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I drove down to Costa Mesa California from Las Vegas to see the C8 at Connell Chevrolet. I went both days they had the car on display. The first day I was there from about 12 p.m. to around 3 p.m., the place was literally mobbed. You had to wait in a line to sit in the car on the driver's side but the passenger's side was pretty much open to sit in at will. I waited on line twice to sit in the driver's seat and also sat in the passengers seat twice. The following are going to be my random thoughts and impressions from my 2 days viewing the car. Notably I was even more impressed with the car on my second day of viewing than on the first, and I left the first day completely energized about the car.
1. I was the guy with the tape measure. Maybe you were sitting in the driver's seat when a tape measure was passed across the cabin to get measurements. This was my primary reason for attending the event. I needed to know if the car would fit in my 3rd car garage. From photos and specs online it was impossible to tell what impact the folding mirrors would have on the width. Furthermore GM doesn't specify what exactly what the width that they list is referring to. It turns out the car will fit in my garage, in fact due to the folding mirrors I will have far more clearance on each side than I did with my C7 even though the C8 is 2.1 inches wider. And that was the other thing I measured, the width of the car listed to be 76.1 by GM refers to the width between the arches over the rear wheels, or at least my measurement matched the 76" GM stated.
2. My secondary reason for attending was of course to see if I liked the appearance of the car. Before going I had some reservations about the look of the car in side profile. I felt that the rear end looked overly long. After viewing it in person I have to say I still feel that way. In no way is it a deal breaker, but I'd be lying if i said that suddenly that aspect of the car works for me. Regardless overall the car is a magnificent design and I am sure this aspect of its design will ultimately grow on me. One thing that completely escaped me in photos was that there are design features on the front and rear end that protrude from the car in a 3D fashion, there is a lot of dimension to the design. For example I didn't realize how much the front end came to a sharp point until I saw it in person, the whole hood and front end is sculpted magnificently.
3. The interior is a 100% homerun. I can't find a single thing to complain about. I love where they relocated the OnStar buttons to, they are now in a panel at the top of the cockpit. The strip of climate control buttons in person look terrific and further serve to create a driver centric cockpit. That strip makes the interior feel literally like a cockpit. Material quality is great. On my C7 I had a lot of issues with rattling A/C vents so I specifically took a look at the vents in the C8. They feel SUBSTANTIALLY more robust and I could not detect any play in them at all, a very solid feeling design. The interior liner on the targa top panel has a very attractive design, I forgot to photograph this unfortunately.
4. I got to hear the exhaust when they were rolling the car out from the showroom in preparation for loading it into the trailer. Suffice it to say that the performance exhaust is an option you should check the box for. The car delivers the goods in this regard for sure.
5. I was able to hear the Bose 14 speaker system. I'm no audiophile but I thought it sounded great, if a bit bass heavy which could of course have been the settings. It definitely seemed like an improvement from my 2LT C7.
6. I lifted the targa roof and it was pleasantly lightweight. They call it a 2 person job but it seems doable solo. I also latched it in position in the rear storage area and removed it. Both took a surprising amount of force. At first I was timid about it not wanting to break anything, then the GM specialist showed me and it was a piece of cake after that, Once latched in place it was solid as a rock! I couldn't imagine the space beneath it being usable for much though, guess that's what the frunk is for.
7. I didn't care for the Stingray badge on the rear engine bay cover. It seemed overly long and a bit out character with the overall sleekness the car portrays otherwise.
8. I closed the engine cover and like the C7's hatch the car automatically cinched it closed. There is a grab handle on the inside of the engine cover which you can see in one of my photos.
9. The gear selection buttons have a very nice positive feel when lifted to activate them.
10. There's a normal volume dial! It's on the top left of the infotainment screen.
11. There's a glove box! A button on the dash just above the glove box releases it. Photo attached.
12. This car sits low. I was able to get in and out easily but I noticed some of the older people in attendance struggling a bit. The largest problem I noticed was difficulty clearing the sill with their feet and legs. One woman went to sit in the car and she literally fell down into the seat which startled her. I don't think she anticipated how far down she had to sit.
13. There is an LED light in the trunk. Photo attached.
14. There is a center console. Photo attached.
15. The cup holders have a concealed design, photo attached with the cover open.
16. GM specialist was asked if there was a manual release for the engine bay cover when it refused to open from the fob, he replied not to his knowledge. Just didn't sit right with me, surely there has to be an alternative way to access the engine if power is unavailable. I suspect he was wrong on this one.
17. When prepping the car to reload on the trailer the GM specialist removed 2 panels in the trunk which gave access to the battery. 2 photos attached.
18. I placed my iPhone Xs Max in the wireless charging cradle and it fit but was snug. I do have a case on it so YMMV. Photo of cradle attached but obviously i could not photograph my phone in it.
19. I don't like the rear spoiler and will definitely not opt for it. The car will look much more exotic without it. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to order Z51 without it. They really need to offer a spoiler delete here.
20. I overheard a LOT of misinformation while I was there. I was so tempted to correct much of it but I didn't want to come across as a know it all so I stayed quiet. Here are some of the highlights of things I heard:
-The car is sold out. Wrong it's only sold out at specific dealers in the sense that they have no remaining allocations.
-I'm getting the orange interior. WHAT? I told this gentleman that he was referring to the natural interior and there was no orange. He stood his ground saying he saw it online. Perhaps natural could be considered to have an orange tone? I'm not sure I even see that.
-This is the first time this car has been seen in the world. Not even close.
-The base price is 55 thousand and change. I can't remember the exact number the guy said. I told this guy it was absolutely false information and that pricing hasn't been released yet.
21. Finally special thanks to Connell Chevrolet for hosting this event for 2 days. I had a great time and will attend again when the car hits Las Vegas on August 29th. Any questions please ask!
(I attached some photos below trying to hopefully show some things that haven't been seen a whole lot. Enjoy!)
1. I was the guy with the tape measure. Maybe you were sitting in the driver's seat when a tape measure was passed across the cabin to get measurements. This was my primary reason for attending the event. I needed to know if the car would fit in my 3rd car garage. From photos and specs online it was impossible to tell what impact the folding mirrors would have on the width. Furthermore GM doesn't specify what exactly what the width that they list is referring to. It turns out the car will fit in my garage, in fact due to the folding mirrors I will have far more clearance on each side than I did with my C7 even though the C8 is 2.1 inches wider. And that was the other thing I measured, the width of the car listed to be 76.1 by GM refers to the width between the arches over the rear wheels, or at least my measurement matched the 76" GM stated.
2. My secondary reason for attending was of course to see if I liked the appearance of the car. Before going I had some reservations about the look of the car in side profile. I felt that the rear end looked overly long. After viewing it in person I have to say I still feel that way. In no way is it a deal breaker, but I'd be lying if i said that suddenly that aspect of the car works for me. Regardless overall the car is a magnificent design and I am sure this aspect of its design will ultimately grow on me. One thing that completely escaped me in photos was that there are design features on the front and rear end that protrude from the car in a 3D fashion, there is a lot of dimension to the design. For example I didn't realize how much the front end came to a sharp point until I saw it in person, the whole hood and front end is sculpted magnificently.
3. The interior is a 100% homerun. I can't find a single thing to complain about. I love where they relocated the OnStar buttons to, they are now in a panel at the top of the cockpit. The strip of climate control buttons in person look terrific and further serve to create a driver centric cockpit. That strip makes the interior feel literally like a cockpit. Material quality is great. On my C7 I had a lot of issues with rattling A/C vents so I specifically took a look at the vents in the C8. They feel SUBSTANTIALLY more robust and I could not detect any play in them at all, a very solid feeling design. The interior liner on the targa top panel has a very attractive design, I forgot to photograph this unfortunately.
4. I got to hear the exhaust when they were rolling the car out from the showroom in preparation for loading it into the trailer. Suffice it to say that the performance exhaust is an option you should check the box for. The car delivers the goods in this regard for sure.
5. I was able to hear the Bose 14 speaker system. I'm no audiophile but I thought it sounded great, if a bit bass heavy which could of course have been the settings. It definitely seemed like an improvement from my 2LT C7.
6. I lifted the targa roof and it was pleasantly lightweight. They call it a 2 person job but it seems doable solo. I also latched it in position in the rear storage area and removed it. Both took a surprising amount of force. At first I was timid about it not wanting to break anything, then the GM specialist showed me and it was a piece of cake after that, Once latched in place it was solid as a rock! I couldn't imagine the space beneath it being usable for much though, guess that's what the frunk is for.
7. I didn't care for the Stingray badge on the rear engine bay cover. It seemed overly long and a bit out character with the overall sleekness the car portrays otherwise.
8. I closed the engine cover and like the C7's hatch the car automatically cinched it closed. There is a grab handle on the inside of the engine cover which you can see in one of my photos.
9. The gear selection buttons have a very nice positive feel when lifted to activate them.
10. There's a normal volume dial! It's on the top left of the infotainment screen.
11. There's a glove box! A button on the dash just above the glove box releases it. Photo attached.
12. This car sits low. I was able to get in and out easily but I noticed some of the older people in attendance struggling a bit. The largest problem I noticed was difficulty clearing the sill with their feet and legs. One woman went to sit in the car and she literally fell down into the seat which startled her. I don't think she anticipated how far down she had to sit.
13. There is an LED light in the trunk. Photo attached.
14. There is a center console. Photo attached.
15. The cup holders have a concealed design, photo attached with the cover open.
16. GM specialist was asked if there was a manual release for the engine bay cover when it refused to open from the fob, he replied not to his knowledge. Just didn't sit right with me, surely there has to be an alternative way to access the engine if power is unavailable. I suspect he was wrong on this one.
17. When prepping the car to reload on the trailer the GM specialist removed 2 panels in the trunk which gave access to the battery. 2 photos attached.
18. I placed my iPhone Xs Max in the wireless charging cradle and it fit but was snug. I do have a case on it so YMMV. Photo of cradle attached but obviously i could not photograph my phone in it.
19. I don't like the rear spoiler and will definitely not opt for it. The car will look much more exotic without it. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to order Z51 without it. They really need to offer a spoiler delete here.
20. I overheard a LOT of misinformation while I was there. I was so tempted to correct much of it but I didn't want to come across as a know it all so I stayed quiet. Here are some of the highlights of things I heard:
-The car is sold out. Wrong it's only sold out at specific dealers in the sense that they have no remaining allocations.
-I'm getting the orange interior. WHAT? I told this gentleman that he was referring to the natural interior and there was no orange. He stood his ground saying he saw it online. Perhaps natural could be considered to have an orange tone? I'm not sure I even see that.
-This is the first time this car has been seen in the world. Not even close.
-The base price is 55 thousand and change. I can't remember the exact number the guy said. I told this guy it was absolutely false information and that pricing hasn't been released yet.
21. Finally special thanks to Connell Chevrolet for hosting this event for 2 days. I had a great time and will attend again when the car hits Las Vegas on August 29th. Any questions please ask!
(I attached some photos below trying to hopefully show some things that haven't been seen a whole lot. Enjoy!)
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