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My 24 year old nephew loves the new C7

5K views 22 replies 15 participants last post by  TheSwift1 
#1 ·
When i showed it to him in Road and Track, he is very impressed. Of course, he is from the Transformers generation, even has a license plate that says "TRNSFORMER" so i guess GM succeeded in targeting the younger audience. He is gonna be married shortly, buy a house, have kids and in about 25 years or so, will be finally able to afford to buy one.
Will GM still be in business by then ?

What they need to target is the late 30's and early 40's demographic that currently loves the Audi R8, Nissan GTR and Porshe Boxster.
 
#6 ·
I showed it to a 30 yr. old friend and he said "That's the best looking car I've ever seen in my life."

I really struggled with the rear design initially...it has grown on me. I see now that the Vette, unlike the Viper or Ferrari, is a unique and beautiful symphony of curves and knife-sharp lines. And I think the rear end works. Ferraris are smooth...Lambos are hard. I look at the C5 and C6 now and they look plain (which sucks because I can only afford one of these models).

I few words about the C7 design and marketing:

The form follows function philosophy drove the overall design of this vehicle. Engineers know that the best design for performance exists in a very narrow realm. That's why the C7, the Viper and the F12 share so many attributes. To say that the C7 is a bastard of other cars is nonsense. If that were so, it would apply to the aforementioned cars as well.

To me, the C7 looks totally corvette. And based on response thus far...GM hit a home run with this car. I like the new viper, and think they did a good job with the upgrade...and the C7 (future Z06/ZR1) seems to be a superior car in every way...based on what we know.

Like music, and most if not all forms of art, there are exceedingly few original ideas or works. Cars are no different. To GMs credit...I ask y'all...when was the last time Viper, Mercedes, Ferrari or Lambo built a TOTALLY new car?

The tail lights were NOT inspired by the Camaro. That's a ridiculous notion...whether they remind you of the Camaro or not. GM did not build a car from scratch and then decide to copy a lesser model (we already know there were times in Corvette's history where the tail lights were IDENTICAL to the Camaro). What they did was tie the look of the Vette more closely to the GM brand.

Just to throw out a qualifier...I am a marketing specialist (Marketing Strategy at Cornell Univ.) and have followed GM with interest the last decade. GM is NOT in the top 100 global companies with regard to brand recognition/equity. Toyota, BMW, Mercedes, Kia, Hyundai, Ford, Ferrari...all in the top 100.

GM is using their iconic model (and hallowed name StingRay) to restore brand equity. The C7 is an attention-getter. GM cut no corners with this car...as somebody said "it's a technological Tour de' Force." The symbiotic branding with Sony/Grand Turismo was brilliant. GM is sending a loud message to the automotive world that...we build the one of the sleekest, fastest, most tech advanced sports car in the world...at a price you can afford.

GM had to do this to ensure that they're around to build the C8!

I predict this will be the best selling Corvette in history.

So design is subjective...some will like it, others will hate it and never get past the tail lights. Performance is not subjective. The Vipers and Ferraris on the track will experience the C7s prowess soon enough.

Well done GM.
 
#10 ·
I see many do like it and i'm sure it will look better in person. In reading the C&D article yesterday, Tadge admitted that there were no clinics to address the external design, only internal design. Hence, i now know why there is so much controversy... like publicity, even bad publicity is a good thing.
But at least now we know how they moved this to production and why so many oldtimers are upset about it...
Corvette is an icon, and certain design elements are part of that. Sure you can change and play with them... but retain some of the past...
 
#11 ·
I'm not sure what Tadge said, but you can't design a completely new exterior with out some extensive design collaboration. Ed Wellborn said they spent untold hours just on the valley between the hood and the front fender.

I'll say this again...everything on this car is new and intentional. Not liking a design element/cue does not mean that GM didn't throughly think it through.
 
#18 ·
26 here and I like it. The rear is still growing on me but I would love to own one of these someday. Looking at the C7 versus C6, I would much rather own a C7 (No offense C6 owners). I do believe this car looks younger with all the vents and whatnot. This car reminds me of my STi (Which is boisterous, loud, and over the top in some areas (spoiler)). However, the C7 also feels more sophisticated with the new technology+interior+and a feeling of the body being more 'fit' like Ed mentioned in his many interviews.

However, I won't be able to afford this car for a while. Appealing to younger buyers will need a change in the Corvette buyer, which I don't think is a good idea. Perhaps they could create another FRC type car - cheaper price tag, hardcore racer so that the younger buyers can get into something like this. Idk if they could ever attain a ferrari/lambo/GT-R status amongst young people without decimating sales among the Corvette faithful.
 
#19 ·
That was exactly my point. The younger crowd in general loves the new C7 but won't be able to afford them until they are old farts like us... which will be at the end of the C8 generation. So, I fear that C7 sales will tail off pretty quickly and the GM, in their wisdom, will say.. the Corvette is no longer a viable product. With some proper styling, they could have appealed to everyone... it's just the arrogance of not having a design clinic that is UNFORGIVEALBE!
I also hate to say this, but everyone has fancy razzle dazzle headlamps these days... and now the corvette simply follows in those design footsteps... something truly unique would have perhaps set a trend and not followed it....

Which is why i say... start the C8 forum now!
 
#20 ·
:agree: With nearly everything said. Notice that even the younger guys don't find the rear immediately appealing. My son is 23 and when I first showed him the C7, BEFORE I said anything he said he didn't like rear.

Some out there like the rear, but most say something along the line of "getting used to it" or "starting to like it."

I think that any design that needs to "grow on" you is not a design that most people will spend $60k on knowing they have to look at it every day. Very few are going to buy a C7 with the intent to replace the entire rear fascia of the $60k car they just took delivery on.

I think GM's target demographic is a bit confused. They aimed the styling at a group who on average cannot afford it. Then they ladened it with Touring accessories (that weight it down) that appeal more to some of the older set. Do they think that older guys don't care what the outside looks like or do they think that younger guys will rob banks to buy one?

It's going to be interesting to see how many they sell over the next three or four years.
 
#22 ·
exact copy? no. clearly inspired? yes. The Stingray logo even got chromed to match the chrome piece on the GT-R logo.

DID GM EVER REALIZE THE AVERAGE GT-R FAN IS A) FIRST AND FOREMOST A CAR LOVER WITH A LARGE BUDGET WHO BOUGHT ONE JUST TO SEE WHAT THE FUSS IS OVER? b) a jap-o-car guy who views it an object worthy of pure worshiop? Probably mortgaging their whoel life to have it?

I am so amazed and curious about the C7 styling. I cannot even flesh out in my own mind what their plan was. I guess it was to assume that existing corvette owners werew rong, corvettes are not beautiful, so we must rice it out, hoping htat... 25 year old owners (or younger) of used versions of cars that were 30k new, will flock to it?

Its horrible!

BTW, my oldest son loves it too. He is 13. His comment is "its fine, dad, its fine, I bet it sounds awesome too, like our Corvettes". The ONLY car I ever sold that he ever cared about, was a C6 Z06, black and blacked out. Hes never commented on any otehr car I've ever sold (ferrari included) except that one. He says "dad, that car was just mean, awesome".

But again, you're looking at decades till he can buy a new Corvette. He's a pretty bright kid, maybe just TWO, OR 1.5 decades, but decades nonetheless.
 

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