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**RedDropTop** · 07-04-2018, 02:00 AM

Thank you, John, for putting together this list of classic articles that I have cherished!

**Fasttoys** · 07-05-2018, 09:15 AM

Great info thanks John

**John** · 07-23-2018, 12:22 PM

Perhaps not a “major article” as per above, but here is today’s question posed by GM Authority.

Originally posted by gmauthority

Upcoming Mid-Engine C8 Corvette Might Be Stifling Sales Of C7 Model

BY SEAN SZYMKOWSKI
— JUL 23, 2018

Despite incredible

Despite incredbile performance models like the Z06 and newly introduced ZR1, the 2019 C7 Corvette isn’t selling well. In fact, the sports car is on track to post its fourth year of declining sales.

But, a future car might be the problem, that being the all-but-confirmed mid-engine C8 Corvette. Automotive Newsreported Monday that eager fans might be waiting to put a mid-engine Corvette in their driveway, rather than purchase a C7 Corvette now. Rumors of the next-generation Corvette moving to a mid-engine layout have persisted for the last few years.

Although General Motors has not confirmed a mid-engine Corvette is coming, the car has quickly become the industry’s worst-kept secret. Prototype mules continue to test in the open with heavy camouflage and numerous leaks have given us a closer look at what to expect from the brand’s banner sports car.

To bolster the argument that the sales slippage can be partially blamed on the future car, Kelly Ryan, president of the Corvette Club of America, said, “club members are “looking forward to the whole new engineering, approach and concept that the mid-engine Corvette is offering.”

But, the Corvette still faces one major problem: a graying audience. 60 percent of C7 Corvette buyers in the last five years were aged 55 and older. This year, 30 percent of buyers were 65 or older, up from 28 percent in 2013. A mid-engine car might bring a younger crowd into the mix, even if it alienates the car’s core audience.

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/07/...s-of-c7-model/

**Bikerjulio** · 07-23-2018, 12:55 PM

Originally posted by John View Post

Perhaps not a “major article” as per above, but here is today’s question posed by GM Authority.

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/07/...s-of-c7-model/

My local dealership, which is a big Corvette one by Canadian standards, has had the same 13 2019 C7's in stock for at least 6 weeks now. Some juicy discounts available I believe. I can fully understand the dropoff, after all, anyone who wanted a C7 has already got one.

If the C7's sell dismally through the rest of 2018 and into 2019, why on earth would GM continue to make them alongside the ME? A few ZR1's maybe, but anything else C7ish I don't see from either a marketing, financial or manufacturing perpective.

**Tom_E** · 07-23-2018, 04:43 PM

One thought that doesn't get discussed much is the fact that there are only so many buyers for a 2 seat sports car. Once you subtract the die hard marque fan who would never consider a different mfg you are left with just a few target markets to pull buyers from. Let's look at a current C7 owner of say a 2014-2018, I would suggest that a percentage of that group (me included) like to buy a new Vet every couple of year and don't care about the depreciation, so our group is helping sales. Example I had a 2014 then a 2017 GS and now a 2019 Z06 and based on post on other forums I am not alone or unique. Then the remaining current C7 owners have little incentive to buy a new C7. A 2014 Stingray looks EXACTLY like a 2019 Stingray, even the wheels haven't changed. Next you have the "other" brands to pull from so conquest sales is the next market for GM to find buyers. The price of the C7 is now at a point where it also limits that potential buyer segment. So it is hard for me to imagine strong C7 sales when the market is saturated, which is where I think it stands right now. YMMV........

**Bikerjulio** · 07-23-2018, 05:11 PM

Originally posted by Tom_E View Post

One thought that doesn't get discussed much is the fact that there are only so many buyers for a 2 seat sports car. Once you subtract the die hard marque fan who would never consider a different mfg you are left with just a few target markets to pull buyers from. Let's look at a current C7 owner of say a 2014-2018, I would suggest that a percentage of that group (me included) like to buy a new Vet every couple of year and don't care about the depreciation, so our group is helping sales. Example I had a 2014 then a 2017 GS and now a 2019 Z06 and based on post on other forums I am not alone or unique. Then the remaining current C7 owners have little incentive to buy a new C7. A 2014 Stingray looks EXACTLY like a 2019 Stingray, even the wheels haven't changed. Next you have the "other" brands to pull from so conquest sales is the next market for GM to find buyers. The price of the C7 is now at a point where it also limits that potential buyer segment. So it is hard for me to imagine strong C7 sales when the market is saturated, which is where I think it stands right now. YMMV........

I think that we are in agreement and saying the same thing. The other issue is the age thing. I'm nearing 70 and therefore an early boomer. Although I had a few high performance cars in my youth, it's certainly not easy when you are establishing a career and family. Now..........I just do whatever I want

So I'm not sure that they should be worrying about the demographics at this point. We've still got a lot of years left...god willing.

**John** · 07-23-2018, 05:41 PM

Two very thoughtful and accurate posts Tom _E and Bikerjulio! The market is just so big, and while GM has consistently stayed at about 40% of the sports total market within its price group, even the entry price is beyond the reach of most Americans. As of course, when I had two kids at home, without extra disposable income, I did not own a Corvette (not that I did not lust after one, it was just that paying the bills and helping our daughters transition to being adults were our priorioties).

The ME has got to change the demographic of the typical Corvette buyer, and why GM is making such a drastic change. As the best example of “why,” I just got off the phone with a friend and in our Corvette club, with many folks retired, retiring within a couple of years, and our area not being overrun with rich people, most are not getting an ME (or a new FE) for the simple reason that they can not afford one.

Hence, GM has got to make a major change and capture the (sterotype here, but also a fact), the Southern CA market where the majority of the world’s ME are purchased, and retain as many of the aging, mostly-income-dwindling, Corvette traditionalists too with the continuance of an FE.

Perhsonally, I think the two path strategy, while not genius, is a very smart one to transition the Corvette into long term, many more decades, of great existence.

**Cobra502** · 07-23-2018, 06:11 PM

Ditto, John! I can’t help remembering the feeling my wife and I had when our last son finished college. Wow!!! The first question we asked each other was, why is there so much money in our checking account now? It’s CORVETTE time!!
Keep up the good work. This forum is great, hardly any bittering or bad mouthing.

**John** · 07-23-2018, 07:19 PM

Thanks, but not just me, but all of us. The two biggest raises in my life were after the first one graduated from college, and then when the second one graduated. I waited 35 years from my first ride n a Corvette (a ‘63 split with 340 HP, factory 4 speed, factory air), until 3 days after the youngest graduated from college, we bought our first Corvette.

**Cobra502** · 07-23-2018, 10:23 PM

I think we are living parallel lives. What do they call it, "doppelgangers".

**John** · 08-11-2018, 12:29 PM

Always nice when our new but fast-growing forum, makes national Corvette ME news.

Originally posted by gmauthority

Rumormill: Pre-Production For Mid-Engine C8 Corvette Begins

BY SEAN SZYMKOWSKI
— AUG 10, 2018 What we would give to be a fly on the wall at the Bowling Green assembly plant these days. After millions of dollars in investment, the production line is now capable of building separate vehicles on one assembly line. And the first of the “separate” vehicles from the front-engine C7 Corvette allegedly has begun.

According to a MidEngineCorvetteForum.com user, pre-production of the mid-engine C8 Corvette has begun. Specifically, General Motors has marked various Friday dates to build a handful of pre-production cars since the current Corvette is assembled Monday through Thursday. The first date was allegedly July 13, according to the poster’s source. The second date? Today, August 10.

Thus far, GM has supposedly built 40 C8 Corvettes total.

The news follows an influx of mid-engine Corvette happenings this week, specifically as spy photographers captured the C8.R racer testing in public for the first time. The photos give us our best look at some of the production car’s design cues.

If pre-production has begun, a 2019 on-sale date doesn’t appear out of the question. The biggest question is where the revolutionary new Corvette will make its debut.

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/08/...rvette-begins/

**John** · 08-11-2018, 12:35 PM

And another:

Originally posted by Motor1

Pre-Production Mid-Engined Corvettes Allegedly Being Built Today

Home Chevrolet Corvette News
AUG 10, 2018 at 11:15AM
BY: CHRIS BRUCE, Editor Chevy can reportedly build them on the same assembly line at the existing Corvette.

Information about the mid-engined Corvette is coming fast and furious this week, and new details suggest there could be even more test mules of the much-anticipated sports car on the road soon. Someone posting on MidEngineCorvetteForum.com claims to have confirmation that the Corvette factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is building pre-production, mid-engined models on Friday, August 10 – today, as of this writing.

Chevy's Integration Development Team have the task of making sure that all of the machinery is ready to go when the time comes to put the mid-engined Corvette into full production. The Bowling Green plant builds the existing sports car Monday through Thursday, which leaves Fridays open if the developers need to do anything. According to this person, the team previously used Friday, July 13, to build pre-production mid-engined 'Vettes, and the crew earmarked August 10 to produce more. The team has reportedly completed around 40 test mules already. Get The Full Scoop On The Mid-Engined

Recent upgrades at the Bowling Green plant reportedly allow for the assembly line to build both the existing Corvette and the mid-engined model, this person also claims. This rumor lends credence to rumors that Chevy would sell both models simultaneously. The decision would keep the Bowtie from alienating traditional 'Vette fans while offering a vehicle that likely has even higher performance capabilities.

18 photos

Spy shots and an audio recording provided our first info about the racing version of the mid-engined Corvette (gallery above) this week. The vehicle looks amazing with its massive side intakes and big wing. The engine sound also confirms that the powerplant is turbocharged instead of the current naturally aspirated V8.

The latest rumors suggest the mid-engined Corvette would debut in January 2019 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Sales would likely begin before the end of the year, which means there's still plenty of time to perfect the model's production process in Bowling Green.

Source: MidEngineCorvetteForum.com via Corvette Blogger

https://www.motor1.com/news/261977/m...duction-rumor/

**John** · 08-27-2018, 12:56 PM

Originally posted by gmauthority

GM Leaders Begin To Publicly Acknowledge Mid-Engine C8 Corvette

by Sean Szymkowski
— Aug 27, 2018

General Motors and Chevrolet’s mid-engine Corvette strategy thus far has been to deny, deny and deny some more. But, it appears some executives close to the program either have loose lips, or they’re ready to start acknowledging the industry’s worst-kept secret.

Video from “The House of Muscle” has Mark Reuss, executive vice president and president of global product and Cadillac, on the record acknowledging the C8 Corvette for the first time. He says, “This is the end of C7. That I can tell you. And more to come, and we are very proud of what’s going to happen on C8,” while speaking to journalists about the 2019 C7 Corvette ZR1.

Over at the MidEngineCorvette forum, a contributor by the name of John also said GM executives have referred to the mid-engine C8 Corvette as ZERV internally, making the C8 terminology a first in public. Lead Corvette Engineer Tadge Juechter previously said the C7 ZR1 was also the end of the seventh-generation car’s development but did not reference the C8 Corvette.

It’s not exactly clear when we’ll see the mid-engine C8 Corvette make its debut, but the spy photos are being more frequent in nature. Most recently, the C8.R racer stepped out in front of the camera to show off more of the car’s design. We may see the car debut at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, but a debut later in 2019 also seems possible.

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/08/...e-c8-corvette/

**Shadow** · 09-13-2018, 07:41 PM

This is a good thread for many of us to catch up on the ME unfolding process during the last few years.

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