Aug 25, 2019
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Hi all. I was curious to know, for those of you that have been around here a while, if when the C7 was first released, was the hype similar to the C8 in regards to preorders, limited availability, dealers selling over MSRP, the excitement surrounding the release, etc., or is the C8's hype due to the radical change the car has undergone?
Just curious.
 
Pretty much the same. Then again for the GS, Z06 and ZR1. The latter being double of the Stingray in price had a limited customer base so the hype was not as large as the Z06 debut. All about marketing.
 
Hi all. I was curious to know, for those of you that have been around here a while, if when the C7 was first released, was the hype similar to the C8 in regards to preorders, limited availability, dealers selling over MSRP, the excitement surrounding the release, etc., or is the C8's hype due to the radical change the car has undergone?
Just curious.

In my opinion, the hype wasn't even a tenth as much with the C7. There was lots of chat but not the tracking of builds and deliveries there is today. Very few were in the panic to get the FIRST year C7. Pretty much all of us were Corvette owners when the C7 came out and we were more than happy with our cars. We just sat back and watched for the first year or so. The C7 carried almost nothing over from the previous generation so many also wanted it to prove itself and to see if there were any new generation problems as well. Those that thought they might like to have a new Vette just took their time and weren't rabid about it as we knew they would be around for a while. Most of us were also not Lambo, McLaren, Ferrari wannabees that just wanted that exotic car look but didn't have a half mil to spend on one either. And with most of us being older, we had seen economic troubles in the past and had patience until we were in a cash-in-hand, families and RRSP provided for position as well. There are a lot of big car loans out there this year I fear which may equate to a lot of used C8's hitting the markets in the future if we don't see a miraculous economic recovery. The young age of many of the C8 members amazes me but good on them. If they can afford to buy a Corvette at 22, hair on them. I think we will also see a lot of them being only car daily drivers, winter as well, which we seldom saw 5 years ago. We had a couple members only and gave them thumbs up for getting drive time year round, but also made a mental note to never buy their cars. When I looked for a used Vette way back, never winter driven and always garaged were at the top of my buy list. Surf the early posts in the C7 section for a real look....
 
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I was happy to see the 2014 C7. Did not notice a big "to-do" about it any where
other than the made-for advertising & promotions. C7 Z06 & ZR1 was another story.
Put it on my list for a personal reward when I finished paying for Private School.
That would have been this year. Thank God I couldn't wait past 2016 and have
never looked back. I don't recall a lot of yippee yahoo but I do remember a
discussion I overheard about the loss of the rounded type tail lights. That until
one just looked below the license plate for the "4 round thingys". :angelic:
 
When comparing what happened with the inaugural C7 versus the newly introduced C8, I suspect the biggest difference was the GM strike at the start of the C8 hype, followed by COVID. So in some ways it was the "perfect storm" that increased interest/demand for the C8, compared to the C7. We may never see this again in the automotive world: a long-anticipated [in this case: mid-engine] new design which for the most part has lived up to its hype (and promises to get better) that was ham-strung by not only a strike but especially a world-wide pandemic which shut down whole parts of the planet's economy and caused unprecedented production delays. Interesting times we're living in and hopefully we'll have fascinating stories to tell our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, assuming they develop an effective vaccine to kill COVID. I always try to maintain a positive outlook and one take-away I have for COVID is that I'm living through an historic time and (fingers crossed) one that won't ever repeat itself.

However I echo Rruuff Day's concerns about the young C8 buyers and whether they can afford a C8. I have family who work in automotive sales and the post-COVID surge in those sales (I'm not talking just GM now) is surprising with so much economic and job uncertainty. Canadians were carrying too much debt pre-COVID and people don't seem to see beyond the COVID-inspired government hand-outs which are short-lived with (IMHO) the worst economic fall-out yet to happen since I doubt we'll see any vaccine in the near future. Then there's the link between our economy and what happens south of the border and with COVID surging in some parts of the States, that's not looking good. So I expect what we're experiencing today with businesses closing and jobs being affected, will persist, whereas the generous government hand-outs can't. We'll then see what our true economic life looks like at that point and perhaps Rruuff Day's forecast of used C8's being sold off, will then come true.
 
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The hype is pretty much the same. The scramble for allocations and price gouging over MSRP were all the same however far more pronounced with the Z06 in 15 and even worse on the ZR1 in 19. I was driving a 13 Z06 that I was happy with when I saw the 15 Z06... damn. I waited and bought a used one after the hype died down.
All the covid and other drama has certainly made it much more challenging to get the C8 and we see it clearly on here compared to the C7. I expect the C8 Z06 and up releases will generate as much if not more craziness than the C7 just because of the excellent performance of the base model C8 compared to the C7 and other cars that are supposed to be out punching the Corvette and don't. This car is a serious performance car that delivers. Huge hit for the money. If it wasn't for the transmission I would be spinning waiting for the Z06 but as I want to row an old fashioned manual my blood pressure is under control.
 
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I happily paid my $1,000 deposit in September 2019 for a C8 and diligently completed my dream build on the GM Configurator. My GM dealer (Macmaster Chev) was honest and indicated that I would probably find out more on CCF then he would ever be able to learn from his District Manager on what would happen next. What followed was what I call the "Three strikes and you are out"... 1. Allocations information from GM was scarce and never reliable... 2. The UAW strike dragged on for 5 weeks, instead of the 2 weeks predicted.... 3. COVID-19 set in March 12th with only 2,800 C8's built, of which only 200 had come to Canada so far. There is a fine line between a martyr and a fool and I could see I had already crossed that line if I was counting on GM to deliver. I got my deposit back from the dealer and watched for C7's that were available (and could actually be seen in person and taken for a test drive - unlike the C8's). I am pleased to report I found a mint 2017 Stingray with 8,000 kms on it that has never seen snow.
I am Living the Dream and free from the endless C8 hype. Not to worry... there will be lots of C8's to see and test drive in 2022... At 50% off prices... :)
 
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