Hello! I'm a first-time poster, long-time Corvette fan. I hope this is the right sub-forum for this sort of Corvette post. Anyway, I wanted to ask if there are presently any organized efforts by the Corvette community to save the V8 Corvette? Considering the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) current plans to mandate battery-electric vehicles for CARB states come 2035 (<https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/2022/accii/notice.pdf>), I'm quite concerned about the future of the V8 Corvette. For me, the V8 has really always been the core of this car. The way it sounds, the way it feels as you rev through the RPM band, the way it looks when you pop the hood, even dreaming up ways to mix and max different parts for an engine build. To replace all this with a battery and electric motors, sorry, the resulting car would feel like an empty shell to me. To kill off the V8 engine is to pretty much kill off the Corvette, IMHO.
I do hope GM can find a way to keep the V8 Corvette alive via renewable fuels such as hydrogen and synfuels. Maybe even more importantly, I hope that regulators like CARB can be open to these sorts of powertrains. Curious thing is, I'm coming across more and more life cycle assessment (LCA) studies which show that a mix of both renewable fuel ICE and battery-electric offers greater environmental sustainability than battery-electric only. Troubling enough, I'm also hearing that CARB is willfully ignoring these studies, and instead plans to force battery-electric.
I'm not sure how much the folks here believe in the power of grassroots advocacy, but when it comes to trying to save cherished cars like the V8 Corvette, I personally think it's worth a shot. That said, I'd encourage you to submit a comment to CARB regarding the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) regulations that CARB is looking to adopt. These again are the regulations that would be looking to mandate battery-electric vehicles for CARB states come 2035. Make sure to submit your comment before the comment period deadline of May 31, 2022:
<Submit Public Comments to CARB | California Air Resources Board>.
Whether you live in California, a CARB state, or a non-CARB state, I do think it's important to make your voice heard. Per the letter of the law, no, California doesn't legally control what new cars non-CARB states can and cannot buy. The practical reality, though, is that automakers can't afford to produce two sets of vehicles for the U.S. market: one for CARB states, and a second set for non-CARB states. In effect, if this battery-electric vehicle mandate from CARB is adopted, count on this strongly influencing what new cars the entire U.S. can and cannot buy, and count on this likely meaning the end for the V8 Corvette.
Thank you much. 407cid
I do hope GM can find a way to keep the V8 Corvette alive via renewable fuels such as hydrogen and synfuels. Maybe even more importantly, I hope that regulators like CARB can be open to these sorts of powertrains. Curious thing is, I'm coming across more and more life cycle assessment (LCA) studies which show that a mix of both renewable fuel ICE and battery-electric offers greater environmental sustainability than battery-electric only. Troubling enough, I'm also hearing that CARB is willfully ignoring these studies, and instead plans to force battery-electric.
I'm not sure how much the folks here believe in the power of grassroots advocacy, but when it comes to trying to save cherished cars like the V8 Corvette, I personally think it's worth a shot. That said, I'd encourage you to submit a comment to CARB regarding the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) regulations that CARB is looking to adopt. These again are the regulations that would be looking to mandate battery-electric vehicles for CARB states come 2035. Make sure to submit your comment before the comment period deadline of May 31, 2022:
<Submit Public Comments to CARB | California Air Resources Board>.
Whether you live in California, a CARB state, or a non-CARB state, I do think it's important to make your voice heard. Per the letter of the law, no, California doesn't legally control what new cars non-CARB states can and cannot buy. The practical reality, though, is that automakers can't afford to produce two sets of vehicles for the U.S. market: one for CARB states, and a second set for non-CARB states. In effect, if this battery-electric vehicle mandate from CARB is adopted, count on this strongly influencing what new cars the entire U.S. can and cannot buy, and count on this likely meaning the end for the V8 Corvette.
Thank you much. 407cid
