Muscle Cars
A New 2018 Mid Engined Corvette, Maybe?
By Mark Weisseg
This song has been sung a thousand times so what is one more?
This alleged spy photo is to make you and I believe this might be the mid engine Corvette at a testing facility. Maybe it is or maybe it’s the return of the Chevrolet Vega. That is how silly this has become. All the major rags, sorry many of the major magazines have been pumping stories for years of this possibility. I do wonder if this rumor will help or hurts the sales of Corvettes? Just say GM said tomorrow that a mid engine Vette would be sold in 2018. Would that kill sales of the 2017 models? Or, would it boost sales in order to be able to say you have the last of the front engine model? Either way the automotive world is spinning like tops trying to figure out when, where, how, why, and how much it will cost IF GM ever makes the move. I guess GM might be under some pressure to do this as the 2017 Ford GT is a clear cut winner. But, the Ford is limited production. The Corvette has never been limited in production. I mean I can go to a Chevy dealership and plop down my cash and if it is on the lot drive it home today. Not so with the Ford. Get on a list, put money down and wait and you might get one.
So, what is the big deal here? Well, the Corvette somehow got nicknamed America’s sports car and for many years now magazines have made a living testing the car against everything. Even though most reviews have the car as a great buy they always find tidbits of things they would like to see changed. The only area I see that is a downside for the Corvette of current is that they are everywhere. Good for GM, good for the Corvette lovers, but bad for collectors who never get to say they have anything special. That’s the diff as I hear today. You drive a new Corvette down the road and nobody gives it a second look. Drive a new Ford GT down the same road and you will get a lot of attention.
Here is the rub. Go to any car show anywhere and the Corvettes are everywhere. They are like ants at a picnic. What GM wants to do I guess is hype this notion way up and then finally introduce the car on a limited basis. That is the soft approach touch. Get everyone all worked up to own one. Dealerships will add to the list price and the frenzy will be on to own one. Remember when the Challenger and Charger first came out with the Hellcat? The Dealerships were on high alert. Ford did it with the GT 350. They all do it. It drives demand up and prices at the same time. It is an old trick we as humans still fall for. I guess if it works why change it?
However, there is a gamble at stake. What if after they release it the car is not what it was hyped to be? Fiat loved the Hellcat craze but it faded in time. Ford had goosebumps with the GT350 but is already hinting at a GT500 to get the excitement flowing again.
For me I hope GM takes a swing at a mid engine Corvette. All the magazine sales will go up, all the web sites will be jammed with opinions, and Chevrolet will need to back up all the hype. In the real world it will be the rich people who get to buy it first. The car will more than likely hover around 100k for a Vette with some bells and whistles. Then, after a few years some will start hitting used car markets and the rest of us can have a turn. With the median income level in the United States below 40k don’t expect every driveway filled with a mid engine anything. I consider myself very blessed in life. I live in a upscale home and don’t eat canned tuna every night. But, with that said I don’t see lambo’s, Ferrari’s, or Ford GT’s roaming the streets on a regular basis. Time will tell but let’s hope all this hype distracts us from the worlds issues. Then, I can go back to concentrating on my fast muscle car collection and hit my meep, meep horn on my Road Runner for laughs.
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