Finally, A Mid Engine Corvette?

Agree. Under the Cadillac name they could go into the supercar range though imo.

Cant be a rehash though of the dumb XLR....

 

Who said anything about an XLR?
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Lots of people said the first GT would flop, and it did depreciate for a couple years. But Ford hyped the car. Chevy seems to be trying to keep car a secret. Halo cars can work, but they can be fickle. The Prowler wasn't a success. I haven't heard much about the Lexus LFA since it's launch. Old NSX was a different car than the new one. I feel like Honda made a sports car with the first one. The second seems like it's trying to cater to Acura drivers. Dodge priced the Viper out of its market.
I could see selling the Zora or whatever the mid engine car is in both Chevrolet and Caddy dealers. But I feel like they should be marketing it more aggressively.

 

A couple of points:
I think GM learned a lesson from both Lexus and Acura. The LFA was in development for what seemed like 10 years. By time it came out, IMO, everyone didn't care. The same with the NSX...great ads for it....4 years ago. What the NSX was going to be (2008 it was going to be front engine V10) hurt it also.
I think the mid-engine car will be shown at Detroit 2018 and go on sale that fall. We'll continue to see camo'd cars and late this year (like they did with the C7 right before it's Detroit unveiling) we'll see little views of a fender or a headlight, or etc.

As far as the Prowler, well, it proved that P.T. Barnum wasn't ALWAYS right. A "hot rod" with the V6 out of an Intrepid and an automatic. That car deserved better. There's a reason Chrysler has had 3 owners in 15 years....no one knows what to do with it. Something as simple and successful as the PT Cruiser. They come out with it, average 150,000 units per year for the life of the car, and I guess NO ONE said: "Hey, this little car was REALLY successful, maybe we should do a new one". And some guy in the room says: "Nah, that thing's done, let's do a DART".....

 

Amazing the Cien is now 15 years old and it still looks pretty dam cool!

 

LOL the Dart to me looks like someone put a Neon in a wind tunnel.
But you have a valid point. The PT and 300 have kept Chrysler somewhat relevant the last decade. But the brand overall needs help. I still don't understand trying to make the trucks a separate brand.
With the mid engine Vette, I guess I expected more. And it may still happen. When the new Camaro came out it was everywhere. Transformers, shows, and it was a sales success. Obviously a different price point, but he proud of the car. The Ford GT was just another concept to begin with.

 

Have you guys seen the new NSX in person? I think it's stunning.

 

oh yes. ive been saying that here for years. out styles the r8 and 570.

 

I don't get the hate. Ya it took too long to come out but the hybrid tech needed a few years to dial in. Overall Acura did a pretty great job. It's like a 70% of a 918 for 10% of the price.

 

I think the problem with the NSX is that it seems to be the slave to many and master to none. It is fast, but no faster (and in many cases slower) than it's natural price competition. The hybrid part didn't seem to really pay off in performance or fuel economy so you just ended up with a car that is more complex and heavier than it needed to be. The fact that a car like a C7 GS can be SO much faster in Car and Driver's Lightning Lap just puts the finishing touch on a car that doesn't seem to know what it wants to be.
All the above is my humble opinion.

 

There's no doubt that it is out performed by some competitors. They benchmarked against the 458 though and the NSX certainly outperforms it. But there's way more to buying an expensive car than lap times or 0-60. Hybrids have awesome power delivery because of the instant torque. And NSX looks great. Now.....do I hope it depreciates 30% by year end, yes bc I'd love one.

 

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The Mid Engine Vette has had a 5 decade build up. The hype machine will be INSANE.

I'll throw a few predictions out there:

First car goes to Rick Hendricks for $1.5-2,500,000.

First 3 months will show 100% markup. As in a 150k car going for 300k. Expect to be sold out for first year.

You can be the largest autosnob in the planet and scoff at the Vette- you have to admit it has history. It has a solid lineage going back decades. The first Corvette rolled off the line 10 years before McLaren was even conceived.

This car will build hype WITHOUT advertising. Once the "leaks" start within a few months, the machine will grind into gear.

The car could be complete crap and it still will sell well. What well heeled Vette owner (And there are many) would turn down a mid engine Vette?

 

I don't doubt they will sell, especially the first year. But to be a sustainable model it will have to be priced correctly. Not a corvette snob by any means, but other than some spy shots, the new car stays under wraps. Past exercises had concepts shown, teasers, and built up the brand. This one feels like a secret until it is done.
If they spec the car corrrctly and price it and market it, it will break out of the Vette stigma. The original GT was a supercar that appealed to more than Ford faithful. The new one even more so. If Chevy gets it right, this car will be the same.

 

Was the first NSX not an acura NSX is the USA? and a honda elsewhere.

There was always talk of a corvette brand, or that the corvette was a sort of stand alone brand. Maybe they are heading that way. Its price range is certainly cadillac, I would suspect thopugh that given the abysmal old school approach of cadillac dealers its better off being sold through chevy.

 

That's a very big "If". And I don't think that Chevy can solve it. The C7 Corvette has amazing performance, you can buy them for half the price of a 911S, yet people still yearn for and buy the Porsche. Why???

...for the same reason people buy Rolex instead of Timex. An atomic clock-based Timex will be more accurate than any Rolex... but it just doesn't matter.

 

I guess opinions differ, I think it looks like a car that was not designed at all, sort of pieces thrown together. Mechanicaly it seems like tech for techs sake.

 

If we look at how the current vette performs, and its graet styling, then its clear the vette team knows what they are doiun and has their game on. In fact the camaro performs great too.

Unless they go tech overkill like acura and ruin it, the mid engined vette, well it could outperform practicaly everyhting else and still cost under 150k. As to cachet, thats double edged sword, the reason vettes are "common" is because they sell a lot of them, in fact a lot more than any other sportscar. Used to be that was the point.

I can see Porche producign the GT4RS and playign the usual you cant have it games, then along comes the mid engined vette and you can have it, or least after year 1 when all the gotta haveits have one. Who do you think will be making the sales.

 

The C7 is a great car. It's a fresh look, and has amazing performance. Most Vettes do. I like the C6 a lot. I think they made a mistake with the Grand Sport. The Z06 and ZR1 didn't have a lot of cues to set them apart, but they lost them when the GS got the wide body kit.
If you compare performance and value of the GT and the C6 ZR1, the performance gap was very narrow. Price gap was there, but nothing like the value is now.
Hopefully Chevy will just leave the guys alone and let them build a car.

 

Frankly, I don't think GM is trying to solve it.

They may "yearn" for a Porsche but GM is selling 30,000+ Corvettes a year... (more than 911/Cayman/Boxster combined).
I think folks don't understand that the Corvette is a VOLUME car. It is NOT (and never was) intended to be a low volume "boutique" car.
Appealing to purists is a great way to go out of business. If Porsche sports cars sold at Corvette levels, we would probably never had Porsche SUV's. But Porsches selling at Corvette levels would kill the "yearn" factor so each brand, at this point, plays to it's strength.

 

The car company that says there's more to our SPORTS car than lap times and 0-60 is the car company that makes a trinket, not a sports car (and they make a car that gets beaten by BETTER sports cars). The entire purpose of a sports car is to be "sporty" while still being a good "car". Certainly, sports cars are a lot better than in the past in terms of features, reliability, etc, but at their core, their name "SPORTS" should be what they do well for a living. The new NSX has, IMO, an identity problem, which, so far, is showing in it's very tepid sales. It's a good "car", it's a good "sports" car, but something about it has clearly failed to capture the buying public's imagination.
No question it's a tough balancing act between making your sports car livable day to day while still being true to the "sport" moniker. The demise of the Viper (and the Alfa 4C's nonexistent sales) show us that. Is the Viper a beast? No doubt. Is it a good "car". Ummmm....