C8 Reveal & Frugal Friday

Yes, I watched the C8 reveal presentation in its entirety on my phone. My so-called “smart” TV browser does not support HTML5 so it’s not really very smart. I’m sorry, but I do not understand how anyone can watch video for more than two minutes on their phone, even though I watched for an hour last night. (I paid for that with a nasty neck ache/headache this morning.)

I thought the production was overdone. GM/Chevrolet brought out two astronauts to talk about their lives and the importance of science and technology. Of course, this was done to tie the “launch” of the C8 Corvette to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. What it did, though, was to stretch what could have been a 30-minute event into a 60-minute one.

So, do you care what I think? Hey, this is my blog. For a mid-engine car, the C8 Corvette exterior is good. It has enough Corvette styling cues so that the car shouldn’t be mistaken for anything else, although the car does resemble, in some respects, a Ferrari 488 in my opinion. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, either. However, I have—and will probably always have—an innate preference for a long hood/short deck design. I was hoping to show some photos of the C8 from Chevrolet’s website. I mean, now that the car has been revealed no need to keep the photos a secret, right? Well, capturing any of the “gallery” of photos does not seem possible, so let me do the best I can:

 

 

From cnbc.com and General Motors, two exterior pictures and one interior photo of the new C8 Corvette. I think it was Mark Reuss, President of GM, who “directly” addressed the issue of the rationale behind making the major change to a mid-engine design. Here are some of his points as well as I can remember them:

First, as has been expressed elsewhere, Reuss (I think) said that Chevrolet/GM had concluded that it had taken the front-engine architecture as far as it could go in terms of performance, especially handling and visibility. He made sure everyone realized that the driver would be sitting much closer to the front of the car, which should give him/her a better view of the road.

Second, the new layout puts the car’s center of gravity almost directly beneath the driver.

Third, Reuss specifically mentioned broadening the Corvette’s appeal in right-hand drive markets. [emphasis mine] He could really only be talking about Japan and the UK. Maybe he thinks Great Britain will leave the EU and its restrictive emissions standards. I and others have speculated that part of the push to switch to a mid-engine layout was to broaden the international appeal of the Corvette. Along those lines here is something pertinent from Steve Magnante’s 1001 Corvette Facts:

 

“…The assertion was that most buyers of cutting-edge supercars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, McLaren, etc., simply wouldn’t consider Corvettes despite the fact that the supercharged ZR1 and Z06 outperformed some of them. Put bluntly, the traditional Corvette lacked snob appeal. A mid-engine alternate remedied the situation.”

 

The US is not the only car market in the world, nor is it the largest. General Motors is a business, not a hobby. Businesses have to make profits in order to survive.

At first, the C8 will be available in a base configuration as well as with a Z51 performance package. The Z51, as it does/did in the C7, will feature upgraded brakes and suspension as well as more aggressive differential and transmission gearing. Reuss claimed that the C8 Z51 can produce sub 3-second 0-60 times. He didn’t come right out and say that Chevrolet will call the Z51 a sub 3-second car. Pricing for a base Corvette will start at less than $60,000 although $59,995 is less than $60,000, too. I’m guessing that a well-equipped Z51 will cost in the low $70,000s. Still, for a car with that performance that price is amazing.

The engine, designated LT2, will produce 495 HP/470 LB-FT of torque. The transmission will be a dual-clutch, 8-speed automatic.

The C8 will be offered in 12 exterior colors, the most ever in a Corvette, and with six interior color schemes. As for when the car will actually be available, Reuss said to watch developments in “the coming months.”

I would like to read your comments. The only constant in the world is change.

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I am throwing everyone a curveball and not featuring a Corvette in this week’s Frugal Friday. Also, since this post is already long I am only going to show one car.

 

 

From this Autotrader listing a picture of a 2013 MINI Cooper Coupe S in Red over Black with a little less than 42,000 miles. The seller, a dealer, is asking $10,050. This car has an automatic transmission and is powered by a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. The output? Well, I have seen conflicting data so I will report the most conservative numbers: 184 HP/177 LB-FT of torque.

The car looks like fun and for ten grand-ish it’s not a lot of risk for many people.

 

#C8CorvetteReveal

#FrugalFriday

#2013MINICooper

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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