With GM on the brink, what will happen to the Corvette?
Click above for our high-res ZR-1 burnout gallery
Some Corvette fans and avid forum members over at GM Inside News have already asked the unfathomable question of what automaker should take over the reigns of America's longest-running sports car if its parent company were to lose custody. Their answer, rather shockingly, was Toyota. We sure hope it doesn't come to that. Still, tough questions deserve thoughtful answers, and Motor Trend is asking away. Even if The General survives, what does the future hold for Team Corvette, which has seen its ranks diminished in the past few weeks with the loss of key players including Vehicle Line Executive Tom Wallace and John Heinricy, test-driver extraordinaire and director of the performance division?
With such important personalities retiring from the 'Vette project, one might wonder if GM's iconic performance car will lose out on planned development. That seems like a real possibility, but we need to realize that R&D funds may be better spent keeping the leaky company afloat, something that the Corvette isn't a major part of. At least there's an excellent, proven platform for the new team to build from.
Gallery: Covette ZR1 burnouts
[Source: Motor Trend]
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Reader Comments (Page 3 of 5)
Brent Worrell 5:36PM (11/28/2008)
yea we wish they were making a new supra. @ Scorpion +1 to that. thats clever as hell. I'd buy one.
meshies 7:57PM (11/28/2008)
" The world won't end because the Corvette plant goes offline a couple of years"
To some maybe, to me? The world is over. The corvette is like my driving force, all my daydreaming is about corvettes, all my hard work is for a corvette. A few years could turn into a few decades, PLEASE CORVETTE DONT GO!!!!!
meshies 8:09PM (11/28/2008)
and o yea. I couldnt take a Japanese built Corvette serious. Cmon now the Corvette is American and brutal, it runs on american blood, it embodies the american spirit.
dukeisduke 4:14PM (11/28/2008)
Whatever happens, I think Chevrolet will survive.
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dukeisduke 4:15PM (11/28/2008)
I think whatever happens, Chevrolet will survive.
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TORONTO 4:22PM (11/28/2008)
@duke
Whatever happens, Chevrolet will survive, I think.
j/k
GOKARTN 4:34PM (11/28/2008)
BMW
They seem to be good at getting the good stuff from the dying auto companies and creating a brand from it. MINI and Rolls-Royce do a good job of putting a British face on Teutonic engineering.
They could buy the Corvette and Camaro, or the Viper and Charger and create their own little American brand. Though, I would hope they pass on the I-Drive
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Michael 4:34PM (11/28/2008)
You know, I think that, regardless of what happens, Chevrolet will survive.
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meshies 8:06PM (11/28/2008)
LMAO
st34 4:47PM (11/28/2008)
Nobody does muscle like Detroit does! Nobody!
Ricer and European attempts at it lack the understanding of what muscle cars are all about. Cars with open center differentials and traction control need not apply.
FWIW, there is a difference between a sports car and a muscle car.
There is a difference between a Super Car and a sports car also, and a Super Car and a Muscle Car as well.
Muscle cars offer tire blistering straight line performance first and fore-most. Sports cars are all about handling.
To achieve Super Car status, like the Corvette, you have to offer both in spades.
Then there are Boulevard Cruisers like the Dodge Charger that differentiate themselves from Sports Sedans like the G-8 and Muscle Cars like the Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger too. They are all different animals intent on pleasing different requirements. Some do one or two things extremely well while others offer a blended stew of compromise in trying to do it all, but perhaps not particularly as well.
AWD, and FWD do not even factor into the equation when talking about muscle cars.
The Supra was and will likely always be the closest Japan ever comes to offering a true muscle car.
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ramontez 6:32PM (11/28/2008)
Your post is full of prejudice and ignorance... I wish you would go away.
Luke 7:19PM (11/28/2008)
Not to mention, a Corvette isn't a muscle car in the first place.
Kitko 8:53PM (11/28/2008)
Let me correct you... Nobody does muscle cars, ONLY Detroit. Others can't be bothered.
st34 11:38PM (11/28/2008)
ramontez @ Nov 28th 2008 6:32PM Clearly you do not understand what a true muscle car is or what they are really alll about. After a forty year hiatus it's no wonder. From the mid seventies on up there simply wasn't one up until 2005, short of the Supra. Take the time to educate yourself and take a ride in one sometime and you might have the ability to grasp the concept of what I have stated. Putting 20 inch rims on something and pouring octane booster in the gas tank does not qualify.
Luke @ Nov 28th 2008 7:19P Please take the time to read before commenting from the peanut gallery. I clearly stated that the Corvette is clearly a Super Car.
Frank @ Nov 28th 2008 6:35PM
The GTR beats a ZR1 off the line in the below video below but watch what happens in the end. Additionally There have been a lot of reported problems with Nissan backing up warranty claims already in regards to turning off the launch control of the GTR and mashing the throttle. Apparently they just aren't holding up to all of the hype as far as reliability goes. AWD also becomes much more problematic when dealing with those kind of H.P. numbers.
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/ZR1-Drag-Race-King-Spanks_201870.htm
As for the rest of the comments...The Corvette will live on as a Chevy regardless of what ever else happens in the G.M. product line-up. Bank on it.
Nick 5:00PM (11/28/2008)
You guys are crazy. Nothing but doom and gloom in your posts.
Proud 07 Tundra 06 Z06 owner.
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Ian 5:42PM (11/28/2008)
GM need to keep the Corvette division and indeed prudently expand it. I mean put the V6 GM 310HP engine into the Corvette as a killer alternative to the lower end Porsche. Purists may complain, but it would inexpensively use existing off the shelf technology and produce a new car in a new category. It would even handle superbly and be priced maybe $10K under the V8 model. This would perhaps double Corvette overall sales and allow economies of scale and larger profit potential. Heck if Porsche steps into SUVs Corvette can have a 6 cylinder car with no damage.
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happy_penguin 6:07PM (11/28/2008)
Toyota can piss off!
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arturo 6:13PM (11/28/2008)
just make the corvette lighter with a 500 hp supercharged v8 and that all you need to make the next z06.
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HarveyMushman 6:56PM (11/28/2008)
I'm the happy owner of a 720 HP 2004 Corvette (Many thanks to East Coast Supercharging!) and have taken the Corvette factory tour twice. I don't think Toyota would like how often that line just sits still. I would venture that it moved one out of every five minutes.
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Frank 6:35PM (11/28/2008)
Make a supercar the world wants. Like Nissan has.
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