Car & Driver C7

[dobrenyr]

i'm with longtimer... i still haven't gotten my C&D magazine yet and all this time i thought it was just happening to me...
Why is it that all the other cars future renditions look great and this corvette C7 is so disappointing ! Keeping my C6 much longer now... i don't have the burning passion to get one of these! A real disappointment !

[dobrenyr]

BTW, did anyone notice what looks like a vent on the top of the rear quarter panel, just above the door handle? is it a vent or what ?
I hate that spoiler... reminds me of the 1975 Z-28. I recall seeing a spoiler that looked like that made from a piece of aluminum that the just bent upwards... fine for the track, un-inspiring on the street.

[rdevaux2007]

it should be called the Chevy Skyline. I don't care how great it performs, I won't buy one. Horrible design.

[BLK 1]

No thx! I'll pick up a nice used 2013 427 convertible down the road. Hell, I still love my 2002 6-speed vert!

BLK 1

[Longtimer]

Originally Posted by dobrenyr

BTW, did anyone notice what looks like a vent on the top of the rear quarter panel, just above the door handle? is it a vent or what ?

C&D chose to illustrate the Z??, as Jalopnik did. Did they copy, or build from info they gathered - we can't tell.

Anyway, yes that's a mysterious vent on top of the rear fenders on both sides.

When the C6 Z06 was released, we were told that the bottom feeding vent on the base C6 does such a great job of cooling the rear brakes, that the side scoop was not needed for higher performance. However, they felt it was a model-defining component for the Z06, so it was included.

Now we see another vent on top of the rear fender, not far behind the door. IMO it's too far forward to be an outlet for brake heat. Perhaps it's there to vent heat from the trans and differential .... or part of a system that reduces the heat in the tunnel (another nit picky bitch from car rags).

Vents in the hood, chrome vent covers on the side, vents on the top of the fender, and vents out the back of that ass - plus venty-looking black tear drops at the outer edge of the taillight bezels. This is why one of my initial reactions was to call it a design inspired by a page from a JCWhitney catalog. I guess we should be glad Welburn, Peters and Bennion didn't fall in love with the page with the hood ornaments.

[iowa61]

I'm was growing increasingly alarmed at the C7 renderings that surface. And now I'm starting to get scared. It's not just the rear end that's bordering on genuine ugly, it's now the front too. These C/D images do not show an attractive, sexy,
forward-thinking automobile.

Sure, it's not the "real thing." But if the real thing is even close...

It boggles the mind. Truly.

[jaymsu]

Originally Posted by Longtimer

If you saw it, you saw the real life rear end with lines of ugly surrounding the camaro-like taillights. How can one NOT be disappointed in that rear end design?!!?

So I guess I have to get permission from you on what I like or dislike... I'm not gonna say YOU will like it, judging by ALL the comments you made and the knowledge you have about C7, but I am just saying (my opinion as you are sharing your opinion on the open forum) many will do at Detroit auto show and dealer lot when it's available.

I agree the back end may not be everyone's favorite. But there are a lot more to one car than ugly ass (some may even like the look of the back. who knows?). Front look, side look, quarter look, interior quality, performance...

No matter what you say or I say, GM will build C7 as it is designed and as you were saying, IF it gets too much negative feedback (even after real thing is being driven on the road for some time), they MAY consider redesigning the back end slightly, but what everyone is complaining is on 2D picture of what 'it may' look like.

I guess you will not buy it, and I guess I will in about 2-3 years when C7Z becomes more 'reasonable'. Or maybe it will grow on you, and later you will decide to 'forgive' its bad ass (quite literally) and pick one up.
Only time will tell.

I never wanted to post anything on C7 forum, but it was just ridiculous that everyone HATED the car even before they see / drive / hear / feel it.

[Longtimer]

I agree the back end may not be everyone's favorite. But there are a lot more to one car than ugly ass.

I never told you what you could and could not like. I asked how one could not be disappointed in that rear end. Sounds like you might be a bit disappointed in the "ugly ass" too.

To me, the front fender treatment and the rear are deal breakers. I agree that some will like it, some will get used to it or get so excited about its performance they'll "go over to the darkside and the dark back" .

You are also right that I will not be one of them. I hope they fix it so I can enjoy a lighter vette with much better seats and interior, but I can wait for however long it takes in order to NOT see that design in my garage.

[iowa61]

I concur that if nothing else, it's only fair to wait and see the real deal before making judgement. But these renderings are too detailed and come with too much provenance to allow me to be so objective. Like I said. It's getting scary.

The design is not attractive. Some of the details are even embarrassing (The "gangsta" teardrops--ouch! Painful!).

Compare these C/D renderings of a jumbled mess to the gorgeous hunk of clean curves posted by RattVette.

"Nuff said.

[TheMelkMan]

Originally Posted by jaymsu

But there are a lot more to one car than ugly ass (some may even like the look of the back. who knows?). Front look, side look, quarter look, interior quality, performance...

WRONG. The merit of any automotive design hinges on the geometric shape of its taillights... if that shape happens to be vaguely similar to a Camaro in any way, then that design is A COMPLETE AND UTTER DISMAL FAILURE. That is not an "opinion," that is an objective FACT.



On a more serious note, these C&D renderings seems to be a bit off when compared to the Jalopnik renderings (which apparently are the most accurate C7 images we have, according to the consensus). These renderings I think have some of the same problems as the Trinity 3D models: they included all the known details, but certain essential proportions are stretched, distorted, or squished.

The most obvious error in this particular rendering (as with the Trinity model) is that rear glass is too square... from what we've seen in other renderings, spy photos, and various leaked materials, the rear glass should be much more tapered toward the rear of the car. Also, the topography of the hood looks flatter than what we've seen elsewhere, and the roof-line is a bit off (which is a feature that makes this particular rendering even more GTR-like than what we've already seen).

These may seem like very subtle discrepancies, but they make an enormous difference in how we perceive the car.

[TheMelkMan]

Originally Posted by iowa61

Compare these C/D renderings of a jumbled mess to the gorgeous hunk of clean curves posted by RattVette.

What RattVette posted looks like a cheap kit-car to me. It's the demon spawn of a C6 that was raped by an Aston Martin One-77.




[edit] I decided to create a "visual aid" :

[edit 2] Apparently the image is actually based on a fake Ferrari 612 GTO concept, which was in turn based on the Aston... so it's actually a derivative of a derivative.

[mbwalker]

Originally Posted by stinger430

It's so hard for me to believe that they went with such an uninspired design for the rear window. It's just a flat rectangular pane.

I agree. Plus the pics don't even show the side marker lights near the wheel wells. That's even been spotted on the spy pics. A dollar too short and a day too late.

[dreamcars99]

Some good things going on there:

- there appears to be alot of functional venting
- the stance looks great. I always thought the stance of the GS/Z06/ZR1 was awesome, but that the standard C6 was a little timid
- the profile looks mean and angry
- the wheels look awesome

And I'd offer that this appears to be a fixed roof, no targa, and awfully similar to the Jalopnik rendering, which they stated was a "ZR1", so some of those things might not show up in January.

[bkuper]

Originally Posted by stinger430

Thanks for sharing Chris!

It's so hard for me to believe that they went with such an uninspired design for the rear window. It's just a flat rectangular pane. In any case the rest of the design does nothing for me. I know a lot of members and Corvette enthusiasts love it, but it continues to leave me cold.

The above rear shot reminds me alot of the Solstice coupe. The other shots remind me of the Datsun (lol) GTR....yes I know that comparison has been beaten to death, but it's what my eyes see. And the side vent looks cosmetic. Kick-ass engine though.

Thanks again Chris for the update



An Aside: I'm sure all the main trade magazines have seen the real thing by now and already have space put aside for publication in January.

They got the rear window wrong. It's narrower at the bottom than the top. The CAD drawings we've had here are more accurate than this stuff is.

[Roadkillz]

Originally Posted by bkuper

They got the rear window wrong. It's narrower at the bottom than the top. The CAD drawings we've had here are more accurate than this stuff is.

I concur, the rear window is wrong and some of the perspectives are off a bit as well.