oldshurst442

If you read what I said about Acura....I NEVER compared BMW to Acura... I just said that Acura emulates BMW the way BMW was fun to drive with RWD in the 1970s and 1980s, Acura being a Japanese equivalent with FWD. FUN TO DRIVE. I NEVER once mentioned Acura's performance. The NSX was the image of Honda's VERSION of performance is what I said...and fun to drive was THAT performance metric...

BMW in reality was always an econobox... Nothing more. Nothing less... More PLEBEIAN than Mercedes... That aside. I can concede that reality and admit that their cars were engaging to drive. However, when I hear stuff like this: Im the one that laughs. Excuses is all I hear trying to defend a dying company. Oh...BMW is dying. Like you and @smk4565 is saying... CUVs are what is selling. Aint it sad that BMW...JUST to stay alive is JUST selling CUVs? The famous and lauded BMW? Peddling CUVs? And you defend that? Puhlease... Something you might not know... I HATE HONDA AND ACURA!!! Always did. Bought a 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD because there was nothing then that I cared to own in the 50 000 dollar Canadian price range. Just like now in 2020. Nothing in 2020 in that same price range that I care to own. I settled for the TL. SETTLED being the key word here. OH...I like my car. I LOVE my car. Why? Well...it aint for the looks that is for sure. Its one ugly POS. But it looks like nothing else on the road. And all that triangular and angular lines it has, it reminds me of an F117 Stealth Fighter. That too, is one ugly mother. But its THAT very reason why I LOVE my TL. Contradictory? YES!!! But the TL has contradictory styling designs... But usually, Im not the one to like ugly cars just because they are ugly. Its just happens that the TL is an exception. It aint for the driving characteristics either that I love my TL. Its got front heavy plowing like a heavy FWD car when it turns corners on dry pavement. But driving fast enough, the SH-AWD system saves my ass and makes the turn for me. But that is not why I love my TL. I hate the front heavy FWD bias its got during normal driving. In the snow, SH-AWD IS fun. So...chalk up a reason why I love my TL. But I hate winter. So...that too is contradictory statement... But really, Its mostly the naturally aspirated 300 horses and 280 something ft/lbs of torque that the SH-AWD system controls so well that puts a smile to my face while accelerating forward that I love. But...I NEVER liked Honda. Acura even less in the 1980s and 1990s and well into the 2000s. HATE HATE HATE VTEC. Not the tech. but the whole VTEC just kicked in yo with the baseball cap on sideways and the whole Civic SI thing. I just recently maybe a short decade ago, or less, that I started respecting what an Integra GSR/Type R is all about. HATED those cars with a PHOQUING passion before then. I HATE the TLX. HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT The 2021 TLX looks promising. Now...after what I said, does that look like Im a Honda fanbois. PS: I HATE BMW WORSE than I HATE ON HONDA...

^^^ I stand corrected.

No they are not... Like Mercedes Benz. In Europe, BMW sells econoboxes to the European masses... More so even than Mercedes Benz. We always go down that same route... You confuse OVERALL sales with the actual luxury cars BMW produces... barely... definitely not... You like Sandy Munro? Well Sandy likes BMWs. He also likes the Tesla Model 3. And HE says that the Model 3's handling is reminiscent of how BMW 3 Series used to drive and handle... I could find you the link. Its easy. He says it MULTIPLE times. ESPECIALLY when he was on Autoline Detroit After Hours. And I KNOW you have listened to those...so I DONT NEED to post anything... Fast is NOT what sells enthusiast cars... They dont. But YOU keep on missing the point. It AINT about horsepower and speed and performance. Its about FUN TO DRIVE... And ALL THAT WHAT IT ENTAILS... And BMW lost THAT characteristic a loooong time ago...and much like yourself that doesnt know what that is...BMW has forgotten and does not know what that means. Drive by wire, disconnecting the driver from the road through hefty AWD systems to put down the enormous amounts of torque and HP the cars make to the idiotic gesture control technology in their interiors... all have contributed to BMW's vehicles straying far far awaaaay in what used to make a BMW a BMW and what was quite unique the automotive world. A fun car to drive.

Nah. They are not. Like I said. They are just like anybody else doing shytty CUVs. Like I said, when another "in" car company comes in to charm the masses, BMW is done for. BMW does NOT do CUVs better than anybody else. They do NOT do memorable CUVs. There are no 2002 CUV equivalents. No M badged 3 or 5 Series cars or CUVs that charm today. No CUV E36 or E 46 equivalent. No Z3 or Z8 or 7 Series saloon James Bond CUV equivalent movie star... They just do the same ol same ole. Like everybody else. They are riding on the coattails of those past vehicles. But they are NOT charming any new drivers. New drivers are buying them BECAUSE of their past. But when another enthusiast car maker takes the market by storm, BMW is done for. In other words. The X5 and X6 have lost that loving feeling they once had. The X7 is a disgusting design. Neither CUV just mentioned is gonna carry the BMW flame to the next generation of BMW lovers... The X3 and X1 are just...well, they are just the same ole same ole I was talking about. No better than a KIA RIO or Ford Escape... THIS is what happened to Cadillac. Cadillac too, was outselling Mercedes and BMW in the very 1990s that BMW enthusiasts all go googoo gaagaa with E30 M3s, E36 M3s, E46 M3s, E34 M5 inline 6 AND V8, E39 M5s. Cult classic Z8s and Z3s... And Cadillac...was outselling them. But by the late 1990s. A different story all together. Same with BMW now. Tesla has taken a fair share of market share from BMW and EV sales are still very very niche. Even Tesla sales are niche. They are growing fast, and at the expense of many auto manufacturers. Not just BMW. But Tesla has got that same type of following that BMW enjoyed in the 1970s/1980s and 1990s. Its taken Tesla just a decade to achieve what BMW achieved in 30. Irony. What Cadillac did to their image in that same 30 year span that BMW took advantage of, BMW flubbed itself in just less than 20.

To be fair, Oldsmobile had a hand with GM's initial DOHC 4 and 6 cylinder engines. Lotus did Chevrolet's first DOHC V8 in the Corvette, but Oldsmobile did their own DOHC and Cadillac used it. More precisely, Cadillac "hired" Oldsmobile to do their DOHC V8 and Oldsmobile did a version of that to use as well. If a different timeline had occurred and Oldsmobile had survived, I think Oldsmobile would be on the cutting edge of automotive trends right about now so I dont think Oldsmobile would have been doing 1.5t, 2.0. and 3.6 liter V6 CUVs. I think Oldsmobile would be doing EV CUVs right about now, trying to compete with Tesla. And for the last 3-4 years. I think Oldsmobile would have used the Bolt platform to do their own CUV with it. Oldsmobile would have probably used the Volt, to do their own version and Opel, would have badge engineered the Olds version rather than Chevy's. I get this vibe as Oldsmobile was doing turbos first in the 1960s, before Chevy with its Corvair. Oldsmobile saw DOHC from the Japanese in the 1980s and did their very own in the mid-80s with the Quad 4, and then Shortstar V6 waaaay before any other GM division. Oldsmobile did GM's first lux oriented SUV in the late 1980s with Bravada with the old S-10 based Blazer. LATE 1980s...Waaaaay ahead of the SUV craze. Luxury or otherwise. Waaaay before any BMW SAVs or Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer editions. Waaaay before OJ Simpson Bronco super slow speed chases.... Waaaaay before Jurassic Park Wrangler or Mercedes Benz MLs... Waaaaay before Navigators and Escalades and RAV4s and Lexus RXs... And I think this trend of Oldsmobile being ahead of trends were gonna continue. But...we will NEVER know... Things happen the way they do because it is the way its suppose to be...

As much as I dont mind EVs for our future and those EVs replacing ICE. As much as Im interested in buying an EV in the very near future, quite possibly my next vehicle purchase, I come across a youtube clip like the one below or I come across a 350 CI 1972 Stingray and I say: TO HELL WITH ELECTRIC MOTORS. I WANT A V8!!! The burble of that 472 (in the description it says its a 472) just makes me go crazy! I WANT!!! I wish I had Jay Leno money. Id buy a 1971 Fleetwood. Much like this one. Id do a complete restoration on it. The interior would be all Cadillac "standard of the world" levels of luxury and leathers and stuff. The mechanical stuff would all be restomodded and modern. Brakes and suspensions and steering all new technology from 2020. The engine. Id save this engine, and put her back in...OR...Id swap it for a modern LS or something. But Id try to replicate that burble. And...another project would come about. Id buy a 1996 Fleetwood Brougham. Complete restoration on her. Id keep the LT1 for another project. But Id do a REVERSE engine swap on this one. Instead of doing a modern (LS or Blackwing V8)engine swap in her, Id DEFINITELY try and find either a 472 or 500 Cadillac motor and dump her in there. I would want to hear that Cadillac Big Block burble coming from the last BOF Cadillac sedan.

Ill go a step further. What @frogger said about the Koreans... Hyundai is wonderfully replacing Chevrolet cars. The Elantra is doing in the marketplace what the Cavalier/Cobalt and Cruze did in the market and what Chevrolet failed to do as where Hyundai is succeeding. To SUSTAIN people interested in the car. Hyundai is also succeeding where Chevrolet failed big time with Cavalier/Cobalt/Cruze is that Hyundai seems to have a POSITIVE public image on the Elantra as where Chevrolet always had negativity surrounding its image with the Cavalier/Cobalt/Cruze trio. The Sonata seems to be Hyundai's equivalent to what an Impala was to Chevrolet. An upscale, classy Chevrolet with some styling pizzazz. This new generation Sonata has gone back to the droopy faced Sonata's image. Call that Sonata ugly if you will, that Sonata made a splash in the marketplace and lost that momentum when they revised and retracted the aggressive styling on the next gen. This new gen, which actually looks like Chevy's last gen Malibu, seems to get back that mojo. KIA will replace Nissan. I see KIA as a modern form of Datsun. If KIA doesnt get visions of grandeur. The managers of KIA should let Hyundai and Genesis handle the higher end stuff. KIA will do wonders if they handle the lower end stuff. Honda will just continue to be Honda. Genesis is replacing Infiniti quite easily. Acura better be careful and not let Genesis steal their food off their table. Its up to Acura at this juncture to not let that happen. GM dropped the ball on Pontiac, Oldsmobile. Spent tooo much money on Saturn, but had a good starting point, but flubbed it. Spent unnecessary money buying and trying to save SAAB. THAT money could have been spent on the road to success on Oldsmobile and perhaps, Oldsmobile would have STILL been here TODAY had GM not wasted their time on money on SAAB... BMW will not be replaced by anybody. What I meant to say above was that Acura is kinda Japan's BMW. But with FWD (SH-AWD) instead of RWD. BMW is just killing itself. BMW has just become just another CUV manufacturer with a few expensive, bloated sedans and coupes in the line-up. IF EVs ever become a thing and replace ICE (which I think WILL happen), TESLA will eventually replace BMW. Especially now that autonomous driving pods may have been put to rest for good BECAUSE of Covid19. Acura could EASILY make fun to drive EVs and remain faithful to their fun to drive image as Acura in the future if EVs become the norm, like I have already stated, because it seems as Acura is in line of righting their ship. I think BMW has gone tooo far off course that it seems almost impossible to get back to their roots. Tooooo many folk just dont know about fun, handling BMWs anymore. BMW has built toooo many bloated sedans and CUVs SAVs (yeah right) for people to give a shyte about driving dynamics and about BMWs anymore. When the next "in" car company comes along with a new generation of drivers in the next decade, I think BMW is done for. Tesla could be that company. But one thing is for sure, BMW is on the way out. I see the signs. In hindsight, the signs are the same ones as how Cadillac was going down in the 1980s and 1990s...

^^^ True.

Concerning Honda/Acura. Being FWD on their smaller cars like the Civic or the ILX is not really an issue. On their mid level CUVs and TLX, being FWD with their SH-AWD system or PAWS really is not an issue. The SH-AWD system or PAWS takes care of any RWD bias there is because Acura's systems are that good in that all important fun in handling category... Which those systems are also available in their bigger CUVs. Concerning Acura, their problem from the 2000s all the way to 2020 is not about wrong wheel drive. Their problem was a lack of focus and eye off the ball of what their cars really mean to their buyers. And of course, really ugly front fascias and really porky vehicles that stopped being about fun driving characteristics with bulky, old looking interiors. Acuras (and Hondas) of the 1980s and 1990s, had just about the industry's most youthful looking cars exterior wise and their interiors were simple, driver oriented with sportiness in mind. The handling of their cars during this heyday were spirited and fun. And then the 2000s came along and Honda/Acura became...old man cars. Acura always reminded me of what Oldsmobile used to be in the 1950s/1960s/1970s and certain 1980s models. About mid-level 'sporty' luxury. Acura, I felt, replaced Oldsmobile in the market place in the 1990s. And then, I felt, Acura BECAME Oldsmobile in EVERY sense of the way. In that Acura became a shadow of its former self, became stale and 'old' in the 2000s EXACTLY how Oldsmobile became that in the 1980s and 1990s. Front wheel drive IS Acura's image. NOW...its SH-AWD and PAWS. Acura successfully marketed this SH-AWD thing. Acura is just now, redefining and re-engineering their cars and CUVs to fit EXACTLY that image and infusing that DNA SUCCESSFULLY into their cars and CUVs. Acura cars and CUVs are JUST NOW, getting back that fun to drive quotient they once had in the 1980s and 1990s. Is it too late? Only time will tell. Time ran out on Oldsmobile as in the mid-to late 1990s, Oldsmobile got back on track. But it was too little too late for Oldsmobile. Will it be the same for Acura? But one thing is for sure....Acura does NOT need RWD, does NOT need 500 HP. If Acura does THAT, then they will surely be doomed. Acura is ALL ABOUT the fun-to-drive quotient. I mentioned Oldsmobile and how Acura to me replaced Oldsmobile in the marketplace. I should also include BMW. Acura closely resembles BMW. Acura is Japan's BMW. A FWD (and now SH-AWD) version of BMW (of the 1970s -1990s) BMW has became just another CUV company with ALL their vehicles becoming fat and bloated AWD things. Lots of HP, but disconnected to the road because of all that heft and drive by wire bullshyte they have incorporated in their driving characteristcs. Acura has tried to get their cars to be more connected to the driver as of late and made their cars more responsive and more fun for the driver... One does NOT need 500 HP to be fun to drive. I think Acura has finally found the right mixture for fun to drive cars with just the RIGHT AMOUNT of HP and weight and SH-AWD or PAWS. The BMW M5 has OVER 500 HP. Closer to 600 HP with 500 some odd ft/lbs of torque. This M5 is the FIRST M5 to NOT BE RWD. Its AWD. I havent heard ANYBODY say that the M5 is fun to drive... And BMWs were at one time...fun to drive... Ill repeat. Acuras need not be 500plus HP. Acuras just need to be fun to drive... And they are fast becoming so...

They were always a performance brand since the introduction of Acura in North America. Not a brutish, big block 455 V8 engine in a small, compact Civic kinda way. But with high revving, silky smooth 4 cylinder,s great manual transmissions, great handling like a golf cart kinda way partnered up with "technological" dual overhead cam shafts and variable valve timing in a Civic and Integra. Leading the way was Acura's Ferrari fighting mid-engine gem 1st gen NSX. The rest of that early line-up, were not torque monster cars. Were not high horsepower behemoths. What they were, were sporty oriented, great handling, mid level luxury cruising sedans. The compact car Integra early on and well into its 2nd and 3rd generation were sporty, zippy and peppy things. Fun cars to drive. A different, very Honda approach to performance... And they lost that in the early 2000s. In reality, all Acura (and Honda) is doing now, is just going back to its 1980s roots. So, not a problem... What Balthy said... And this was never Acura's image to begin with. So...not a problem. Acura was always a different kind of performance. Had a different approach to performance. A different angle if you will. Actually, BMW first did this angle of performance with their 2002 in the 1970s. Acura's cars emulated that. But with FWD instead of RWD.

Maybe yes. Maybe no. Only the Chinese scientists involved and all the CCP political leaders in the loop know what is what. To this moment, none of that is clear. To this moment, all information released then, and now from CCP is very very erroneous, disingenuous, misleading... And lets us not forget...contradictory. Bats. Wet markets selling these bats. Bats. In a lab. Where scientists were analyzing, testing, experimenting with bats. Whether these bats were infected naturally with this virus or it was man-made... Some say the Wuhan lab was testing for cures to HIV and were testing this on bats. All that seems to be the common theme. But nobody really knows. Only the Chinese scientists involved and all the CCP political leaders in the loop know what is what. To this moment, none of that is clear. To this moment, all information released then, and now from CCP is very very erroneous, disingenuous, misleading... And lets us not forget...contradictory. Well...we (as in the greater people of the world) do not really know what is going on for sure, and that is why we (as in the greater people of the world) could come up with several tin foil hat conspiracy theories. Because: 1. Only the Chinese scientists involved and all the CCP political leaders in the loop know what is what. To this moment, none of that is clear. To this moment, all information released then, and now from CCP is very very erroneous, disingenuous, misleading... And lets us not forget...contradictory. 2. And because this novel coronavirus 19 thing is kinda like something humanity has never quite seen before. Experienced similar pandemics, but not quite like this one. So it lends itself to quite a few conspiracy theories. Because mainly Only the Chinese scientists involved and all the CCP political leaders in the loop know what is what. To this moment, none of that is clear. To this moment, all information released then, and now from CCP is very very erroneous, disingenuous, misleading... And lets us not forget...contradictory. And when I say only the CCP folk in the loop know what is what, I mean: if its a natural thing that occured, and it werent an act of maliciousness, just an innocent but careless accident, then even they dont know what to do. And hence why they tried to cover it up. Tried to cover up their carelessness and mistakes. Which of course lends itself to tin foil conspiracy theories BECAUSE CCP is such a closed and secretive political party. But that is the thing, NOBODY seems to know what is what and what to do about it. Social distancing. Only a theory. A somewhat successful theory. Lockdowns. In theory it was to slow down contagion so hospitals are not overwhelmed. And different situations with different countries defined what overwhelming hospitals meant. Which also means different solutions for different countries were in order. Lots of hits and misses and trial and errors involved. All theories of how contagion works for this novel coronavirus 19 is still debated and theorized and explained and revised to this moment. And because of what I said about the CCP No need to throw Trump under the bus for this. He could have handled many things on Covid19 better. A lot better. Sure. But his detractors being Monday Morning Quarterbacks wont solve anything going forward. But Trump and his administration better make the RIGHT moves going forward though. Unlike what his party and administration have been doing so far. Enough correct information is available so the pandering to the party hardliners should stop. But THAT includes his detractors too. Right about now, the country that is the USA should be standing together in fighting this. NOT trying to advance their political agendas and sabotaging each other just because political views differ. Im sorry to hear about this. Health to your family. I am happy to know that she is doing great with her health.

Maybe. Probably @Drew Dowdell knows. I believe he owned one. But what @riviera74 said about it being a temperature sensor sounds just about right.

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Clark Griswold, Mary and Christmas Vacation

wannabe

I saw 3 Corvettes today. A kid that works for me, his dad owns a C6 Vette convertible. Yellow. His dad picked him up after his shift. Had a Z something or other fender logo. Looked like a Z06 logo but the Vette itself did not look like a Z06... Have to ask him about it tomorrow. I saw a C7 modified Vette. All black. Fender flares. Front grille was modified. Had a toothy grille. I didnt see what C7 it was as he was driving a little on the swiftly side. Looked kinda like this diecast model. Especially the grill. And then, I saw an awesome, 1972, red exterior, red interior, T-Top Stingray. Great condition. Awesome sound coming from the 350 under the hood. I asked him about it at the red lights we both were stopped at.

0.08 blood alcohol limit

10 000 dollars for a Bolt is a GREAT price. You know what? 10 000 dollars for a brand spanking Corvette C8 new from the showroom floor is ALSO a GREAT price. In both scenarios, 249 a month for 36 months is NOT too much for people to afford. But we all know that such a low price for either is not reality. The thing is, the technology involved does not lend that to happen, right? Not yet at least. PS: I thought GM was losing money on the Bolt that was sold at 349. Yes, marketing and lack of qualified sales people hold back the Bolt, but prices for EVs for the masses is not yet in line for them to be sold at and for the masses...

I was JUST about the comment on $10 000 being unrealistic but I agree with his statement.

Again. Im 100% in agreement with your sentiment. No...its NOT rational to quit on the largest automotive car market on the planet. My post was more in touch with my emotional side rather than my logical side of thinking.

100% my thoughts on every point you touched. Im not one to discriminate against a country. (I said country. I never discriminate against the people.)(and there are a few countries to which I have saltiness for) China’s political leadership stinks. From their bullying of certain territorial waters to their bullying of doing business in China and especially their cover up of Covid 19, I think GM should reconsider wtf they want to do in China going forward. I understand that China has billions of people and GM sees dollar signs, but at what American cost does that mean? And yes. I sees plenty of Mazda in this. But then again, its a CUV. They all look the same anyhow.

And @daves87rs @USA-1 we are having a nice discussion. I like it. Having a lower priced corvette for the masses with a possible ttv6 will probably alter the Vettes image in a negative way Vettes are just out of the reach of regular folk. THAT is one aspect that appeals to people. Keeps folk wanting to work hard to get one. Its like a carrot on a stick dangling in front of a rabbit. And because so many are bought new year after year after year, the used market is full of cheap Corvettes. That is how most Corvettes become people’s dream machines anyway since now on the used market, a Vette was picked up on the cheap, and money is left over to be personalized and tuned and hot rodded. THAT would be another aspect that appeals to Corvette loyalists. A Cadillac supercar will NEVER be able to compete with that. Used Corvettes of a decade ago, or 5 years ago are bought in the used market on the cheap, modified to the nth degree and money spent on them can range between very few dollars spent to astronomical amounts and the performance of these machines are not even touched by the new supercars of the day. Again. Cadillac has to deal with 67 years of Corvette history consisting of great sales over the years, legends, myths, race victories, restoration of classics and hot rodding madness. The Corvette IS the top. Best of the best

In other words... @smk4565 You want General Motors to fund BILLIONS of dollars investing in TWO supercars AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SAME TIME FRAME??? PORSCHE does not even do that... Ferrari does not even do that... Mercedes does not even do that...

Several mistakes in your thinking... 1. GM does NOT build the Corvette. Chevrolet does. GM is a multinational corporation that owns several automotive brands under its umbrella. Chevrolet Motor Division is one them and its Chevrolet that builds the Corvette. GM, with the profits being made from its Motor Divisions and its other entities allocates the monies and funds projects to its motor divisions so they continue to build automobiles. 2. If and when Cadillac decides that a hyper car is needed in their portfolio, Cadillac management will ask for monies to start the project. 3. A business case has to be built for it. 4. If Cadillac project managers see a good viable business case for it, then they will pitch that idea to GM management. Yes, accountantants will be there. Money has to be made. Its a business. 5. If GM greenlights the idea, CADILLAC with its engineers will start the project. But, obviously there will be targets needed to be achieved. All kinds of targets ranging from moneatary budgets, engineering parameters, performance parameters, marketing, target market analysis, etc. With the Corvette, many times the program was almost canceled. If a business case was made for the C8 in the mid 1990s, when GM was buying up SAAB and had monies tied up in Saturn and Fiat and was bleeding money on other failed projects like the W-Body at that time, if the Corvette engineering team, and Chevrolet project managers pitched the idea to make a mid-engined Corvette that would be LOSING money on all models excpet for the highest of trims...you think GM would green light such a money losing endeavor in the 1990s? The answer is of course NO! And indeed, the C5 was NOT greenlighted. The Corvette was about to be canceled after 1996. And that would be on a car that had already a solid busienss case with the C4. The C4 was a RESOUNDING success. So much so that Chevy wanted sooooo many things to do with the C4 that GM had greenlighted everything for it. Like a DOHC V8 for it. GM had greenlighted all kinds of special programs for the C4 and spent lots of monies experimenting with the C4 platform. But by the time the replacement C5 Corvette was to arrived, GM had invested its monies funding other projects that no monies were left for a replacement C5 to arrive. A rogue group of Chevrolet employees that consisted of Corvette engineers, other Chevy engineers, mechanics and the like all got together and started, on their OWN time, engineering ideas and engineering concepts and actually engineering and building mock-ups with budgetary constraints to get a frankenstein C4 as proof that a C5 Corvette program need not a huge budget to be produced so that the Corvette could live on. GM beancounters and managers saw what little investment was needed to continue on with a C5 using the frankensteined C4 and hence the C5 continued on. A new frame was engineered, some new parts were introduced, other parts were re-used and so-called cheap interior materials were used to get the C5 up and running... This is why I told you that C5, C6 AND C7 are closely related because in effect, they are. THIS is why the Corvette program is financially successful, because Corvette engineers and Chevrolet tooling use rthe most of what they can with what they got. A 2006 C6 Corvette used a 2006 Malibu steering wheel. parts bin economies. Its what makes the Corvette program run. But for C8. All that is new. Everything is new on it. new parts, new tooling. New platform. And an almost no expense budget was introduced. But the IMAGE of a Corvette is NOT about it being a boutique sports car like a Porsche 911 or Ferrari 488 or a strospheric hypercar like a AMG-ONE. Image, target market, price tag etc of the Corvette has been fleshed out since 1953. And THAT also means that at Chevrolet, the technological tour de force that it is, it has become a HALO car for Chevrolet. And BECAUSE GM owns Chevrolet, it owns the Corvette. But...you talk about having a car ABOVE a Corvette. You want Chevrolet and GM just to throw ALL THAT TECHNOLOGICAL HISTORY OUT THE DOOR TO CREATE ANOTHER SUPERCAR ABOVE THE CORVETTE???!!! HOW? Part of what makes a Corvette SO SPECIAL IS THE 67 YEARS OF HISTORY IT HAS GOT UNDER ITS BELT. ALL THE RACES ITS WON ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE. ALL THE SPECIAL TRIMS THAT MADE TOUCHED THE AUTOMOTIVE WORLD. L88, ZL-1 STINGRAY, STING RAY, SEVERAL ZR-1s in HISTORY, SEVERAL Z06s IN HISTORY. You tend to forget and you tend to put compare Corvette as if its a brand on its own. ITS NOT. Corvette is NOT PORSCHE. Corvette is just a model amongst several models in the Chevrolet line-up. Porsche is a brand. Porsche produces SEVERAL models. Corvette is just ONE CAR. Cadillac...and THIS IS WHERE I GOT two people confused with what I said @frogger and @ocnblu Cadillac....for Cadillac to be succesful in this realm, they need a supercar to be better than a Corvette. And THAT is a car in the same automotive family. A Cadillac supercar could NEVER succeed with Corvette being there. No! NOT because Chevrolet and "GM" wont let it. CORVETTE HISTORY wont let a Cadillac supercar succeed. CADILLAC HISTORY wont let a Cadillac supercar succeed either. Its NOT Cadillac. Cadillac needs a supercar that is TOTALLY different than a Corvette. A mid 2000s Cien that was mid-engined WITH A V12 MAY have been that car. An XLR that evoked looks from an EVOQ concept was NOT that car. NOW, that Corvette is mid-engined...FORGET IT!!! A Corvette will ALWAYS be THE super sports car that will come out of Chevrolet and under the GM umbrella. And the Corvettte engineers and marketing team KNOW what the Corvette is, and what it will always be and will be the leader in performance for Chevrolet, for the GM family and for the world. Corvette was ALWAYS pushing the performance envelope. A Ferrari F40 had a o-60 time of 3.8 seconds, went above 200mph had over 400 HP. WAS the performance leader of its time. The Porcshe 959 was in step with the F40. So was the Corvette. The ZR1 0-60 in 4.4 secs. Close to 200 MPH. Chevy had several C4s PASS 200MPH as experimentals. But the ZR1's price tag was nowhere near the F40s and 959s price tags. And THAT is the Corvette. YOU keep on telling me that cars costing 1 million, 2 million dollars are FASTER than the C8 BASE Corvette in 2020. I tell you that a 150 000 Zora will match those million dollar cars. And that its not out yet. And that in 4 years other cars will come out. NOT THE AMG-ONE. Its a 1 year, 275 limited run vehicle. The Zora is here to stay and WILL be evolved. And when the C9 comes out, the C9 performance will continue where the C8 Zora would have left off. The base C5 left off where the fastest C4 ended. The base C6 left off where the fastest C5 (Z06) ended. The base C7 left off where the fastest C6 (ZR1) ended Thwe base C8 left off where the fastes C7 (ZR1) ended, and the C7 does THAT with 200 HP LESS... THAT is the Corvette. And for Cadilllac to compete with that? And HOW do you get a car above the Corvette? The CORVETTE is what is on top!!!