Blue260
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Do you think the C7 Tailights Look like the Camaro Tail Lights ??
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1analguy
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Do you think the C7 Corvette's tail lights look like the Camaro's tailights?
Do they look identical? Well...no, but the Camaro setup was very obviously the starting point for the C7 design team. I am not saying that this is a good or a bad thing...it just is. However, I don't understand why, if they needed a jumping off point for inspiration, they didn't start with...oh...say...a Corvette design (for continuity's sake...and no, I don't mean necessarily "round" lights, either)...rather than a Camaro. When they did decide to pick another car for tail light inspiration, why did they choose the Corvette's cheaper sibling? Just for my own curiosity, I'd love to have been a fly on the wall during that discussion.
To all those who think that anyone is nuts for being able to see Camaro ancestry in the C7 tail lights, I would remind you that we don't understand why you can't see it. As one of the "can-see-it" group, I do recognize the Camaro origin of the design of the lights, but the finished design doesn't look the same to me, either. The prevailing attitude among the "can't-see-it" crowd seems to be that, when viewing the two cars directly from the rear, they are, over all, easily distinguishable from one another...so there can be no connection between the two. This attitude suggests an inability or an unwillingness to recognize nuanced similarities. So, we must agree to disagree...
With all the moaning that I've done about this car, I still have no complaint about the shape of the tail lights. I do feel that the inner lights should have been the same size as the outer lights, and that the black trim around the lights is a huge, garish mistake. The back end is too busy already and with that black tail light trim, it's way-the-hell too busy...JMO
Do they look identical? Well...no, but the Camaro setup was very obviously the starting point for the C7 design team. I am not saying that this is a good or a bad thing...it just is. However, I don't understand why, if they needed a jumping off point for inspiration, they didn't start with...oh...say...a Corvette design (for continuity's sake...and no, I don't mean necessarily "round" lights, either)...rather than a Camaro. When they did decide to pick another car for tail light inspiration, why did they choose the Corvette's cheaper sibling? Just for my own curiosity, I'd love to have been a fly on the wall during that discussion.
To all those who think that anyone is nuts for being able to see Camaro ancestry in the C7 tail lights, I would remind you that we don't understand why you can't see it. As one of the "can-see-it" group, I do recognize the Camaro origin of the design of the lights, but the finished design doesn't look the same to me, either. The prevailing attitude among the "can't-see-it" crowd seems to be that, when viewing the two cars directly from the rear, they are, over all, easily distinguishable from one another...so there can be no connection between the two. This attitude suggests an inability or an unwillingness to recognize nuanced similarities. So, we must agree to disagree...
With all the moaning that I've done about this car, I still have no complaint about the shape of the tail lights. I do feel that the inner lights should have been the same size as the outer lights, and that the black trim around the lights is a huge, garish mistake. The back end is too busy already and with that black tail light trim, it's way-the-hell too busy...JMO
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LLC5
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1analguy
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That was a purely intentional marketing decision made by GM to help Corvette sales.
Sarcasm? I know it would not make me feel any more special knowing the tail lights on my fancy new Corvette were cribbed from a Camaro...
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I grabbed the attachments below off the web. Scroll over them to open up a larger view:
Attachments
My guess is they made the Camaro-like so we'd complain about them instead of the huge black plastic looking thing on the bottom half of the bumper. 
I don't mind the shape of the lights or going away from round ones... I think they look so similar because they both seem to have a lower half bezel. I think if they framed them differently (bezel all the way around, or none at all) they wouldn't look similar.
Overall the car has finally taken some aggressive cues again and will set the bar for other cars. The first time since the C4 came out that this is the case. Both the C5 and C6 were not leaders in the design aspect.
I don't mind the shape of the lights or going away from round ones... I think they look so similar because they both seem to have a lower half bezel. I think if they framed them differently (bezel all the way around, or none at all) they wouldn't look similar.
Overall the car has finally taken some aggressive cues again and will set the bar for other cars. The first time since the C4 came out that this is the case. Both the C5 and C6 were not leaders in the design aspect.
73shark
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Tail lites don't bug me nearly as much as the lower half.
Tony Alonso
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That's a lot better. Try losing the mascara if it's possible (I'm assuming that you are photoshopping).
The mascara are vents. I think you would want to keep those around so they exhaust heat.
1analguy
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The vents can stay...it's the black trim on the vents and the lights that is ruining the whole tail light treatment. It's probably news to the Corvette design team, but all of the vents on the car could have been body color...
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WhalePirot
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Surely round tail lights can be vented!
I prefer the round redo, evenly mounted, not the Nissan-looking, vertically staggered. Perhaps not as edgy, but one could make a marketing case for them, given the retro craze (even if it is fading) or a nod to tradition of, and continuity from, past Corvettes.
Not being a fan of mascara heavily applied............ well, it's been said.
I prefer the round redo, evenly mounted, not the Nissan-looking, vertically staggered. Perhaps not as edgy, but one could make a marketing case for them, given the retro craze (even if it is fading) or a nod to tradition of, and continuity from, past Corvettes.
Not being a fan of mascara heavily applied............ well, it's been said.
cadguymark
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Since I love the look of the C6, mine is 100% stock and there isn't anything about it I don't like, seeing the C7 for the first time was a bit of a shock and I was not particularly liking it. But the more I see it, the more I like it. I like the fact that GM got rid of the pop up headlights on the C6, and I am liking the fact they got rid of round tailights on the C7, it just wouldn't look right and both changes make the Vette look more modern. I will for sure buy one in about 2-3 years.
The one thing I have not yet been fond of is the exhaust, I would like it if it were just one large opening in the present shape surrounding the four pipes.
The one thing I have not yet been fond of is the exhaust, I would like it if it were just one large opening in the present shape surrounding the four pipes.
LLC5
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1analguy
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...Not being a fan of mascara heavily applied............ well, it's been said.
erd: Nothing looks more "ghetto-trash" than too much mascara...
I'm not half as surprised by the Camaroesque taillights as I am the size of the lower fascia, which comprises half of the area of the bumper; with each generation it seems to be getting bigger. Will the rear of the C8 be one giant fascia? This is why I don't like the spoiler, it makes the back end of the car even bigger and taller than it already is, it's quite an eyesore. And no one will ever convince me that a spoiler is functional, if it were an item which prevented cars from flying off the road due to "downforce", then it would be a government requirement for all cars.
I know I'll get ribbed for this, but the whole vent-hole thing seems silly. Most people will never drive the car hard enough for those vents to actually do them any good. The hood vent is kind of goofy-looking, as I have a hard time believing that the gigantic side vents won't already do a more than adequate job of cooling the engine bay.
And I can already hear reviewers complaining about the restricted rear view from the drivers seat. Like everyone else, I've looked at pictures of the C7 for over a month now, and I'm not in love with it. The front and sides are really cool, but the back is so odd-looking. And you know what, the interior, to me, is sort of ho-hum; I am looking at a pic of the interior as I am typing this, and it seems quite plain in some areas, for example around the console touch screen. I'm sure the interior of the production model will look much better.
I don't really feel like I have to have this car, the way I felt about the C6 when it came out. I am hoping that the car will grow on me over time, I'm sure it will be a blast to drive. For years, as I drove around in my quiet, reliable, comfortable, powerful, good-looking C6, I kept thinking how they could possibly make the Corvette any better than it is. Well, when you can't improve on something, you make it different, and that's exactly what the exterior styling of the C7 is: different. Different is good, it sells cars, so I get that. But beauty is timeless, and I think the shape of the C6 is a work of art. I hope the C7 will redefine "beauty".
I know I'll get ribbed for this, but the whole vent-hole thing seems silly. Most people will never drive the car hard enough for those vents to actually do them any good. The hood vent is kind of goofy-looking, as I have a hard time believing that the gigantic side vents won't already do a more than adequate job of cooling the engine bay.
And I can already hear reviewers complaining about the restricted rear view from the drivers seat. Like everyone else, I've looked at pictures of the C7 for over a month now, and I'm not in love with it. The front and sides are really cool, but the back is so odd-looking. And you know what, the interior, to me, is sort of ho-hum; I am looking at a pic of the interior as I am typing this, and it seems quite plain in some areas, for example around the console touch screen. I'm sure the interior of the production model will look much better.
I don't really feel like I have to have this car, the way I felt about the C6 when it came out. I am hoping that the car will grow on me over time, I'm sure it will be a blast to drive. For years, as I drove around in my quiet, reliable, comfortable, powerful, good-looking C6, I kept thinking how they could possibly make the Corvette any better than it is. Well, when you can't improve on something, you make it different, and that's exactly what the exterior styling of the C7 is: different. Different is good, it sells cars, so I get that. But beauty is timeless, and I think the shape of the C6 is a work of art. I hope the C7 will redefine "beauty".
73shark
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While I agree w/ most of what you're saying, the hood vent for the radiator flow does make sense because it keeps the hot air out of the engine compartment. That's of course assuming they did it right w/ shrouding and seals.
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catbert
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Venting air over the forward slanted horizontal hood is part of the aero package providing a lot of adjustable downforce. It's been a racing sports car staple since the 60's.
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I'm wishy-washy on this. Originally, I would have given a solid "YES!", but now...it's more "ehhh".
Is there a similarity? Well, if you say "yes" because there are a pair on either side of the bumper and they are both non-circles, then there is a similarity. But objectively speaking, there's just as much or just as little similarity to the taillights on a C6 and a 2005 Chevy Impala, but no one was crying foul there.
As others have stated indirectly or otherwise, I think only an ignorant eye would truly confuse the two cars from the rear, regardless if it's day or night.
So in that capacity, while there are or are not similarities based on personal criteria, as long as the two cars can't be mistaken, it's not a serious concern of mine.
On a more humorous note, I want to go into the Camaro forums and start crying foul about "...those bastard Corvette designers stealing our beloved Camaro's design cues!!!
ad"
:L
Is there a similarity? Well, if you say "yes" because there are a pair on either side of the bumper and they are both non-circles, then there is a similarity. But objectively speaking, there's just as much or just as little similarity to the taillights on a C6 and a 2005 Chevy Impala, but no one was crying foul there.
As others have stated indirectly or otherwise, I think only an ignorant eye would truly confuse the two cars from the rear, regardless if it's day or night.
So in that capacity, while there are or are not similarities based on personal criteria, as long as the two cars can't be mistaken, it's not a serious concern of mine.
On a more humorous note, I want to go into the Camaro forums and start crying foul about "...those bastard Corvette designers stealing our beloved Camaro's design cues!!!
ad":L
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