ME Potential Factors?

[John]

IF the following ME rumors are true...

First, let’s summarize some prevalent ME rumors:

* No manual trans on the ME (7M’s had a 22% take rate for 2018);

* No chrome wheels (had a 18% 2018 take rate);

* No room for two golf bags (best guess by Mike Furman is that golfers are 30% of his hundreds of new Corvette buyers annually);

* Less overall cargo/storage capacity (completely unknown consequences, but quite a few take their Corvettes on long road trips);

* IF pricing starts in the $70K range (the rough average of predictions), this also could be problematic, for approximately 20% of Corvettes sold have a below $70K purchase price (not counting taxes/tags).

Put all the above together, what does this say for the ME’s purchase rate IF GM decides that there will be no more C7 after this year (and doesn’t replace it with a FE Corvette), or even if they sell C7’s next year and the year after that, do the rumors listed above cause ME purchase rate issues — especially if all of those above-cited items are true?

Or, does GM know all this, and yet as their market studies have indicted that with a roughly $75K intro price, there will be so many “brand conquests,” so many new Corvette buyers who heretofore never considered a Corvette, that GM is confident taking that chance? Or, putting this another way, will the ME be such a positive hurricane in the market, that even if all those rumors are true, GM will be smiling next year — with the ME totally sold out months before the model year is over?

Your thoughts please?

[Frenzy36]

For ME, Not the car-LOL I could care less about the Chrome Wheels, I don't want a Manual, and I don't Golf, but would consider Golfing, And it's not going to be a family car so I'm sure there will be plenty of storage to accommodate enough personal items for a Road Trip. Price is going to be the HUGE DECIDING FACTOR, because if it is too out of line, There are other foreign manufacturers to purchase products from.. I truly believe GM will produce a great vehicle at a fair price and SELL!! Look at the Acura NSX in the 150K-200K price range only selling 95 cars worldwide so far this year.

[meyerweb]

I suspect GM has plenty of market research to support the planned production volumes of this car. Doesn't mean they can't be wrong, but they didn't embark on what is probably a billion dollar program without a darn good idea how it will sell. Porsche sells a lot of cars at a significantly higher price.

[OnPoint]

It could be GM has decided to take the Corvette a half step or so up market. Increase per unit profitability, reduce manufacturing capacity (following plant revisions, they will be maxed out at 33k cars per year), better balancing supply/demand over what they've done in the past. To do this, they are going to need to retain sufficient numbers of repeat Corvette customers and likely increase their "conquest" sales. I have no doubt they've studied this 10 ways from Sunday and have a plan. Whether it'll play out well . . . only time will tell.