts (hypothetically) on October 10th, and yet I had placed my order with a top dealer who had plenty of allocation awarded to them by GM for that October 10th consensus, my order would go forward, and the August 20th would again remain in 1100 status limbo. Lastly, even if the dealer who placed the order on August 20th had an October 10th allocation, a) it still would have no more preferential status than one submitted the first time on October 10th by another dealer, and b) if there were partially constrained options (no enough pink seats to go around compared to ordering requests for them), again it is not the date of initial order submittal but GM’s preferential awarding of constrained options to their highest selling Corvette dealers that would determine which order would get the pink seats and which order would not during that particular consensus.