oldshurst442

OK though... 80K/yr at Bowling Green might not be able to handle that kind of production hike. I will support that statement. But the C8 hitting 80k-100k/yr (for the first 2 years) is(was) not that far fetched...

Who would want the Corvette to hit 80K/yr? GM is who... Will Corvettes hit 80K/yr consistently? Probably not. But for the first 2 years, the C8 could have EASILY attained these numbers if there were no global hiccups and had Chevrolet been able to get their global sales stores up and running. The C8 is gonna be sold to many countries world wide after all. The Corvette IS a mass produced machine after all. The Corvette is NOT a boutique sports car. The Corvette, at Bowling Green did in fact hit sales figures of 40 000 for the C3 in 1981 (first year at Bowling Green) and 51 000 for the C4's first year and 39 000 for the C4's 2nd year. I said 50 000 units for the US market for 2020 and 2021 because the C4 hit those numbers and the C4 was a major departure of what it had become with the later years of the C3 and was a welcoming and necessary change. I see a parallel with the FE-RWD to the ME C8. The C7 to the C8. The C8 might have lost some Vette purists, but it did gain healthy NEW clientele. Some of that clientele would have bought Porsche Boxters and Caymens but indeed bought C8s. A healthy uptick in NEW clients I might say. And the Vette did manage to keep most if its fans... For 2021, the C8 with all the RAVE reviews WORLD WIDE from auto mag rags and internet influencers, that Corvette mystique just not only stayed alive, but actually became even MORE legendary, and now the C8 is not only taking away Porsche clientele from their Cayman and Boxter sales, but now the C8 is also eating up 911 sales... As proof, the C8 is NOT selling its base trims, but trim levels of 70 000 dollars and more. https://www.autoevolution.com/news/2020-chevrolet-corvette-sales-show-money-is-not-a-problem-for-us-buyers-152376.html As proof, the C8 managed to gain a dominant market share for ALL sports car sold in the world. I will stop saying 50% market share as I dont have proof of that. The proof that I posted was for the 1st quarter of 2021... But I do have this: https://carbuzz.com/news/chevy-sold-more-c8-corvettes-than-all-rival-sports-cars-combined Therefore... While yes, 25 000 units per year sold for the Corvette is more than adequate, as that is what it averages out to more or less, ever since its introduction in 1953, there have been times when a new generation hit the streets and got the whole world buzzing and when people have wanted to buy the Corvette, they REALLY bought the Corvette and the Corvette sold in really really good numbers. And the C8 is exactly that... It would have hit 50 000 units EASILY. Add another modest 30 000 units and we get the 80K/yr figure I keep on defending. And yes...many Eurosnobs would have bought the C8 Vette as it hits THEIR soft spots. Mid engine Fantastic American V8 burble (because Europeans DO actually love an American V8 Fantastic performance figures Fantastic handling characteristics that are no longer "American" in nature but European... That Corvette mystique is still intact and augmented by 10 Really really upgraded interior that Eurosnobs seem to bitch about is no longer... The suspense that even FASTER C8s are in the works. The type that win at Lemans... As in Z06... Even German people bit their lips and acknowledged the C8. Even in Germany, the C8 would have had some sales... Then there is the Middle East. All these oil baron Sheiks. They love the Corvette anyway. This new one blew them away.

About the Corvette copying Ferrari. Nonsense. The Corvette has, since the C2, be a Ferrari and Porsche (mainly 911) competitor and rival on the streets and on the race track. (And Jaguar XKEs too) Since late model C1s actually... Funny, when Ferrari went to 6.5 liters (396 cubic inches) for its V12, SMK didnt say Ferrari is copying big block American and Chevrolet cubic inches... But they did... because Americana states that there is no replacement for displacement and at 396 cubic inches...oh boy...give me that Ferrari and Ill drag race it on Woodward Avenue! Fair enough!

That is what I said. The C8 is a platform that will be sold world-wide. And it would have met that had it not been for Covid shut-downs and chip shortages. Corvette would have had at least 50 000 units sold in the US for 2020 and 2021 if things were normal in the world...add another 30 000 units EASILY for the rest of the world.... In 2018, the Mustang in the US lost to the Challenger in sales, yet it sold tremendously all over the world. https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/feu/en/news/2018/04/17/ford-mustang-is-worlds-best-selling-sports-coupe-for-third-strai.html Mustang sold 125 000 units that year world wide. Im applying that trend to the C8. And, to me at least, my view it doesnt seem to be that far off from what reality is when it comes to the C8 and how IT is lusted after world wide and how many peoples want it to be in their drive-ways.

Yes...and imagine if they did manage to sell in those markets had it NOT been for Covid and chip shortages. You do know that the C8 is gonna be sold in those markets, right? There is a WAITING list for C8s JUST in North America and Chevrolet cant make them... The year ended in 2020 and the orders they had for a 2020 model just got transferred to model year 2021. And the 2021 list just got bigger and bigger after that. But of course you say no way... Let me give you these little nuggets and you could read them and come to a more thoughtful conclusion: https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/01/chevrolet-corvette-sales-numbers-figures-results-fourth-quarter-q4-2020/ https://carbuzz.com/news/chevy-sold-more-c8-corvettes-than-all-rival-sports-cars-combined https://carbuzz.com/news/not-all-2020-chevy-corvette-sales-were-from-america And for 2021: The sales have doubled month per month... https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/chevrolet-corvette-sales-figures/ Imagine that... A car that took the WORLD by storm but was not able to be produced to meet demand...and because other sprts car makers had to deal with the same shytty problems Chevrolet faced with Covid and chip shortages, the C8 managed to outsell every other sports car and take more than a 50% market share...

Answers to my quote above: But the bolded parts are where the disconnect is. And then the rest of the post Yes, the Vette's mission after CAFE regs but from the C4 on was to be a high horsepower and low mpg sportscar, but it wasnt always the case. Why I didnt include the later C3s is because the V8s in those were low compression, catalytic converter band-aid solutions to meet the then new CAFE regs. From the C4 on with cross-fire injection and then port fuel injection and new computer sensors and software did the Vette become a techno masterpiece to be a low mpg, high horsepower sportscar. But we are all saying the same thing, more or less...

The 1930's SSK is truly a masterpiece. But Ill go 20 years later with the Gullwing and its roadster sibling as the last beautiful Mercedes created. The retro Gullwing in the new Millennium is something I admire, but I also see it as a Dodge Viper wannabe negating it as a truly beautiful Mercedes for me.

This should have been written as: The C8 Corvette would have sold 80 000-100 000 units EACH of the last two years.

I wanna know when was the last time Mercedes built a truly beautiful car? And I want SMK to answer that question just so I could know what he deems beautiful. I could compare his Mercedes choice of beauty with what Ferrari has created...and then I could come to a conclusion to see if SMK's opinion on this is genuine or simple fanboy fodder!

PS: Vettes always sucked gas. Carbureted big blocks were notoriously bad for that. But CAFE in the 1970s changed the way Chevrolet looked at the Corvette. The recent supercharged V8s in Corvettes do have a gas guzzler tax on them... But... in the last 50 years, Corvette engine technology has made the Chevrolet small block into something of a miracle regarding gasoline consumption. Hence why SMK, painfully for him acknowledges the magnificent feat of high horsepower and torque and relative low mpg. What makes you (SMK) think that the new DOHC V8 from GM wont accomplish the same feat? Chevrolet/GM engineers are smart. They make miraculous things happen... Maybe you dont see it, because you are a blind fanboy of another company, but clear your head properly and actually see what GM does. Maybe you could be wowed just a tad...

Many Corvette purists have now accepted the fact that the Corvette is a mid-engine sports car. To the very few that have not accepted this configuration and are not nor will they be new C8 owners in the future, the C8 has more than gained a new clientele to offset the loss. The Corvette going with a DOHC V8 has nothing to do with going Eurocentric. Besides, a DOHC V8 was introduced to the Corvette 32-33 years ago in 1989. Flat plane crank? puhlease... The biggest switch was already made when the Corvette went mid-engine 2 years ago. There is a waiting list for the C8 the last two model years because GM cant produce them...for various shytty reasons. (Covid and chip shortage and a strike). The C8 would have sold 80 000 -100 000 units the last two years had it not been for those shytty reasons limiting the production and sales run for 2020 and 2021. Flat plane crank just excites the Corvette's NEW fanbase EVEN MORE... The fact that this new Corvette being labeled as Z06 just hypes it up even more. Because the last 3 generations of Z06 (C5, C6, C7) have been performance monsters and because the base C8 is impressive, the Corvette C8 is lustworthy again for many many many people across the globe. The C8 has got not only the old gen folk excited, bit most importantly, the C8 has excited a very young population. Something that the Corvette hasnt really seen since the very early years of the C3. And like I| said before, the Z06 is eagerly awaited by many. The next biggest change is when the Corvette becomes electric and all wheel drive. Having a flat plane crank V8 is no big deal. Furthermore, the NEW Corvette fanbase knows that an electric powertrain is coming along with AWD and to them, that cant come fast enough. Just a hunch that I got is why I say this. And I judge my opinion based on the sales figures and the updates GM gives for the ordering of a C8 and the Z06... Oh...the very first Corvette was Eurocentric to begin with. It was created to emulate little British roadsters. The C2 Corvette, although very American in its design, was also engineered to take on European sports cars on the race track. And it was then that Duntov wanted a sports car with a mid-engine configuration. Almost a decade BEFORE the Miura. The first production street sports car from Lamborghini... In other words, Duntov wanted the C2 to be mid-engined. And when that idea didnt pan out, he was pushing for that to happen for the C3. The C4 was the 1st Vette to be Europeanized in execution... Sure it had the classic Vette and American styling, but it was Europeanized in the process... Hence a so called Euro philosophy of dual overhead cams and 4 valves/cylinder V8 5 years after introduction... The base Corvette was always in a Cadillac pricing range... The top tier Corvettes were PRICIER than many Cadillac models... throughout the Corvettes existence since 1953.

At full revs...I LOVE IT! Sounds like a Ferrari. Yes it does. At idle, sounds like shyte, in my honest opinion. @14 seconds or so, one could hear the idling. At least this is what I think it is (the idling). Even if its not idling, I dont like that sound this engine makes right there. But I am stoked to see that the Z06 is almost here. I dont care all that much for performance number stats anymore. Its been a long time that I have been this way, but for this car, I am wildly curious to see what this machine will do against its most heated rivals and cars above its price range!

Its just an engine sound vid that eludes aurally to a flat plane crank. At the end of the video, Chevy confirms a full reveal of the Z06 in the fall.

Just came back from my daughter's softball game tonight in a posh suburb of Montreal. Kirkland. Yeah, like the Costco brand. Came across lots and lots of new Audis of all kinds. In drive-ways, on the road... More than usual sightings. 3 of the bigger SUVs, 3 of the smaller CUVs, 1 A5, 2 A7s and bunch of A3s and A4s. (Not the interesting stuff I wanna share) The house neighboring the baseball field had 2 Mercedes E Class sedans in the drive-way. A 2019-ish model and a 2015-ish one. Both white. (NOT the interesting stuff I wanna share either...) As the game was being played and we were at bats, and I was the 1st base coach... A nice blue Corvette C6 Z06 drove by... and of course I acknowledged it by yelling out CORVETTE Z06!!! I was lucky that the pitch was already pitched and the catcher was throwing it back to her pitcher.... But I did get some weird glances my way from both of my girls and the opposing team's girls... Oh well! A single Corvette in a sea of drab Audis, Ill take the judgmental looks of 'WTF are you saying?' any time!!!

submachine gun

Notice that in the song Mona Lisa by Nat King Cole, the music in the background is just there to COMPLIMENT his singing. What a voice!!! Its tooo damn bad that the singing standards have been steadily declining since then to where we are now today...

^^^ That is one angle. The other angle I was actually shooting for was a direct shot fired at David's statement word for word. He saying that that negligent owners leaving an ICEV to rot will spew chemicals in the ground polluting our water. While true, since batteries in BEVs have more chemicals (hidden) than ICEVs, I would hate to see a Li-ion powered BEV in the same state as that Ford or Caddy if the battery is not removed to be recycled...

? I wouldnt be cheering for BEV BEV BEV for the win when the scenario is about: "when driven by people who do not maintain them, sitting on property leeching out toxic chemicals into the ground and contaminating ground water"

Public transportation

Its not about ego... You of all people David.... Its a CAREER... You focus too much on those that are negative. But there are many that are good role models. You probably only see Babe Ruth as a fat, gluttonous drunk that had extra marital affairs... Yet you are oblivious to the fact that he was very generous to sick children in hospitals and had various charities going... I suggest you do some research before such ignorant blanket statements... The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, their respective ownership groups and their respective athletes do soooooo much for Boston, Montreal, Massachusetts and Quebec... Plays for Montreal now... But in Nashville...he did and STILL does lots for that community Read up on him... Played elsewhere...traded to Boston, won the Cup in 2011, got traded to Edmonton and I believe has since retired now its been 3-4 years. Well...the time he spent in Boston, he created many charities for the Boston area and while playing in Edmonton, still catered to these charities in Boston. Still does. Read up on him too. Read up on what this current Bruins Captain does in Boston for Boston and for the last 15 years... https://www.charityintelligence.ca/research-and-news/ci-views/44-special-reports/604-canadian-pro-sport-teams-and-their-charities Since the Calgary Flames launched a charity foundation to complement its hockey team in 1983, other professional sports teams have jumped on the philanthropy bandwagon – the Vancouver Canucks in 1986, the Blue Jays in 1992, the Winnipeg Jets in 1996, the Ottawa Senators in 1998, Montreal Canadiens in 2000, and the Edmonton Oilers in 2001. Newly amalgamated in 2009, MLSE Foundation represents the Maple Leafs, Raptors, and Toronto Football Club (soccer). Having a charity attached to a professional sports team offers a way to build the team’s brand in the community. Athletes give their time to do community service, and sometimes allocate a portion of their signing bonus to the team’s charity. With the donations, corporate sponsorships and money raised from 50/50 draws, the pro team charities fund a variety of charities. Grants go mostly towards other kid and sport-focused charities. In 2017, Canadians gave $49.7 million to the eight charity foundations associated with professional sports teams. Having three teams under one charity foundation makes Toronto’s Maple Leaf Sports Foundation the league leader by size, with revenues in 2017 at $10.3 million. Baseball tops all the hockey team charity foundations with Jays Care Foundation raising $9.4 million in 2017. Being a national team with 81 home games in a large stadium with division-leading average attendance of 39,555 (twice the average attendance of hockey, twice the number of home games) has material fundraising advantages. The hockey teams’ charities raise between $4 million and $7 million, making them among the largest 3% of donor-supported charities in Canada.