New Corvette division courtesy of... GM/Nissan?
Leave it to Johnny Lieberman of The Truth About Cars to come up with a sports car enthusiast's wet dream from the current General Motors and Renault/Nissan imbroglio. His idea? A new performance division resulting from the "sinergy" of General Motor's and Nissan's best sports cars.
The flagship of this new division would be the 7.0-liter Corvette Z06. Just below it, Nissan's new GT-R. Further down would be the Chevrolet Camaro Concept and Nissan's 350Z. Lieberman admits that both would have buyers lunging at each others
Has Robert Farago's cohort gone mad? Or would such a division literally drive fans to GM/Nissan showrooms after emptying their Porsche savings? Give us your yays and nays in comments.
[Source: The Truth About Cars]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Peter Raba 7:45PM (12/30/2008)
I have a 2006 Corvette that is a piece of crap. Dashboard fell out of drivers side, sensors for active handling going off, air bag sensor displayed, tail light hanging out of car by wires, right and left rear bushings replaced, right rear drive shaft replaced, bent rim from factory (dealer refuses to replace even with wheel and tire policy BOGUS),clutch spring under dash broke,phone never worked, speakers rattle, dashboard rattles, trunk is crooked ,and car is still on warrantee
If this is the best GM can do, maybe it's time to look someplace else for a sports car. Has anybody else had anywhere close to these problems?
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aaron 3:29PM (7/27/2006)
and hell just froze over...
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Neil 3:42PM (7/27/2006)
That seems rather unlikely. What competitive advantage would creating that new division have? Selling fast cars, doesn't count, because that's something the competitors do. I can't see anything that this would achieve in terms of profitability. If anything, I think it would taint the image of both brands' long-established models, which would turn off the fans who purchase performance cars.
On the whole, does the GM/Nissan thing remind anybody of Compaq and HP? A struggling company that manages to tank the reasonably effective business model of its merger "partner".
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HumanClone1stGen 3:46PM (7/27/2006)
I for one hope to the powers that be that this deal, if there is indeed a deal at all, doesn't go through. Being an import fan, I just can't stand the idea of such a merger... and a GT-R below a Corvette? The comedian of the year award goes to the author of that statement.
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TSW 3:54PM (7/27/2006)
Looks like a proper Pontiac. All of the most interesting GM's in one basket.
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mike 3:55PM (7/27/2006)
HumanClone1stGen is right. That is a funny statement. The GT-R dosent even belong on that list. Its junk!!! All joking aside this merger will never happen. Wagner is just trying to keep captain Kirk happy until they can figure a way to get him out of their hair.
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DarkKnight67 3:58PM (7/27/2006)
I just rolled over in my grave, and I'm not anywhere close to dying. This has to be the most idiotic idea since the Edsel!
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Trist 4:07PM (7/27/2006)
@Mike: GT-R - Junk!. You must be mad. A GT-R is better than any Corvette. Much faster and immense cornering grip.
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Pinkerton 4:09PM (7/27/2006)
After reading several comments on here about TTAC (some of them obviously shilling for the site) I went and checked it out. This article alone nearly made me dismiss the site as a joke.
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GOKARTN 4:09PM (7/27/2006)
The Corvette, Z car and GTR are halo cars to attract people to their more mundane stablemates, what purpose would making a "Corvette" division have?
That sounds like one of Ford's dumbass ideas.
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Paul 4:09PM (7/27/2006)
i say yay to the idea
But a GT-R better than a Z06. Whatever you are smoking I would like some because it is obviously some good shit.
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Coachzed 4:13PM (7/27/2006)
This doesn't make much sense to me. I think it may come from the author's misunderstanding of a flagship car's purpose. The Z06 is supposed to elevate the image of every Chevy on the road, ditto the GT-R and Nissan. By grouping every car worth buying into a separate division, they would be eliminating a primary motivation behind superperformance cars. Sounds like more ridiculous pontificating by TTAC.
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Chad Gallion 4:19PM (7/27/2006)
I doubt we will ever see this. The most that might happen would be technology sharing. Both companies wouldn't want to dilute their brands by being so close together, as the above posts prove.
On the Z06 and GT-R arguement, both are great. Both are/were flagship vehicles with mucho technology. I've never been in a GT-R, but rode in the new Z06 around a short track at RevItUpRacing. It was really quick and extremely smooth for such a hardcore car.
But which is better? We should settle this with Gran Turismo. Nordschlieffe anyone?
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nezromatron 4:20PM (7/27/2006)
I love the idea. This would create a dealership experience that is far better than the current situation. Instead of taking your Z06 to the same place that you take your Chevy Cobalt, you would take it somewhere that has mechanics that are trained and experienced in working on performance vehicles.
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mike 4:21PM (7/27/2006)
Trist: Nissan = Junk. Dosen't matter what it is. They ride bad, Get horrible fuel mileage, And they fall apart!!!
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ODB 4:30PM (7/27/2006)
The GT-R below the redneck mobile z06, was Johnny Lieberman dropped on his head as child or was he drinking brake fluid when he came up with a dumb ass idea like that.
PS #5 Mike the z06 is the most overrated POS on 4 wheels.
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PJ 4:36PM (7/27/2006)
Sounds like an informed opinion, there, mike.
Of course, this scenario has less than a snowball's chance in hell of actually being proposed. But just for the sake of debating its hypothetical merits, I'll cry foul. The Corvette is currently the only Chevy that lends the brand a widespread desirability, and brand image is something the General can't afford to squander.
The Cobalt SS Supercharged, Suburban, and Silverado are all desirable vehicles to a limited demographic, but the people that like one of those cars often wouldn't touch the others with a ten foot pole. Chevy needs a "halo car," and nothing else in its lineup (or in the pipeline) could fill the 'Vette's shoes.
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Adam 4:50PM (7/27/2006)
i dont think that the vette should go anywhere near the gt-R. it might catch birdflu :(
The Z06 is the best thing the general has ever produced. period...
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mike 5:03PM (7/27/2006)
The Z06 is the best sports car in the world for under $150,000.00. Period
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Trist 5:03PM (7/27/2006)
Thanks ODB. Someone who talks sense. The Vette is just a piece of flimsy plastic. The new GT-R is a butch rock solid car, plus it will have Nissans reputation of solid reliability. Something a Vette will never have. Oh, and the old Skyline GT-R’s don’t fall apart. If you’ve seen a GT-R fall apart, then bloody Renault must of messed with it, somehow!. And I can guarantee the fuel economy will be much better on the new GT-R than the Vettes lazy engine.
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