WHAT THE MID-ENGINE CORVETTE CAN LEARN FROM THE PONTIAC FIERO
A cautionary tale from America's first mid-engine production car
CHEVROLET CORVETTE NEWS
SHARE: by Words: Scott Evans Photos: Manufacturer July 05, 2019
First Impression is Lasting Impression. GM should release the Best C8 car first.
Should not rely upon Business School MBA theories of Salami Slicing and Resaturating the market annually with slightly improved updates.
FIRST IMPRESSION IS LASTING IMPRESSION
BRAND! BRAND! BRAND!!!
Put the C8 Brand on the mimd
DON'T GET HUNG-UP ON SALES FIGURES
The Fiero was an instant hit when it launched, but a small number of engine fires in the first-year cars and the unfortunate similarity between the words "Fiero" (which means "very proud" in Italian and "fierce" or "ferocious" in Spanish) and "fire" ruined the car's reputation and its sales momentum. Sales dropped from nearly 137,000 in 1984 to less than 27,000 in 1988, leading to its cancellation. Never mind it was still outselling a number of other GM vehicles (including the Corvette, which had seen its sales drop by half in the same time period), the numbers were dropping too fast and GM's board got nervous. Its death helped contribute to the axiom that GM kills cars as soon as it gets them right. VIEW 70 PHOTOS
The mid-engine Corvette will alienate some Corvette fans. If it costs significantly more than the current car, it's going to price some people out of the market. Chevrolet is used to selling tens of thousands of Corvettes in a good year, way more than any other sports car on the market. It'll sell fewer mid-engine cars, and the board needs to keep its nerve when the sales figures drop. GM isn't going to cancel the Corvette, of course, but nervous bean-counters might try to scale back future plans to save money, putting upcoming variants at risk and hurting the Corvette's reputation. \
[This is redacted above]
A cautionary tale from America's first mid-engine production car
CHEVROLET CORVETTE NEWS
SHARE: by Words: Scott Evans Photos: Manufacturer July 05, 2019
First Impression is Lasting Impression. GM should release the Best C8 car first.
Should not rely upon Business School MBA theories of Salami Slicing and Resaturating the market annually with slightly improved updates.
FIRST IMPRESSION IS LASTING IMPRESSION
BRAND! BRAND! BRAND!!!
Put the C8 Brand on the mimd
DON'T GET HUNG-UP ON SALES FIGURES
The Fiero was an instant hit when it launched, but a small number of engine fires in the first-year cars and the unfortunate similarity between the words "Fiero" (which means "very proud" in Italian and "fierce" or "ferocious" in Spanish) and "fire" ruined the car's reputation and its sales momentum. Sales dropped from nearly 137,000 in 1984 to less than 27,000 in 1988, leading to its cancellation. Never mind it was still outselling a number of other GM vehicles (including the Corvette, which had seen its sales drop by half in the same time period), the numbers were dropping too fast and GM's board got nervous. Its death helped contribute to the axiom that GM kills cars as soon as it gets them right. VIEW 70 PHOTOS
The mid-engine Corvette will alienate some Corvette fans. If it costs significantly more than the current car, it's going to price some people out of the market. Chevrolet is used to selling tens of thousands of Corvettes in a good year, way more than any other sports car on the market. It'll sell fewer mid-engine cars, and the board needs to keep its nerve when the sales figures drop. GM isn't going to cancel the Corvette, of course, but nervous bean-counters might try to scale back future plans to save money, putting upcoming variants at risk and hurting the Corvette's reputation. \
[This is redacted above]
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