In the latest reports announced by GM in its efforts to right the ship… was a memo released that they plan on repaying the Federal Government starting this June. This also raises an eyebrow or two by the same token they also believe they will become profitable for the first time this year after five plus consecutive years of bleeding out money faster than Rosie O’Donnell can irritate Donald Trump. Both are train wrecks but nonetheless fascinate the American audiences.
With a glimmer of hope and steps in the right direction GM’s Chevrolet brand has set forth on reviving the Corvette nameplate. Now, I know what you’re about to say…it hasn’t been paused or stopped in the way of production at any time as of late. However, the C6 was merely warmed over to bridge a stopgap and satisfy the many followers for the current C7 enthusiast. In deed, there was an attempt to introduce the “Blue Devil” the new ZR1 to compete with the likes of European or Japanese exotics… but let’s be realistic about it. When you crossover the 100 K threshold you expect more from the vehicle than what the Corvette has to offer. Sure you can take weight out of the oversized frame and body by adding long overdue lighter carbon fiber components. Bigger 15-inch front brakes and improved Magnetic Ride Control but that is only adding items left over from the parts bin of the C6R vehicles.
“Common Man”, seriously… I have recently purchased and drive a new MY10 CTS-V that has all of the above and a slightly detuned LS9 556 hp with a supercharger that is smaller and much more comfortable to drive on or off the track. Best of all it is 32 K less money to own. I recently drove the ZR1 and was disappointed by the poorly designed seats, interior materials, rattles, odd noises from the rear drivers tire well and poor sight line over the enormous front clip of the vehicle.
So in my long-winded approach to this rant is to let everyone know that GM has called on all of their global design team to come up with a truly revolutionary new C8 Corvette. It will be right sized by being smaller in girth and length while being more nimble with a mid engine design. Likely to shock Corvette purists is the suggestion that a V6 will replace a V8 in the C8, although 440 hp courtesy of twin turbochargers ought to calm fears of reduced power output.
I’ve always toyed with the idea of purchasing the Corvette but after reminding myself by driving one for a period reassured me that again this is not the model for me. I truly like the design logic behind the next generation vehicle in the works and hope that its projected 2016 introduction to the market isn’t too late.
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