Muscle Cars Buck Downward Trend in Coupe and Sports-Car Sales
12-17-2010, 04:40 PM
#21
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People probably said the same thing about the LS1 Camaro compared to the 60s original when it was new as well. Obviously, whatever cues were applied to it's look were weak at best as it looks nothing like an original Camaro. The 5th gen has addressed that and it's sales and ability to crane necks is the result.
It's no different with the Corvette. It has looked fundamentally the same since the C4 and any heritage styling the design might have are lost in the rest of the car. Park it next to a Camaro, Viper, Ford GT, etc and it becomes invisible. Drive it down a busy street, unless you paint it pink nobody will notice it. That's how vanilla the Corvette's look has become. That's one of it's major issues. The other is that it's not a well made car. Hopefully GM addresses these issues with the next redesign instead of making a C5.5 like they did for the C6.
Like I said the Sting Ray concept while not perfect is a big step in the right direction for the car. It deserves to have the type of looks that kids want to hang on their walls and turns everyone's heads when it's spotted on the road.
It's no different with the Corvette. It has looked fundamentally the same since the C4 and any heritage styling the design might have are lost in the rest of the car. Park it next to a Camaro, Viper, Ford GT, etc and it becomes invisible. Drive it down a busy street, unless you paint it pink nobody will notice it. That's how vanilla the Corvette's look has become. That's one of it's major issues. The other is that it's not a well made car. Hopefully GM addresses these issues with the next redesign instead of making a C5.5 like they did for the C6.
Like I said the Sting Ray concept while not perfect is a big step in the right direction for the car. It deserves to have the type of looks that kids want to hang on their walls and turns everyone's heads when it's spotted on the road.
Hardly boring if you ask me....
12-17-2010, 06:37 PM
#22
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Gotta say you are WAY off base with this one.
Corvette is underselling because:
- Camaro is the newest performance item from Chevy.
- It is considerably more expensive than Camaro, at a time when the economy is in a bad place. Additionally, Corvette, being a light weight 2-seater, is more of a luxury item and isn't really a car that can stand alone as a daily driver/sole transportation for many people in many places. When economic times are hard, people are less likely to buy a spare "toy" car, and Camaro offers an alternative that is still fun while being a better primary/sole transportation car.
Frankly, I couldn't possibily disagree more about your comments on styling. The C6 is possibly the best looking Corvette ever, and as nice as the new Camaro is, it can't even come close to "destroying Corvette" styling wise. One thing that GM has really done right in terms of styling over the last half-dozen years is the C6.
Corvette is underselling because:
- Camaro is the newest performance item from Chevy.
- It is considerably more expensive than Camaro, at a time when the economy is in a bad place. Additionally, Corvette, being a light weight 2-seater, is more of a luxury item and isn't really a car that can stand alone as a daily driver/sole transportation for many people in many places. When economic times are hard, people are less likely to buy a spare "toy" car, and Camaro offers an alternative that is still fun while being a better primary/sole transportation car.
Frankly, I couldn't possibily disagree more about your comments on styling. The C6 is possibly the best looking Corvette ever, and as nice as the new Camaro is, it can't even come close to "destroying Corvette" styling wise. One thing that GM has really done right in terms of styling over the last half-dozen years is the C6.
When the economy turns around so in will the sales of the vette.
12-17-2010, 08:24 PM
#23
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Yeah compare a standard C6 to a Viper and it looks plain. But park a ZR1 next to the Viper and the focus changes completely. Again, keep the comparisons inline...compared to anything else in it's price bracket the C6 is pretty agressive. When you get up to the 80k and 100k brackets there are definitely more eye-catching cars but that's what the Z06 and ZR1 are here for.
The Ford GT is an entirely different story. I don't think that car belongs in the same class as the Vette and Viper, it's a completely different entity. I know it can be compared in terms of performance, but as a whole, that's a different world altogether. You could park it next to a Veyron and it would probably get damn near as much attention as the Bugatti.
The Ford GT is an entirely different story. I don't think that car belongs in the same class as the Vette and Viper, it's a completely different entity. I know it can be compared in terms of performance, but as a whole, that's a different world altogether. You could park it next to a Veyron and it would probably get damn near as much attention as the Bugatti.
12-18-2010, 10:44 AM
#24
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People probably said the same thing about the LS1 Camaro compared to the 60s original when it was new as well. Obviously, whatever cues were applied to it's look were weak at best as it looks nothing like an original Camaro. The 5th gen has addressed that and it's sales and ability to crane necks is the result.
The 5th gen was the lastest entry into the "me too" retro field of muscle cars, and as a result sales have boomed for it's introduction (also aided by a best-in-class powertrain). Yes, it's a great looking car, but if the styling continues as-is for very long, it too will become a has-been in the face of other redesigned muscle cars.
Trendy people have no loyalty to a particular style, they move from one hot ticket item to the next. The current overflow of Camaro buyers are not Camaro or GM loyalists, and they can/will be easily swayed away from Camaro as it ages.
Chasing trendy buyers is a risky mission for any car.
It's no different with the Corvette. It has looked fundamentally the same since the C4 and any heritage styling the design might have are lost in the rest of the car. Park it next to a Camaro, Viper, Ford GT, etc and it becomes invisible. Drive it down a busy street, unless you paint it pink nobody will notice it. That's how vanilla the Corvette's look has become. That's one of it's major issues. The other is that it's not a well made car. Hopefully GM addresses these issues with the next redesign instead of making a C5.5 like they did for the C6.
Like I said the Sting Ray concept while not perfect is a big step in the right direction for the car. It deserves to have the type of looks that kids want to hang on their walls and turns everyone's heads when it's spotted on the road.
Like I said the Sting Ray concept while not perfect is a big step in the right direction for the car. It deserves to have the type of looks that kids want to hang on their walls and turns everyone's heads when it's spotted on the road.
12-18-2010, 12:19 PM
#25
Park it next to a Camaro, Viper, Ford GT, etc and it becomes invisible. Drive it down a busy street, unless you paint it pink nobody will notice it. That's how vanilla the Corvette's look has become. That's one of it's major issues. The other is that it's not a well made car.
Absolutely NONE of that applies to my C6, it turns heads everywhere it goes and even after modifying it into the high 10s is still THE most reliable/dependable/drum tight car I've ever owned. A stock one, even more so.
All I can say is that I disagree entirely. You are welcome to your opinion, but that's all you've posted here; one person's opinion. Frankly I still believe you are way off base, and as for the sales decline, myself and others have already oulined the more likely reasons in previous posts.
12-18-2010, 01:43 PM
#27
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All I can say is that I disagree entirely. You are welcome to your opinion, but that's all you've posted here; one person's opinion. Frankly I still believe you are way off base, and as for the sales decline, myself and others have already oulined the more likely reasons in previous posts.
Like everyone else said, not everyone can afford to have a $50k+ toy these days. To say it's because the Camaro beats it inside and out is a joke, it's miles ahead inside and the outside is subjective but I don't know of anyone that would take the Camaro looks over a C6.
12-18-2010, 03:11 PM
#28
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People probably said the same thing about the LS1 Camaro compared to the 60s original when it was new as well. Obviously, whatever cues were applied to it's look were weak at best as it looks nothing like an original Camaro. The 5th gen has addressed that and it's sales and ability to crane necks is the result.
Are you not forgetting the fact that its a whole new car with modern day (not 1993) interior, suspension and build quality? I think its more the simple fact that the new Camaro comes with an LS3, 6 speed and good quality build that is getting it to sell over the fact it resembles the 60s Camaro...
It's no different with the Corvette. It has looked fundamentally the same since the C4 and any heritage styling the design might have are lost in the rest of the car.
The current C6 is gorgeous and Im pretty sure Corvette owers/buyers (I would consider myself a future buyer) don't want some retro bullshit, but rather a wind tunnel tested sleek advancement to the C6.
Park it next to a Camaro, Viper, Ford GT, etc and it becomes invisible. Drive it down a busy street, unless you paint it pink nobody will notice it.
Park a Zr1 or Z06 next to a Camaro and people will be asking what that Ferrari is doing next to the land barge.
The Corvette becomes more invisible to supercars because of how many you see on the street (you know, because of how well they sell).
The other is that it's not a well made car. Hopefully GM addresses these issues with the next redesign instead of making a C5.5 like they did for the C6.
Like I said the Sting Ray concept while not perfect is a big step in the right direction for the car. It deserves to have the type of looks that kids want to hang on their walls and turns everyone's heads when it's spotted on the road.
12-18-2010, 03:29 PM
#30
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12-18-2010, 03:35 PM
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Ew, yes, I'd agree "Porsche" screams exotic, refined, and unique. None of which I've really seen in most of the newer models. Half the time I see one and automatically shake my head at the styling. It reminds me of a melted bar of soap, hardly something that instills fear in me regardless of what's under the hood lol
12-18-2010, 04:39 PM
#32
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This (well and everything else you said haha). The Corvette is a bargain supercar, you can't expect a car that does what it does with the same level interior a Porsche or Ferrari has at what they sell them for. And the C6 interior is MILES ahead of the C5, not shitty at all really.
12-18-2010, 09:30 PM
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This (well and everything else you said haha). The Corvette is a bargain supercar, you can't expect a car that does what it does with the same level interior a Porsche or Ferrari has at what they sell them for. And the C6 interior is MILES ahead of the C5, not shitty at all really.
And yes, for a Corvette to do what it can do at the price it does it at, something has to give. The interior is what gives. There's really nothing wrong with the C6 interior, it's very nice. However it does not compete with the interiors that the C6's performance puts it up against. But again, those interiors are in cars that retail for at least double what the C6 does.
12-18-2010, 10:39 PM
#38
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There's the comment about the "great" Porsche interior again...where do people get this from? Porsche's interiors SUCK. They look like they are right out of the 80's, with more monotone then the 4th gen WS6, and styling that could pass for a Boeing design. Hardly a benchmark to compare anything.
12-19-2010, 03:51 AM
#39
Gotta say you are WAY off base with this one.
Corvette is underselling because:
- Camaro is the newest performance item from Chevy.
- It is considerably more expensive than Camaro, at a time when the economy is in a bad place. Additionally, Corvette, being a light weight 2-seater, is more of a luxury item and isn't really a car that can stand alone as a daily driver/sole transportation for many people in many places. When economic times are hard, people are less likely to buy a spare "toy" car, and Camaro offers an alternative that is still fun while being a better primary/sole transportation car.
Frankly, I couldn't possibily disagree more about your comments on styling. The C6 is possibly the best looking Corvette ever, and as nice as the new Camaro is, it can't even come close to "destroying Corvette" styling wise. One thing that GM has really done right in terms of styling over the last half-dozen years is the C6.
Corvette is underselling because:
- Camaro is the newest performance item from Chevy.
- It is considerably more expensive than Camaro, at a time when the economy is in a bad place. Additionally, Corvette, being a light weight 2-seater, is more of a luxury item and isn't really a car that can stand alone as a daily driver/sole transportation for many people in many places. When economic times are hard, people are less likely to buy a spare "toy" car, and Camaro offers an alternative that is still fun while being a better primary/sole transportation car.
Frankly, I couldn't possibily disagree more about your comments on styling. The C6 is possibly the best looking Corvette ever, and as nice as the new Camaro is, it can't even come close to "destroying Corvette" styling wise. One thing that GM has really done right in terms of styling over the last half-dozen years is the C6.
The C6 is my favorite Corvette ever.
12-19-2010, 08:41 AM
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"Build quality" is more often perceived than real, and is only a very small part of the overall experience. But based on my experience with Porsche, I disagree. As recent as the 2006 model year, I don't see any better quality in the Porsche interior than in the Vette. Their 80's and 90's interiors were barely as solid as the Vette (which is saying alot especially in the C4 generation because those interiors SUCKED). I will allow for the possibility that they have been improving and that their current interiors are better...I don't know since I haven't been in a 2007 or newer Porsche.