C6 Z06 Embargoed GM Photos

[OLDGOAT]

Good Grief

Of course you are right to protect this fine forum by refraining from use of protected material. These are essentially trade secrets and protected by law. Good Grief this is only a car. Most people who want one won't be able to afford it anyway. What's two months wait to find all the REAL facts right from the source? We can guess all we want but misusing protected material is just plain dumb AND not respectful of GM.

This frenzy to learn the facts and see photos strikes me as really childish. But I am learning slowly about SOME Corvette fans. I like this forum because it permits posting of constructive criticism regarding the new C6. I was once a member of a similar forum and posted some constructive criticism regarding the C5's exhaust system, intake shortcomings and some other points....along with some high praises for many obvious breakthroughs etc. BAM.... my posting privileges were revoked. For speaking the truth...for having a honest conversation about the product.

Turns out, I think , that those who controlled the forum felt that ANY negative comments , even if completely accurate, were out of bounds. I believe that they were worried that GM would somehow retaliate if they allowed anything negative to be said.

No product is perfect and constructive criticism , I would think, would be very valuable to GM. I think that GM probably has staffers who read these forums to learn from owners and would be owners....kinda like a huge and free focus group. So keeping this one on the straight and narrow means that GM will continue to take it seriously as a source of useful information. That means Corvette owners and future owners can influence product development and improvement....but only if this forum remains true to legitimate business interests of GM. That's why upholding the embargo is a very smart choice. It's not kissing up to GM it's treating them with respect.

nuf said

darn I love the new C6

 

[Ken]

darn I love the new C6

Me too!!

 

[jimmyb]

Z06 add nauseum

Rob,
I went to Z06.com and read the post that tells of 2 "goons" showing up at this guys house. I had not read it before my first reply. Am I to believe that GM has nothing better to do than to dispatch "goons" from Detroit (or Bowling Green) to deal with pictures of the Z06 and the guy who posted them? Were they the same guys that worked at the Warren Commission? I don't know what's worse, the story or all the philisophical hand wringing about big bad GM. But, look at the bright side, a new urban legend has been hatched.

 

[Rob]

Rob,
I went to Z06.com and read the post that tells of 2 "goons" showing up at this guys house. I had not read it before my first reply. Am I to believe that GM has nothing better to do than to dispatch "goons" from Detroit (or Bowling Green) to deal with pictures of the Z06 and the guy who posted them? Were they the same guys that worked at the Warren Commission? I don't know what's worse, the story or all the philisophical hand wringing about big bad GM. But, look at the bright side, a new urban legend has been hatched.

No comment. Again, I don't know the details of the situation other than what's been posted. All I ask is that the photo(s) not be posted here.

 

[jwilliams]

I understand and support Rob's position regarding not allowing posting of these materials, it's his site that he runs to all of our benefit.

But, GM should be ashamed, I'd have called the police if they're making threats. Nice P.R. job they are doing. The auto industry's reputation sucks enough as it is and then they go do this. No one has to buy a vette, and most people who can afford the new Z06 can probably buy whatever sports car they want. I love my vette, haved loved vette's since I was 8 and my dad got his 65 coupe, but I will think long and hard before buying another GM product if they're gonna try to punk it's customers.

I hope that potential buyers read about this and ask their dealers about it. GM are you watching???? Hope you are and come to your senses.

 

[pbadad]

just want to comment......that story about a home visit by "someone" from a large American auto company is HEARSAY......REPEAT THAT OVER AGAIN....HEARSAY..........now if you want to talk about legalities.......claiming an incident that didn't happen and causing harm to a major corp. is far more serious than the posting of said photo......I also post on the z06 site.......the same person who was making the "home visit" claims has posted many anti GM comments .......time will tell,.....in the meantime I'm personally doubtful about this incident.......as they say on Fox .....you decide.......ha ha .......jimmy :cool

 

[Hib Halverson]

My guess is the incident mentioned on Z06.com never happened. Why do I think that? Well, GM Legal certainly knows showing-up at a private citizen's door then threatening him over the posting of a link on a web site would be opening them up for a huge counter suit.

The first thing GM does in a case like that is write a letter, not send two guys with a threatening attitude.

Further, that the person who posted that story has been characterized elsewhere as one who posts many "anti-GM" comments, also, has me discounting the story.

Now, as a writer with over 20 years in automotive media, let me explain a few things.

First: those shouting "First Amendment Rights!" in a situation where a media outlet has published copyrighted material without the copyright holder's consent, ie: publishing embargoed GM images before the embargo expires, should just give it up.

If the copyrighted material was created by GM and is embargoed for a certain time, then GM has grounds to take legal action if the material is stolen, leaked or otherwise made public by someone lacking the rights to the material. Those possesing the embargoed images do not have rights to them until the embargo expries. For example, if GM Communications gives Rob pictures of the 2008, 900hp, 2500-lb "Blue Devil" but tells him he can't post the images until 9/1/07, if Rob posts them before then, he's in trouble. Let's imagine that a web site---say, digitalcorvettes.com---obtains the same images through "unoffical" channels then posts them prior to the embargo claiming the images belong to digitalcorvettes.com, it, also, might be in trouble as well.

The same does not apply to *true* "spy shots".

Let's say that Rob flies to Detroit, obtains permission from a homeowner who lives next to the Milford Proving Ground to climb a tall tree in his backyard then, shooting over Milford's fence, snaps a killer photo of the so-called Blue Devil being tested...in that case, Rob can legally post the image because it was obtained in a legal manner and, as he created it, he owns the rights to it.

Now, upon seeing this image, GM can certainly contact Rob and tell him if he keeps the image in his site, he may have to accept consequences, ie: loss of future cooperation or access to information or products for testing. In that event, Rob would have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of keeping the image up and make his decision.

While some might think less of GM for exerting that kind of pressure, it's perfectly legal to do so and makes good business sense.

As for the guy who's going to buy a Porsche because those meanies at GM sometimes enforce copyrights, well...enjoy that Porsche, but watch your mirrors 'cause I'll be blowing buy your sorry butt in my Z06.
:L

 

[DRTH VTR]

2008, 900hp, 2500-lb "Blue Devil"

:BOW One can hope!

 

[Z06 Tom]

As for the guy who's going to buy a Porsche because those meanies at GM sometimes enforce copyrights, well...enjoy that Porsche, but watch your mirrors 'cause I'll be blowing buy your sorry butt in my Z06.

I Love German food! Porsches taste like chicken.

 

[lov-n-life]

Hib,
Great explanation...

As for the guy that will go back to Porsche, well seeing that I AM that guy, the reason I made that statement is based on what I had read on Z06vette.com and the "scare tactics" of sending goons to a customers door, rather as you pointed out, a letter ordering him to cease and desist (sp?). I've never been impressed with ANY American made vehicle, except for Corvette... and should a company turn on a customer like a rabid dog, why would I want to continue supporting them? After having a chance to read further (and your very detailed explanation), I question whether or not this guy is telling the entire truth about the goons on his doorstep. My past experience between GM dealerships has not impressed me, however I've always had great customer service and sales service experiences at Porsche.

 

[smook]

For the record.


I think the new C6-Z06 will rock us ALL!
-Bill (can I say that?)

 

[Rain]

yea, saw those on digital corvettes.
snagged a few of em while trying to change the color of the car in Photoshop.

The image was full of artifacts that lead me to believe this is not an actual picture.
Interesting that GM has sent the goons after the guy.

Rain

 

[OLDGOAT]

great service at Porsche dealerships

yah, when you charge 30% more than a car is worth you can afford to give white glove service-it makes the mark think he's gotten a good deal and is a "respected" customer instead of someone who is laughed at behind his back for paying 30 grand or more for a nameplate.

A Corvette is what it is-a straightforward performance car for people who don't need to pay extra for "additional ego markup" to feel like they got a good deal. ( reminds me of a line in an old movie....anyone remember? )

 

[Rain]

Speaking of "expecting the white glove treatment"


we played New Orleans this weekend and they had a Race thru the French Quarter of 70+ Prancin' Ponies..
Yes sir.. from old to new... Ferraris as far as the eye could see. They were doing 50-75 mph down Decatur Street alone!

 

[lov-n-life]

yah, when you charge 30% more than a car is worth you can afford to give white glove service-it makes the mark think he's gotten a good deal and is a "respected" customer instead of someone who is laughed at behind his back for paying 30 grand or more for a nameplate.

A Corvette is what it is-a straightforward performance car for people who don't need to pay extra for "additional ego markup" to feel like they got a good deal. ( reminds me of a line in an old movie....anyone remember? )

It doesn't matter what the brand is, if I am in business where I expect someone to hand over a sum of money counted in thousands, I would expect my customers to demand and receive customer service worth those thousands they just padded my pockets with. Most dealerships don't care about customer service after the sale, regardless of what their TV ads may say. Whether we like it or not, unless you are buying a high end car (Corvette included), the dealerships typically could care less about customer service after the sale, except when it's time for you to pay them again for service. I had my C4 in the shop more times than I was happy with and received ok service. I had my Porsche in the service department twice. Once for pre-purchase inspection and again 2 weeks later after I bought it in order to have some warranty issues taken care of. Almost two years later I showed up to a DIFFERENT Porsche dealership and the service manager just happened to be the same guy from the first dealership, and he remembered my name, knew my car, and what work had been done on the car. All without having to look me up in any database. When I left my car for warranty work, they gave me a like vehicle as a loaner (another, brand new in fact, Boxster). When I had my Corvette in for service, they offered to call Enterprise rental car for me-and I paid for it out of my pocket. To me, customer service is a HUGE part of the automotive industry, it is what makes HAPPY repeat customers. GM is lacking in this department. Sure the Corvette is the best bang for the buck on the market, I don't disagree with that, but when you spend $50,000 for a car, you expect a dealership to at least "try" and make their customers happy.
As for paying extra for an ego mark up... Get real. There are people who buy everything from Subarus WRXs to Lamborghinis as ego boosters. I've always prefered sports cars because I like to drive. My race car will be a Porsche because you can't beat their handling (I have the Z51 option on my '04, and that just matches my base Boxster's handling capabilities with my driving style). I love my Corvette, but it is better suited for long road courses with wide sweeping turns rather than short road tracks with tight turns where a mid-engined car is going to have distinct advantage. If you don't believe me, ask yourself why the best race cars on the planet (multi-million dollar F1 cars) are mid-engined.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Hib,
Great explanation...

As for the guy that will go back to Porsche, well seeing that I AM that guy, the reason I made that statement is based on what I had read on Z06vette.com and the "scare tactics" of sending goons to a customers door, rather as you pointed out, a letter ordering him to cease and desist (sp?).
(snip)

It's a freakin' B.S. story. If you believe everything you read on the web, no wonder you're buying Porsches.

 

[KOPBET]

It's a freakin' B.S. story.

Agreed. No way.

 

[MyOtherCar]

How interesting, ...yet one can go to the search engines and find all the Z06 pics you want to look at! Apparently one cannot link to those sites though????

 

[vettepilot]

Hib,
Great explanation...

As for the guy that will go back to Porsche, well seeing that I AM that guy, the reason I made that statement is based on what I had read on Z06vette.com and the "scare tactics" of sending goons to a customers door, rather as you pointed out, a letter ordering him to cease and desist (sp?). I've never been impressed with ANY American made vehicle, except for Corvette... and should a company turn on a customer like a rabid dog, why would I want to continue supporting them? After having a chance to read further (and your very detailed explanation), I question whether or not this guy is telling the entire truth about the goons on his doorstep. My past experience between GM dealerships has not impressed me, however I've always had great customer service and sales service experiences at Porsche.

Hey Mike, Now that you're back in a Corvette you may never need great customer service.:L :L :L

There's a reason BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and Ferarri have such great customer service, they have a lot of practice. (more laughing heard in the wings)......

But I'm waaaay off topic here..........

vettepilot

 

[vettepilot]

If you don't believe me, ask yourself why the best race cars on the planet (multi-million dollar F1 cars) are mid-engined.

Because they don't let C5-Rs into Monte Carlo????

.... and speaking of C5-Rs how about those wins huh....

This could easily digress into something akin to arguing about the Red Sox vs the Yankees.


vettepilot