2020 Corvette

[RevolverRob]

What's wrong with...fiberglass? It's not like the 'glass used on a 'Vette today is the same stuff your dad used to patch holes in his tri-hull boat. It's a woven honeycomb material that is as light as aluminum. Only thing that will go lighter is a carbon fiber weave (which is...get this...a carbon fiberglass...).

Aluminum sucks.

Seriously. It sucks.

You think your steel bodied car gets door dings now. Wait until someone rams a lumber cart into it at full speed at Home Depot. And then you get the damn bill. The only thing more expensive than aluminum is repairing aluminum. Ford has driven the cost down on its trucks, close to that of steel, by basically making it such that almost every panel can be replaced, as opposed to repaired. This makes some types of damage (e.g., hail) cheaper to repair. But not all types. And insurance database records are showing about 10% more body damage claims on F-150s for 2015+ vehicles, compared to those before. Not compelling data overall.

Ferrari choosing to use aluminum means nothing in the world of mass produced cars. Let's be clear, there are more Corvettes produced every year, than the entire line of Ferraris like 2-3x as many Corvettes as Ferraris. As a result, there are definitely more repairs conducted, more miles driven, more racetrack events, etc. A Corvette in aluminum would not only suck to repair, but it would likely be considerably more expensive, since GM would have to re-engineer it, like Ford did the F150 to keep repair costs down. Either do that or just start selling 10k units a year like Ferrari does and charge Ferrari prices...

Oh and it wouldn't weigh any less...In fact it would probably weigh more. This reminds me a bit of "metal framed" gun discussions. The only real reason to pick aluminum over polymer is because there isn't a polymer frame to choose. Otherwise your choices are polymer or steel. Steel for weight, polymer for not weight. Structurally they're about the same. Unlike aluminum, which even in handguns, sucks, compared to plastic or steel.

[Jim Watson]

The friend who went to the shooting match with me today was trying to go from C6 to C7 and he hasn't had the C6 very long.

Oh, yeah, we went in my van. Range bags, coolers, my folding chair, his bucket stool. Down a dirt road. Corvette need not apply.

[RevolverRob]

Down a dirt road. Corvette need not apply.

Only if you lack imagination...

[BehindBlueI's]

Only if you lack imagination...

I'm trying not to be the "your fun is wrong" guy here but...

[RevolverRob]

I'm trying not to be the "your fun is wrong" guy here but...

I admit, the C3 on the truck frame is pretty bad.

But the C2 that is rally prepped? That is awesome. I love driving on asphalt as much as the next guy. But dirt and gravel is just next level fun. If I had the space to build and house a dedicated rally vehicle, I’d have one.

My dreams are sometimes of Le Mans or Sebring...but more often than not they are of the Baja 1000, Targa Newfoundland, Carrera Panamerica, the Peking-To-Paris, the Dakar. Get in a car and drive it to the ends of the Earth and back...

[orionz06]

This is the Vette for me right now. Not even sure if it's real or a render, but that's hard to beat.

[RevolverRob]

This is the Vette for me right now. Not even sure if it's real or a render, but that's hard to beat.

I still can’t stand those stupid quad exhaust tips, so dumb.

[KellyinAvon]

Corvettes should have round tail lights, 4 each. Just sayin...

[Bucky]

Like every other American car until a few years ago?

I've had Z06 in my screenname everywhere forever, I've always had a soft spot for Corvettes, but the C8 is almost a disconnect. I'm thankful that an American car company actually seems to give a shit about performance beyond 1/4 mile times and noise, but it'll take me a bit to come around. The C3 and C7 are my faves, with the C7 looking really fucking good. I'd almost rather see them dump the Camaro, keep the C7 and rev it to a C8, and have the mid-engine be a new car all together.

I'm unsure that I'll have a car that I can't drive from spring to fall, but if this slams the C7 pricing I could see a ZR1 in the future. I don't see that happening though, I think those prices will stay put, dealers will mark up C8's, and it'll be two years for the market to normalize.

Do you currently have a Z06?

[BehindBlueI's]

https://www.space.com/apollo-astrove...ts-legacy.html

Scott Kelly, the former NASA astronaut who spent nearly a year in space on his last mission, made a surprise appearance at the unveiling of the C8 Corvette Thursday (July 18) in front of 1,300 people in Tustin, Calif.

Corvette was a part of the space program from the very beginning.

Alan Shepard received a white 1962 Corvette as congratulations for being the first American in space in 1961. Afterwards, Florida Chevrolet-Cadillac dealer Jim Rathmann negotiated a $1-a-year lease agreement for Shepard's six fellow Mercury astronauts.

(more at link)