Lets address those "camaro" taillights.

[the machine]

I keep hearing people complaining about the Camaro tail lights on the C7 corvette. I know that part of this is a fear of change and some is just plain dislike. While there is no accounting for taste I would like to point out one thing on the camaro tail lights. While the bezel around the lights may be squareish, the part of the lens that actualy lights up is round...at least for 1/2 of it. It is flattened at the top. They actualy look very much like the photo shopped rear that someone here did of the C7 with rounded tail lights.

Furthermore the C7 tail lights are quite a different shape than even the bezel on the Camaro since the on the Camaro the bezel is closer to a square that is rounded at the corners and tapers out at the top, while the C7 lights are more of a trapzoid that sques the tops of the rectangle out toward the outsides of the car.

I really think that this Camaro tail light fobia is more of a self perpetuating fear of change than an actual comparison between the two cars.

[blckslvr79]

ok

We all know it's corporate compliance. GM is more interested in the general public recognizing a vehicle as "GM" prior to recognizing what model it is.

It's all marketing.

[C5 Dude]

I think most have moved past the Camaro looking issue and we have pretty much agreed that you either like them or you don't.

Me= But who knows, the C4 was the King for me for awhile, then the C5 was (and is) the one. The C6 looks better to me as time goes by. Maybe in a year or two I will like the C7 ok.

Who knows.

[djsroknrol]

The reveal showed the true rear end and frankly, it really isn't all that bad. If the air flow vents next to the taillights are functional that would be a plus. The only thing I have a problem with is the narrowing rear window and those 'ol partially blacked out side windows creating, what I feel, is one hell of a blind spot much like the Camaros I've been in lately....Yes I know about mirrors, but I don't rely on them totally

Other than that one observation, I think the C7 will do well when it's finally available

[Patrick]

I don't care that the tail lights are square. I care that they got their design inspiration for the tail lights from the... ahem... Camaro.

In fact, the entire car has the problem of being inspired by other cars. Mainly foreign cars. I don't see one original idea.

Don't get me started...

[RFenton1]

Originally Posted by Patrick

I don't care that the tail lights are square. I care that they got their design inspiration for the tail lights from the... ahem... Camaro.

In fact, the entire car has the problem of being inspired by other cars. Mainly foreign cars. I don't see one original idea.

Don't get me started...

I couldn't agree more.

I would think that in this day and age, originality would prevail in re designing the most celebrated Chevrolet in American automotive history ? When GM decides to copy others, there is a sense of chasing or should we say following the lead. Corvette should always set the pace. We (Corvette faithful) waited so long for this car to come, and finally we have a new generation car that came in very late after many delays. I can see some effective thought, and I admit from some angles it pleases, however the less than all out attempt to create new original art for the next generation Corvette, with so many parts that resemble others, I feel GM has accepted less than American designers are capable of, and less than Corvette, it's faithful, it's previous engineers and designers, it's generations past, deserve.

It feels like we ran down field in record time but ran out of stamina on the one yard line. That's not ALL bad, but it's not everything we're capable of.

I'm sure there will be tweaks each year, and I do look forward to some additional design improvement, originality, and more power. I'll hold on to my 2011 ZR1 for a while longer but I do still have faith!

[the machine]

Originally Posted by Patrick

I don't care that the tail lights are square. I care that they got their design inspiration for the tail lights from the... ahem... Camaro.

In fact, the entire car has the problem of being inspired by other cars. Mainly foreign cars. I don't see one original idea.

Don't get me started...

I don't know how you can know what inspired a design. I think only the designer knows that. But there are only so many shapes that a front/mid engine sports car can take. You put the engine where it goes the driver where he goes and the wheels where they have to be, and that dictates alot of what the final shape will be. But I see lots of past genterations in this car. I see sharp lines that remind me of the midyears, and I see rear end lines that remind me of the Mako Shark. (rear glass and all the way into the shape of the rear "nose" and into the license plate ) The coves are nothing but Corvette and the front looks like a Corvette should IMHO.

Now you could say that this car looks similar to the Ferrari, or the Viper or any other front engine sports car but then you would also be admiting that they all have a similar apperance to each other too.

[blckslvr79]

Originally Posted by the machine

I don't know how you can know what inspired a design. I think only the designer knows that. But there are only so many shapes that a front/mid engine sports car can take. You put the engine where it goes the driver where he goes and the wheels where they have to be, and that dictates alot of what the final shape will be. But I see lots of past genterations in this car. I see sharp lines that remind me of the midyears, and I see rear end lines that remind me of the Mako Shark. (rear glass and all the way into the shape of the rear "nose" and into the license plate ) The coves are nothing but Corvette and the front looks like a Corvette should IMHO.

Now you could say that this car looks similar to the Ferrari, or the Viper or any other front engine sports car but then you would also be admiting that they all have a similar apperance to each other too.

I think you missed the point.

[blckslvr79]

Originally Posted by RFenton1

I couldn't agree more.

I would think that in this day and age, originality would prevail in re designing the most celebrated Chevrolet in American automotive history ? When GM decides to copy others, there is a sense of chasing or should we say following the lead. Corvette should always set the pace. We (Corvette faithful) waited so long for this car to come, and finally we have a new generation car that came in very late after many delays. I can see some effective thought, and I admit from some angles it pleases, however the less than all out attempt to create new original art for the next generation Corvette, with so many parts that resemble others, I feel GM has accepted less than American designers are capable of, and less than Corvette, it's faithful, it's previous engineers and designers, it's generations past, deserve.

It feels like we ran down field in record time but ran out of stamina on the one yard line. That's not ALL bad, but it's not everything we're capable of.

I'm sure there will be tweaks each year, and I do look forward to some additional design improvement, originality, and more power. I'll hold on to my 2011 ZR1 for a while longer but I do still have faith!

This!

[WNH]

The rear lights are the only 'sore thumb', IMO.
Otherwise, GM did a good job in continuing the Corvette legacy.

[walleyfisher]

The C7 design is new, doesn't stand out as a real fresh design being all the examples already out there that have resemblance. But I feel one thing for sure is this version will age fast. Watch how the completion bring more swoopy flowing designs to market in the next couple of years

[stinger430]

Originally Posted by walleyfisher

The C7 design is new, doesn't stand out as a real fresh design being all the examples already out there that have resemblance. But I feel one thing for sure is this version will age fast. Watch how the completion bring more swoopy flowing designs to market in the next couple of years

I was thinking that very same thing this week.

[iowa61]

Yeah. It's all subjective. Nobody is more disappointed in the rear end treatment than I am...

BUT,

What is inarguable is that the C7 represents a bold departure from the very conservative post-C3 designs.

I am so damn glad for that alone.

And to my eye, MY EYE, I don't see any foreign influences in the C7. Thank heavens.

This stands in stark contrast to the C5 which design-wise, was a scaled-up Mazda almost note for note. That is, except for the huge, bulging, rear end (a modern GM styling priority...).

I see more C3 in the C7 than any other single "inspiration."

But again. What's most important is that it is a striking bold statement. It doesn't look like anything else out there. And that's good.

And another thing we need to remember. There is no doubt that pound for pound, dollar for dollar, the C7 will be the best performance value in the world. By far.

[GhostShadow]

Originally Posted by iowa61

Yeah. It's all subjective. Nobody is more disappointed in the rear end treatment than I am...

BUT,

What is inarguable is that the C7 represents a bold departure from the very conservative post-C3 designs.

I am so damn glad for that alone.

And to my eye, MY EYE, I don't see any foreign influences in the C7. Thank heavens.

This stands in stark contrast to the C5 which design-wise, was a scaled-up Mazda almost note for note. That is, except for the huge, bulging, rear end (a modern GM styling priority...).

I see more C3 in the C7 than any other single "inspiration."

But again. What's most important is that it is a striking bold statement. It doesn't look like anything else out there. And that's good.

And another thing we need to remember. There is no doubt that pound for pound, dollar for dollar, the C7 will be the best performance value in the world. By far.

Thats got to be one of the most useful posts I've read so far, especially from the "I don't like the rear" camp.

Personally, at first, was not crazy about the rear end. Especially from the Jalopnik renderings. I went through the angry phase of how can the Corvette Team put that rear end on such a car. But as time went on, it made sense, and grew to start liking the rear. The corvette had suffered the same fate as a lot of gm cars, it was going to get stagnant.

The C5, to me, had a terrible rear end. It was sloppy, unimaginative and boring. The C6 took that rear and cleaned it up a bit. The C7 on the other hand completely became polarizing. Whether you love it or hate it, people will talk about it.