C6 headlights

[corvettecrazy]

i hear all the rumors flying about fixed head lights instead of pop ups, but here's my thoughts on that...why not go back to the C4 design where they flip around therefore you can style sleek powerful lights with out the ugly body pannel laying on top of the light.
that way you can keep the tradition of pop ups and get aerodynamic at the same time.

or if they want fixed there should be a body pannel that conves them and slides back under the hood revealing the fixed light, so the light is hidden when no it use, which looks better.

just my 2 cents.

 

[LongTimer]

I hear you corvettecrazy. The C4 headlights were the best popups on any vette. They minimized drag when open. I will never forget turning my C3 lights on at dusk while travelling across the desert with a headwind. I could feel the car jerk a bit as they opened. The C5 lights are the same design.

Regardless, you better get used to the idea of no popups on the C6, because they are history. They are a victim of the need for a shorter front overhang, the need to trim weight, and contemporary styling trends. GM has stated that they are gone.

 

[corvettecrazy]

thats a shame especially since Gm is on this spree of murdering everything that people liked about there cars, not just corvette.

i wish for a day people like you and me could take over their studios and bring back what people who drive the cars want.

some day they will bang their head on something and realize what idiots they are.

 

[ROCKETBLOCK]

I hear you corvettecrazy. The C4 headlights were the best popups on any vette. They minimized drag when open. I will never forget turning my C3 lights on at dusk while travelling across the desert with a headwind. I could feel the car jerk a bit as they opened. The C5 lights are the same design.

Regardless, you better get used to the idea of no popups on the C6, because they are history. They are a victim of the need for a shorter front overhang, the need to trim weight, and contemporary styling trends. GM has stated that they are gone.

I agree that the C4's were the most clever popups. But, aerodynamics, weight, flashing headlamps, simpler design, popups are ugly, maybe the FEDS are reasons for the new popups... I think GM can do a good job on the c-6 headlights without pop ups. After all nothing is constant except change. One other point to ponder... I think originally Corvette was hiding the standard round and then square sealed headlamp bulbs that were available at the time. Now, they can make them pretty much any shape or size within reason. It would have been hard to integrate the old 4 round eyes into a good sloped front end, but now we have a new ball game. I'm not sure it is as necessary to hide the new unlimited shapes we have available.

 

[danl72]

I agree. GM should stick to tradition.

 

[SlowRide]

Sometimes being the biggest company around for a period of time is detremental. You get lazy and think that no matter what, the public will like what you produce. You just can't do that now. Competition is fierce. Just ask Dodge and Nissan. Instead of just having concepts....they are building and selling them. GM must move to the front again and listen to their customers. GM has good designers, they are just restricted by upper management. (Look at how Zora Arkus-Duntov was denied the mid-engine Vette. If he had had his way, the latest Corvette may look like the Mosler.) When the reigns are finally loosed...look out! The only problem is when?

Nick

 

[corvettecrazy]

inbetween GM performance parts and GM there have been some really awsome concepts that would sell like mad, not just for corvette, but GM doesn't seem to be able to "carpe diem" (sieze the day) and make profit out of their concept ideas

 

[LongTimer]

Prediction:

Although I also beleive that GM will come through with a great looking C6 open-eyed look, within 3-5 years we will all be posting our favorite chemicals to restore our yellowed, fogged out lenses - or maybe the cheapest places to get replacements. Each day I see, Cherokees, Supras, Toruses, BMWs, etc (all brands) with ugly, nearly opaque, yellowed or browned headlight lens. This is a real problem out here. I imagine that its worse in Az and Nv.

 

[Doug Do]

Weight, weight, weight.........lighter is faster, more mgp, etc. THis is right from Dave Hill.

 

[ROCKETBLOCK]

Prediction:

Although I also beleive that GM will come through with a great looking C6 open-eyed look, within 3-5 years we will all be posting our favorite chemicals to restore our yellowed, fogged out lenses - or maybe the cheapest places to get replacements. Each day I see, Cherokees, Supras, Toruses, BMWs, etc (all brands) with ugly, nearly opaque, yellowed or browned headlight lens. This is a real problem out here. I imagine that its worse in Az and Nv.

We just get new ones.

 

[Rob]

I agree with some of the points made in this thread. On the one hand, I agree that it's good for GM to stick to tradition with the Corvette - but in certain areas.

The Corvette was born with exposed headlights and wore them from 1953 to 1962. So, technically, GM is still sticking to tradition and in some ways, it's going back to a more pure sense of tradition with exposed headlights.

On the other hand, Dave Hill and his team have made it quite clear that one of their main goals for the C6 is to introduce the platform to Jenny Craig.

One of the major impediments to performance is weight and those pop-up headlights are significantly heavy. I can't remember the actual weight of each bucket and related hardware, but it was pretty hefty considering the overall size of them.

If the exposed headlight design is a good one, I think it's a bonus in that it not only saves weight, but from a design perspective, it improves the overall image of the car. If the design is a bad one, then I think it can easily outweigh any benefits gained in weight reduction.

Whether or not the majority approves or dissaproves of the design of the headlights remains to be seen.

When Ferrari introduced the 360 Modena with exposed headlights - unlike the previous F355, my first impression was Since then, the design has really grown on me and now, I think they look very cool.