THE COSMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE 2020 CORVETTE

Editorial: 2020 CORVETTE SHATTERS THE MYTH OF EXOTIC EUROPEAN CARS





I’ll admit that I was a car snob. I started out liking Corvettes, and bought a one year old ’69 coupe with the lift off roof, small block and enjoyed it. But when I moved from Michigan to California there was a distinct shunning of the car, as if to say “If you think that’s a sports car, look at a Ferrari.”

So, partially under the influence of the assistant art director at Motor Trend, a dyed in the wool Ferrari aficionado , I began to worship at the temple of Modena. I went to Ferrari gatherings, wrote stories, shot pictures, built the myth that American cars could never, absolutely never, reach such pinnacles in performance and style.

I even went to Italy a few times, and once actually saw Enzo Ferrari.

And ended up buying a 308GTS new (the Magnum influence) and selling that later at a loss of $17,000 depreciation from what I paid new to buy an old tattered GTc/4 which I “street restored” (leaving everything in place, so the car is always running, not dis-assembled). I sold that later for triple the purchase cost.

But back to the snob angle. I have relished in the infra-dig lingo of the words like “aficionado” and “tifosi” but, at the same time, in the back of my mind, kept an ear open for reports of excessive maintenance costs. My ’69 Corvette cost comparatively nothing to maintain, except it would throw the belts once in a while if you downshifted two gears down instead of one.

And now we have the 2020 Corvette. To me this is a game changer big time for the whole sports car world. Because what it does is deliver a configuration that heretofore only the most expensive cars had (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, Bugatti, McLaren, Pagani, et al) but at a laughably cheap price.

You could argue the Pantera did this in 1971 with its sticker price of $10,000 but back then a 2 bedroom house was still available at say, $45,000 so it wasn’t that much of a bargain relatively.

And then on this new Corvette vs. foreign exotics you have to figure in parts and availability of same. There have been almost a million 2019 Chevrolets sold so far. The Corvette will no doubt share its base engine with a Camaro so getting a replacement engine at some point will be easy; considering how many Camaros will be parted out in time.

The gearbox I think will be more expensive. But compare it with the Pantera’s ZF 5-speed, last time I looked, a decade ago that gearbox used was $11,000. And that’s for a several decades old car.

Body panels I’m not worried about. With 3D printing, even if the stock body panels are expensive at dealerships, no doubt outside firms will knock off replacement panels.

TOO MANY FOR EXCLUSIVITY?

That is one problem I will concede you will have with the2020 Corvette. If you buy your fun cars with the idea of driving around something exclusive, odds are , if you go to a “Cars ‘n Coffee” up at the lake some Saturday morning, there’s going to be five mid-engined 2020 Corvettes. It’s not quite like belly buttons (everybody has one) but they will be much more common than, say, a Ferrari or Lamborghini. I have had the pleasure of driving some really rare car like an Iso Grifo and it was nice when someone admired it who had never seen one before. But now 30 years later, I’d worry about “If I take it on a 1,000 mile road trip and crack the windscreen, where would I ever get another?”

NEGATIVE IMPACT ON COLLECTOR CARS

I even think the 2020 Corvette is so radical, in terms of what it’s offering on an American car, that it will adversely affect not only the resale value of used 2019 Corvettes and older but all many collector cars currently in restoration. The attitude might be “why bother to spend so much on this old car when for much less I can have something brand new?. I think the used Corvette market must be devastated.The day before the new Corvette was revealed July 18th, I am sure many old Corvettes were enjoying high prices, sometimes, in the case of rarities like the L88, many times their original new price. But now their star is a little bit diminished. Like his enemies say about Trump “the air is taken out of the room” by the newcomer.

Now why isn’t all this true about the last American automaker’s attempt at a mid-engined V8 powered sports car, the ‘05-‘06 Ford GT? First of all that was a true limited edition. They decided to make only 4,038 of them before they made the first one whereas Chevrolet will crank out 2020 Corvettes all the way to the 2021 model year, as many as there are buyers for. Secondly the ’05-06 Ford GT wasn’t “state of the art” as far as shape. Though they would never admit it, I think they did a design preview early on and found out their original shorter nose design (think Audi R8) didn’t appeal to potential buyers so they reshaped the car to look more like a ‘60s Ford GT40. So it wasn’t as aerodynamic as it could have been. Thirdly it was high priced, basically three times the price of the 2020 Corvette introduced 15 years later. When you are that outrageously priced compared to other cars in your same showroom, you are going to have a tough time finding the well heeled buyers. Kind of like this grocery store I go to-- it has some liquors at the counter that are over $1000. What for? Who would buy it besides a lottery winner? The current Ford GT is not even in the same world of reality outrageously over-priced and they have the nerve to make you sign an agreement not to re-sell it. Who are they to demand what you do with private property?

And it only has a V6. You can talk all you want about its aero styling, top speed yadda yadda but Americans born in the 20th Century were raised on ya-gotta-have-a-V8.

So while I still am an aficionado for all things Italian, and even an Anglophile and Francophile as well, the arrival of the new Corvette has stirred in me feelings of pride that, we, as Americans, need not hide our light under a bushel basket. We can do what they do, whoever “they” are and do it at lower cost and more reliability. Another example of when I have the same feeling occurs I pass by March AFB and remember going there to meet some former pilots of a black plane called the Blackbird. They flew that over enemy territory at 2000 mph 50 years ago! I don’t think any country ever came to matching it.

And so it is. Oh, I’m not going to join a Corvette club, or put in my order for a 2020 Corvette, but I am glad the mask has been taken off on the exotic cars, so we see that “exotic” is not as costly and unreachable as they have led us to believe, and now there’s an alternative that’s reasonably priced so we can enjoy the looks, the performance, the handling in a domestic car.

Maybe someday I’ll go to the Vista d’Este concours in Italy-- their version of Pebble Beach. And drive a rented 2020 Corvette….

 

I wonder how much mandated "choices" will drive up the price of the car? You know the drill; you want blue but a pop up says that it is only available with some $1,500 package, or you don't like black wheels and are forced to pay for upgraded wheels that are silver. I know if I was ordering, my first elective choice would be to get that black boomerang on the side of the car into body color. While playing with the configurator, it seemed that I kept encountering up selling beyond the standard interior. My sense (without prices) is that the typical Stingray will be about $75K.

 

Did you write this or is it a quote?

 

Is your question about that line above or the whole thing--I wrote the whole thing. I will be curious as to who buys the new Corvette--the same crowd or a newer younger crowd with more cosmopolitan interests.,..

 

In a year/ 18 months you'll be able to get 3-5K off MSRP almost anywhere. A basic car with no extras today will still about 64K out the door. Honestly, how many SUV's cost that much today. Most dealers will order the non-Z51 in 2LT trim and without upgraded paint. Finding a cheap Lt1 version will be harder so the price will be higher for most simply because they can't find the cheap version.

 

And it's still a steal at that price...

 

Econ 101. I hope the C8 does sell like hotcakes. Better for the economy and will spur more innovations at GM. More competition will bring better sport cars for all of us.

 

As far as spur GM I think that it is a probable result. Remember when Bob Lutz as pushing the V16? We need more high flyers at the top end, because you never know whats going to be a winner. That's why I am for a Corvette pickup. It hasn't hurt Lamborghini or Porsche that they have SUVs. In fact I heard their SUV saved Porsche awhile back. I wish they didn't have those fixed you-have-to-retire-at=this-age rules because I think Bob Lutz has some good ideas, and instincts, and I'm not even holding it against him he landed his own personal jet fighter with the wheels up!

 

I see this "great divide" in Corvette owners coming.

Old school --front engine, manual, and part of the Chevy brand

New school -- mid engine, high tech, and give me an SUV also under the Corvette brand.

 

Agreed! now that GM has copied everything in a lambo or ferrari but added cruise control and an automatic GPS based front speed bump lift for 'mericans at 1/4th the price , Ferrari etal will have to step it up...and a turbo isn't doing it! I look forward to the next surprise from Ferrari.

 

... and at a fraction of the price! Can Ferrari beat that? Probably not, but one can only dream.

 

Honestly, this car effects Porsche more than anyone else.

 

^^^. and NSX, which at 5 years, is starting to get long in the tooth.

 

By the way, I am aware that market forces affect the value of collector cars. All I am saying is that I am a mid-60's business owner who enjoys cars and bikes. I keep a "toy" car in my garage that has ranged from a Fiat 2000 Spider, a S2000, a Miata, a BOSS 302, and the current 440i. A mid-engine exotic has been on my radar for years and I think the C8 Corvette will scratch that itch. I know it won't be the same for everyone, but I agree with the OP that the C8 will take a big enough share of what is a small market to have a negative effect on the sports car market, especially high end pre-owned cars. Just my personal opinion.

 

I for one am not a fan of pure electric vehicles. The Taycan from Porsche is the only thing that looks and sound to be sporty, but its unobtainable, expensive and sold out.

I think there is room in the market for an awd sporty hybrid that is safe, fast and reasonably priced. Photos of the c8 show holes in the front hubs that may allow for awd / front electric motors. That would be very interesting though i do question what the hell we need all of this power for on public potholed roads.

 

Anyone worried/concerned/hesitant to buy a first year, new, clean sheet design from GM? I know it's hard to resist having the latest, first one on the block new toy, but I think it's going to be at least year 3 before reliability/bugs are sorted out. I would be least worried about the engine since it is an LS. But tranny, cooling, electrical ...
Curious, have NSX's had any issues?

 

I'd be very hesitant to buy a first year new design from GM. Even the C7 had issues, some related to stuff that weren't new to GM in the first place. Too many new things to go wrong in this for me to even consider it for the first few years. It's not like being among the first really adds much to the experience and GM doesn't have a stellar record of dealing with the issues that arise as I recall it.

That said, the Corvette is always a great bargain for performance. Since the 4th generation at least (I grew up reading about the C4 in the magazines, don't know what was said about its predecessors when they were new-ish) it has been an alternative to much more expensive sportscars. But no matter how great it is, objectively, it's still a corvette. And if you wanted a Ferrari 488 you're still going to wonder what it would be like to have one of those in your driveway. It doesn't really matter. Of course, once you've had THAT car and get beyond a certain point, the corvette gets to be a sensible choice. As it always was.

As for used corvettes. Why would anyone expect the C8 to have more of an impact than the C7? or C6? The base model is about where base model corvettes have been for a while. The Z51 option makes it quicker (likely due to different gearing) but then that raises the prise and gets it to about where the C7 Z06 was if what I read over on corvetteforum is correct. So while everything changes, nothing really does.
And collectibles? Honestly? anyone think the collectibles got less collectible because GM finally put out a modern Fiero (this is pretty much where the Fiero would have been in 2014 had it not been cancelled back in '88) and called it a Corvette?

While I applaud having pride in ones country (which I'd say is not necessarily the same as having pride in the state of ones country and its government) I think your patriotic/nationalistic feelings are getting in the way of you seeing the C8 for what it is.

 

I'm sure Ferrari et al will be buying Corvettes to evaluate and disassemble. And I bet NA V8's make a comeback with Italian marques too.

Who wants the expense and complexity of a turbo-hybrid when you can get a NA V8 rear-mid car that performs equally for pocket lint?

 

I might avoid year one production, but by year two any major glitches will have been corrected.

 

I wish!

 

Agree.
Basically any reasonable successful person looking for a fun sports car in the ~$100K range will take a look at C8 (and derivatives) now as a real contender. The case for Cayman/Boxter/and base 911s just got harder. Porschephiles will still seek out their GT cars and 911 Turbos, etc....dream Porsches.

 

Agree. But if you want to play right now, and minimize risk, that's what leases are for. If the DCT is a dog month after month, throw the keys back at the end of the lease.

 

once I see one in person I will likely order one will pay less for a loaded corvette than I spent in options for my last Ferrari ....I figure a fully loaded car will be no more than 80k and I spent OVER 100k on options on my last Ferrari...
I figure what do I have to lose it should be an interesting car

 

If gremlins were the problem people would still be waiting to buy a McLaren...