GM Defies Shrinking Sports-Car Market With Sub-$60,000 Corvette General Motors Co. is bucking convention by boosting production of its new Corvette even as the sports-car market shrinks. Demand for hot rods has shrunk to 2.3% of the U.S. vehicle market, about half what it was a decade ago, according to Edmunds. And GM’s new car, with a starting price of under $60,000, won’t be much cheaper than the existing Corvette. Despite that, GM is adding 400 employees and a second shift at its plant making the model in Bowling Green, Kentucky. GM’s strategy is to appeal to both younger buyers and older sports car buffs alike with a radical makeover of its 1950s icon to compete with exclusive European high-performance models at a fraction of the price. By transplanting the engine to the middle of the car, GM says the new Corvette will handle better on the track and take on Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini. But at a quarter of the price of those supercars, GM sees an opportunity to grow sales of a niche vehicle with attractive profit margins. “It’s very significant for us financially,” GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said at the reveal. “It has been -- and this car will be.” GM hopes to find a new generation of buyers with its entry-level Stingray and lure wealthier sports-car collectors who currently drive European models. The risk is that older, core buyers may be turned off by tweaks such as GM’s decision to replace the Corvette’s traditional manual transmission, favored by purists, with a high-tech dual-clutch transmission. While few other vehicles sold today offer a manual transmission in the U.S. market, 15% of Corvette buyers opt for one -- a decent chunk of the buyer base. “One thing we’re worried about is no manual transmission,” Jon Thorn, the editor of the Corvette Club of America’s newsletter, said before seeing the new car. Paddle Shifters In its place, the Stingray will have an 8-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. That’s become the active transmission of choice among high-end European sports cars. The new Corvette allows drivers to use the paddles and choose a specific gear, rather than just go up or down one at a time. So it operates like a manual, just without a clutch pedal and a stick shift between the seats. With the mid-engine car, a true manual was more difficult to install, and suppliers are loath to make them because volumes are low. The electronically controlled dual clutch also changes better, said Tadge Juechter, the Corvette’s chief engineer. “The transmission shifts smoother and faster than any human being can,” Juechter said. The latest incarnation also packs more punch. The Stingray gets a horsepower boost to 495 from 460. And with the Z51 performance package, the car will hit 60 miles per hour in less than 3 seconds. That’s the fastest-ever Corvette and about as quick off the line as a Lamborghini Huracan, which sells for around $240,000. “It’s the Corvette version of a supercar that we always wanted to see,” GM President Mark Reuss said. The exact price hasn’t been disclosed, but Reuss said the Stingray model will start at less than $60,000 in the U.S. The biggest improvement for sports-car nerds is the mid-engine layout. With the motor planted behind the driver, who sits almost on top of the front axle, the car should have much better balance. GM needed to do that to improve the ride, Reuss said. The Evolution of ‘America’s Sports Car’ Corvette also is taking a page out of Tesla Inc.’s playbook with over-the-air updates, though GM hasn’t specified what improvements it will be able to make to the car remotely. The car also has a display in the dash that can be reconfigured to show gauges and driver information in a different order. It’s another nice touch for a generation that grew up using smartphones and playing video games. Walking a Tightrope Still, removing the stick shows the tightrope Chevy is walking as it tries to bridge a generation and keep older purists happy while attracting the young. Rumors had been circulating for months before confirmation that the gear stick was history. “If they don’t have a manual, it’s malpractice,” said Eric Noble, president of The CarLab, a consulting firm in Orange, California. “That’s still a lot of buyers that they could potentially lose.” --With assistance from Kyle Lahucik. To contact the reporter on this story: David Welch in Southfield at dwelch12@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net; Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net Chester Dawson The best of Bloomberg Business, delivered daily. Subscribe to the Bloomberg Business Newsletter
As far as the car for a shrinking market thing goes, the Corvette is a Halo vehicle. It will draw in non-Corvette buyers to Chevy. A good Halo vehicle is worth the effort. Besides, I have no doubt it will be a spectacular car. It will take a few supercar sales that would have gone elsewhere. It will be interesting to see how the no stick thing plays out.
60k for the entry vette isnt bad. My 405 hp '03 Z06 stickered at 52k. 6 cyl 4x4 pickups are 50+ now. I'm thinning I'm gunna get one. As far as the auto, traffic with a 6 spd manual SUCKS.
By far most the Vettes we sell now are automatics, especially when one is going for performance. A manual is now a hindrance in almost all forms of racing. I'm really looking forward to seeing them in person, in the pics they're too "busy" styling-wise for me with way too many body lines and angles, especially on the hood and back end. We got allocated 13 of them in the first batch so I'll get a chance to drive at least one of them. One of the neatest things about it I think (being a lowered car owner) is the feature where you can add in 1,000 different GPS coordinates and the car will automatically raise itself 40%. So if you frequent a certain place with speed bumps, once you've put that into the system, every time you go to that place the car will lift itself up without you touching a button. Pretty dang cool feature.
I have honestly never considered a Corvette before, but this C8 seems like a pretty special car. I watched the live stream of the reveal and when they said $60,000 starting price I was shocked. It packs a whole lot of performance for that relatively low price. It probably won't stay that cheap for long.
Absolutely correct, which is why they did this. 99% of Corvette owners I see probably won't make it to the next gen (sorry guys), so they had to do something to bring in another set of buyers. This mid engine is going to be shunned by the current set of Vette owners, but as a business, it makes sense to bring in younger customers. Be absolutely stupid not to. No younger person I know lusted after a C6 or C7. There's a ton wanting this new one. And that's what's needed.
The GTO from the early 2ks was ridiculously priced. And the excuse was well it didn't look like a "real" GTO. Then the G8, I mean come on, approaching $50k then the Chevy SS over $50k. I'm not sure how they sold any. I have four kids, house note and all that this implies. What family guy can afford that? When the disposable income is eaten by all the other living expenses, no one will be buying extra expensive cars. I'm just getting the budget to be able to afford a used Chevy SS. Not to mention the $80k pickup trucks and Suburbans, or even more for an Escalade. Only two kinds of money problems, too much and too little.
One thing the C8 may do is further drop the price of C5’s and C6’s. They are good cars for normal “used car price.” There’s already some decent deals out there due to the C7. Could make a good work car!
Absolutely. It will devalue C1 to C7 Vettes. It is also going to hurt sales for 2020 GT500s which start at 74K. For the longest time a 66 427 Vette 450 hp was the top stock street car. It would do 0-60 mph in about 4.8 seconds. Now a 2020 non supercharged Vette is 2.8 seconds while a new Dodge Demon is 2.3 seconds.
I think the only people the cheaper Vette will attract are Corvette buyers and enthusiasts. The buyers that can afford high end sports cars probably wouldn't consider a Corvette, much less a cheaper one.
I watched at least three of the unveiling videos on YouTube and from my perspective I think they did a super job on the body. I have a 65 coupe and a 2007 Indy Pace Car replica. I have given serious thought to buying the C8 Z 51 after I sell a few things including the 65 coupe.
The C8 is the first Vette since 1967 that I would really like to own. I think it will be a huge hit for Chevrolet.
