GM has made a definite decision in their marketing demographics. The reason eludes me. However it is clear that GM senses, or has encouraged, the market shifting away from the "affordable American sports car" to something between affordability and exotic car pricing. Corvette has become iconic because although not everyone could afford a Vette, it was priced close enough to make the dream realistic for Joe Six Pack. Those days are seemingly over. Whether intended or not, and although the msrp tells a different story, the actual selling price of even the base C8 Stingray have crept out of the realistic dream scenario for many people. GM has made moves to "brand" Corvette away from Chevy and make it similar to Cadillac. Time will tell whether this strategy will be successful. Personally I see it as a failing strategy. Simple reasoning for me is that if you can afford a $200k Corvette (and yes that is where we are heading and don't deny it) you can likely afford $250 or $300k. If you can afford more than $200k then the market moves you into exotics. Maybe no better a car than the Vette but there is perception. Look at the massive following that DDE has on You Tube. They tried a Vette for a very short time and dumped it quickly.
My prediction is the used C6, C7, and C8 Stingray markets will stay very strong as new C8 pricing moves away from the family guy earning under $100k per year. I also think that the after market performance product market will stay incredibly strong because one can build a monster base 1LT C8 for tens of thousands of dollars less than buying a stock Z06 or ERay. Yes different I know but realistic.
In reality it doesn't matter because no-one can get allocations on virtually anything anyway.
Anyway just my double espresso ramblings on a Wednesday morning.