Video: Third 2014 Corvette Trailer Looks At The Interior

[VETTEX2]

 

[Vettlldo]

I don't get these quickie trailer videos - what's the point? Not enough detail to get me interested. My 2012 Centennial 4LT vert interior is superior in quality to my prior 2006 3LT vert. Seats are much more supportive and interior noise is lower. Too bad they didn't install LS7 exhaust front-rear on this LS3 to round out the vette. I read somewhere that the 2014 vette uses LS7 exhaust technology to help boost the extra ponies.

 

[67vet]

I had a gray cloth interior in my 1985 4+3 Corvette. It looked very nice when new, but streched and sagged in the West Texas Sun.

My ZR1 has the black interior with red stiching to break things up.

 

[rodinoma]

Upgraded Interior on C7

The C6 interior I am sure kept the price of the car down somewhat.

A better cabin with upgraded material and design will certainly be reflected in the price.

I found nothing that offensive about the C6 interior especially if done in the optional two colors. The base black was a wash out and for the most part looked cheap.

It's all a matter of personal taste The rest of the C6 is hard to fault and can be equipped almost for any challanges you want to use for. I won't have any problems keeping mine and enjoying it.

I'll absorbe and analize the 7 for a few years when all the bugs are out and most models are available. Then it might be a game changer.

Hi:

Relative to the interiors of previous generations of Corvettes, you are right about the quality of the C6 interior - it is not bad. However relative to the interiors of the range of Porsches, Audi A8, various Ferraris and Jaguars the interior is seriously deficient. It is also deficient relative to the latest interiors of the Cadillac range, part of the GM family. You are also right in saying that at its price point it is good value. However, the world has changed and the tradtiional Corvette buyer is moving on or getting to an age where a Corvette is not really top of the pops anymore. So Chevrolet has reached a fork in the road - they will either continue to cater to septegenerian buyers or go after younger dynamic markets in the US and internationally. The US market will never reach its volumes of a few years ago for a number of reasons. The car culture in the US is slowing down - speed limits are too low to appreciate a Corvette properly, insurance rates are too high; roads are too congested and younger buyers are more interested in ipods and iphones than Corvettes.

The growth will be in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and buyers outside of North America cannot afford V8-powered vehicles unless they are affluent and rich. And if they are rich they do not tolerate the toy boy cheap image that the Corvette epitomises. It is a great car dynamically but it's perceived quality is low-rent. Furthermore and this is specific to Europe, buyers in Europe don't trust cars that are cheap looking to handle speeds of 150-200mph - their reasoning is simple. If pieces of trim feel cheap and fall off, what guarantee do I have that decelerating from 170 miles an hour my rotors aren't going to stay connected. Not true but that is the perception.

So GM and Chevrolet finally had to do what they should have done twenty years ago - give the Corvette an interior that would make Audi stand up and take notice. So we shall see whether they have or not.

Best

 

[dcsteg]

Hi:

Relative to the interiors of previous generations of Corvettes, you are right about the quality of the C6 interior - it is not bad. However relative to the interiors of the range of Porsches, Audi A8, various Ferraris and Jaguars the interior is seriously deficient. It is also deficient relative to the latest interiors of the Cadillac range, part of the GM family. You are also right in saying that at its price point it is good value. However, the world has changed and the tradtiional Corvette buyer is moving on or getting to an age where a Corvette is not really top of the pops anymore. So Chevrolet has reached a fork in the road - they will either continue to cater to septegenerian buyers or go after younger dynamic markets in the US and internationally. The US market will never reach its volumes of a few years ago for a number of reasons. The car culture in the US is slowing down - speed limits are too low to appreciate a Corvette properly, insurance rates are too high; roads are too congested and younger buyers are more interested in ipods and iphones than Corvettes.

The growth will be in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and buyers outside of North America cannot afford V8-powered vehicles unless they are affluent and rich. And if they are rich they do not tolerate the toy boy cheap image that the Corvette epitomises. It is a great car dynamically but it's perceived quality is low-rent. Furthermore and this is specific to Europe, buyers in Europe don't trust cars that are cheap looking to handle speeds of 150-200mph - their reasoning is simple. If pieces of trim feel cheap and fall off, what guarantee do I have that decelerating from 170 miles an hour my rotors aren't going to stay connected. Not true but that is the perception.

So GM and Chevrolet finally had to do what they should have done twenty years ago - give the Corvette an interior that would make Audi stand up and take notice. So we shall see whether they have or not.

Best

All your comments are valid. Of course Porsches, Audi A8, various Ferraris and Jaguars interiors are of higher value. Their price also indiciates that also. To me the costs of the refined interior doesn't justify the price difference you pay for their cars and that's all they have going for them. For $4,000, give or take a few depending upon what you want, I could upgrade the Vettes interior to be on par with the foreign bunch and still have $1000.00's of dollars left over. I am 73 and enjoy this car so much I am not going anywhere and will continue to drive this car. If you continue to raise the price of the car it will be out of the reach of younger generations here in the USA. The older folks will still by this car and continue to support sales. If they raise the price to 150,000- 250,000 to be on par with the above mentioned foreign counter part you can kiss sales in the USA good by. GM will have to walk a fine line here to keep the price affordable for their return customers here and upgrade the car enough to attrach the rich foreign customers that commands higher quality. My Z06 Carbon is a great car and I never entertain the thought of parts falling off this car at any speed. I'll stick it up aside of any of these above mentioned cars on a track and kiss their asses goodby and still have $1000,00's of spare change left over. With that accomplished the nice but not great interior becomes a mute point.

 

[SnakeDr]

Hi:

Relative to the interiors of previous generations of Corvettes, you are right about the quality of the C6 interior - it is not bad. However relative to the interiors of the range of Porsches, Audi A8, various Ferraris and Jaguars the interior is seriously deficient. It is also deficient relative to the latest interiors of the Cadillac range, part of the GM family. You are also right in saying that at its price point it is good value. However, the world has changed and the tradtiional Corvette buyer is moving on or getting to an age where a Corvette is not really top of the pops anymore. So Chevrolet has reached a fork in the road - they will either continue to cater to septegenerian buyers or go after younger dynamic markets in the US and internationally. The US market will never reach its volumes of a few years ago for a number of reasons. The car culture in the US is slowing down - speed limits are too low to appreciate a Corvette properly, insurance rates are too high; roads are too congested and younger buyers are more interested in ipods and iphones than Corvettes.

The growth will be in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and buyers outside of North America cannot afford V8-powered vehicles unless they are affluent and rich. And if they are rich they do not tolerate the toy boy cheap image that the Corvette epitomises. It is a great car dynamically but it's perceived quality is low-rent. Furthermore and this is specific to Europe, buyers in Europe don't trust cars that are cheap looking to handle speeds of 150-200mph - their reasoning is simple. If pieces of trim feel cheap and fall off, what guarantee do I have that decelerating from 170 miles an hour my rotors aren't going to stay connected. Not true but that is the perception.

So GM and Chevrolet finally had to do what they should have done twenty years ago - give the Corvette an interior that would make Audi stand up and take notice. So we shall see whether they have or not.

Best

This was a good post but with a couple of cheap shots and I wonder why. If my memory serves me well, when Chevrolet Corvette C6.R was crossing the finishing line, the Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 and other great cars from Europe was in the rear view mirror in the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. Corvette was first LM GTE Pro Class. We were leading in 2012 until a pit crew mistake.

This is the worlds oldest 24 hour endurance race and the technology and mechanical reliability is proven on the race track.

Street Corvettes are mechanically reliable. The interior has always been lacking in previous models (no secret). Your basically talking about wealthy European peer pressure. However, Corvette is facing the same pressure as Harley Davidson in the area of aging market.

Go to youtube.com and search for Nueremburg ZR1. I believe Nueremburg is in Kansas (sarcasm).

2011 24 Hours of Le Mans - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[GRANDSPORT]

For those of you who are repeatedly being frustrated by GM's teases for the C7, there's a long history and pattern of advertising success involved. In 1954, Proctor and Gamble did it for weeks before unveiling Crest toothpaste. In 1956, Lever Brothers did it with Wisk detergent. And automotively (I am showing both my age and memory), Ford did it for a month, with daily full page ads that said "E Day is only XX number of days away!" For the first few weeks, you wouldn't even know what an "E" stood for because "car" or "automobile" wasn't mentioned. In September 1956, we found out that E was an Edsel, "a totally new kind of car". Even if it wasn't much more than Ford's patching parts together to make their own version of an Oldsmobile, it had a lot of attention being paid to it. Too bad it lasted only three years, instead of the Corvette's sixty-one. I can easily wait for less than a month to see what we'll wait another half year to experience the car in person.

You are right on, Marketing uses methods that work (or at least ones they believe work) over and over again, tweaked a new way....
The loss of Campbell Ewald was a big blow to GM. They had people who believe in and loved Corvette, not just because it paid their weekly checks.

The Heartbeat of America was a classic, it was a great campaign dreamed up by a great mind. Chevy runs deep, is all ready on its way out....

Just look at some of the books writen by some of the greats.

O. K. I'm off the soapbox..
Let's hope the C 7 is the start of a new generation, which I believe will be a great addition...

 

[docderek05]

Hi:

Relative to the interiors of previous generations of Corvettes, you are right about the quality of the C6 interior - it is not bad. However relative to the interiors of the range of Porsches, Audi A8, various Ferraris and Jaguars the interior is seriously deficient. It is also deficient relative to the latest interiors of the Cadillac range, part of the GM family. You are also right in saying that at its price point it is good value. However, the world has changed and the tradtiional Corvette buyer is moving on or getting to an age where a Corvette is not really top of the pops anymore. So Chevrolet has reached a fork in the road - they will either continue to cater to septegenerian buyers or go after younger dynamic markets in the US and internationally. The US market will never reach its volumes of a few years ago for a number of reasons. The car culture in the US is slowing down - speed limits are too low to appreciate a Corvette properly, insurance rates are too high; roads are too congested and younger buyers are more interested in ipods and iphones than Corvettes.

The growth will be in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and buyers outside of North America cannot afford V8-powered vehicles unless they are affluent and rich. And if they are rich they do not tolerate the toy boy cheap image that the Corvette epitomises. It is a great car dynamically but it's perceived quality is low-rent. Furthermore and this is specific to Europe, buyers in Europe don't trust cars that are cheap looking to handle speeds of 150-200mph - their reasoning is simple. If pieces of trim feel cheap and fall off, what guarantee do I have that decelerating from 170 miles an hour my rotors aren't going to stay connected. Not true but that is the perception.

So GM and Chevrolet finally had to do what they should have done twenty years ago - give the Corvette an interior that would make Audi stand up and take notice. So we shall see whether they have or not.

Best

I agree with all of your assessment, however, the one point that sticks in my head is..The All American Sports Car, and Europe will continue to throw its best at our beloved Corvette, forcing GM to counter with more and more quality, in a car that was originally intended as a convertible, cruising, chick magnet, until all the johnny-come-lately Europeans got a look at the design and had to do everything they could to best it. Sure, look at our vast market, and suitors, versus Europe, and Asia. How would the Big Three Europeans build a relatively inexpensive sports car to put a grin on the face of the just-above-average American? ..they couldn't, at a price that makes sense, to this market. The Vette continues to grow, in tech, and finish, and I am sure GM, trying to stay to their roots, is attempting to keep its All American, still within those parameters, a car that, surely a just above average income working man, could aspire to own. Sometimes, the reality of the price of the Europeans is laughable, given average american incomes, would I love to own one of each brand...you better believe it!, but is it reality, or fantasy? in my case, fantasy, to own even one, but I still know, I can spring for a Corvette, maybe not a ZR-1, but I can realistically buy a lesser Vette, and I think that is really GM's intent, I do not believe I could make that statement about any of the Vette's European competition. Best, Derek

 

[rodinoma]

This was a good post but with a couple of cheap shots and I wonder why. If my memory serves me well, when Chevrolet Corvette C6.R was crossing the finishing line, the Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 and other great cars from Europe was in the rear view mirror in the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. Corvette was first LM GTE Pro Class. We were leading in 2012 until a pit crew mistake.

This is the worlds oldest 24 hour endurance race and the technology and mechanical reliability is proven on the race track.

Street Corvettes are mechanically reliable. The interior has always been lacking in previous models (no secret). Your basically talking about wealthy European peer pressure. However, Corvette is facing the same pressure as Harley Davidson in the area of aging market.

Go to youtube.com and search for Nueremburg ZR1. I believe Nueremburg is in Kansas (sarcasm).

2011 24 Hours of Le Mans - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I agree with you and I was not making a cheap shot - just explaning the cold reality of the positioning the Corvette finds itself in the market today. Nowhere else in the world can the average person buy a 400hp V8 powered sports car - it is what makes America great and it is for this reason that I have owned 4 Corvettes in Europe. And you are right that in the GT2 class Corvette has wiped the field with the Ferraris, Porsches and AMs - I dont think there is a better sports car out there. That GM has not been able to capitalise on these wins is another problem that is best left to the marketing department at Chevrolet to fix.

What has happened specifically in America though is that the Euro snobs will not touch it and the present base of Corvette aficionados has really been damaged by the global financial crisis and are dying off with fewer younger drivers to replace them. You see this in the numbers - what have average Corvette sales been these past few years? Much lower than the previous ten. The US vehicle market has a few pecularities that do not exist anywhere else in the world and make it hard for the Corvette to gain traction here and overseas. In the US we have artificially low gas prices; very low registration costs; ridiculously and dangerously low speed limits; high insurance rates and cars that are relatively speaking inexpensive relative to the rest of the world. So within these parameters what has happened?

(1) Low gasoline prices means that even buyers on average salaries can plump for big V8 powered vehicles including Corvettes. Internationally that is not the case and so V8 powered vehicles can only be purchased by the rich
(2) It costs virtually nothing to register a Corvette in the US - depending on the state from $300-$1000/year. In Europe the equivalent registration costs for a Corvette run from $1,300/year in the Uk to $9,000/year in Italy and France. So easy to buy in the US but hard in the rest of the OECD
(3) Speed limits - Given the dangerously low speed limits we have in the US it makes it hard for many to rationalise buying a car that can break 300 km/h - (186mph in funny money). After all what is the point of buying a fast GT if you cannot cruise at 200 kmh? In Europe though one can - so in this case it makes Corvettes very appealing as personal transportation but given the high costs to run a Corvette in Europe it is reserved for the affluent and the rich - and there are not that many 1% around that want a Corvette
(4) Ironically and to my point before insurance rates for Corvettes are much higher in the US than in Europe. And why is that? Because accident and mortality rates are higher in the US than in Europe notwithstanding the more aggressive driving styles and much faster speeds. Also we sue much more readily in the US than in Europe. But the bottom line is that even if a younger generation of drivers still has the burning desire to drive a Corvette they may not be able to afford the insurance
(5) So given that reduced interest, desirability and affordability of Corvettes in the US Chevrolet has to look for sales overseas. But overseas buyers given their parameters and given the costs of owning and running Corvettes want and need to see a premium interior. And if the 1%enters on their trips to St Tropez start seeing Corvettes maybe they will trade in their AMs for the Kentucky born sports car

I know which one I have and which one gives me the most enjoyment - the world is full of pre-conceived and fallacious notions. What can I say.

Best,

Mark
(5)

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Very well said, puts it all into perspective in my mind . . . . . . . .awesome!

God has blessed me with two pleasures I don't need but value as gifts: the joy of occasionally taking the wife and the vette out for a cruise, and the joy of music on a great 2 channel stereo system, including vintage vinyl!.

Look to this day,
For it is life,
The very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the verities of reality and existence;
The bliss of growth,
The splendor of action,
The glory of power -

For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today, well lived,
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

-Sanskrit Proverb

Remebering the reason for the season, I wish you a very merry Christmas and happy holiday season.
-Dave

Very well said, love it, love it. :BOW True words to live by for sure thanks for sharing this.

Bill

 

[SnakeDr]

I agree with you and I was not making a cheap shot - just explaning the cold reality of the positioning the Corvette finds itself in the market today. Nowhere else in the world can the average person buy a 400hp V8 powered sports car - it is what makes America great and it is for this reason that I have owned 4 Corvettes in Europe. And you are right that in the GT2 class Corvette has wiped the field with the Ferraris, Porsches and AMs - I dont think there is a better sports car out there. That GM has not been able to capitalise on these wins is another problem that is best left to the marketing department at Chevrolet to fix.

What has happened specifically in America though is that the Euro snobs will not touch it and the present base of Corvette aficionados has really been damaged by the global financial crisis and are dying off with fewer younger drivers to replace them. You see this in the numbers - what have average Corvette sales been these past few years? Much lower than the previous ten. The US vehicle market has a few pecularities that do not exist anywhere else in the world and make it hard for the Corvette to gain traction here and overseas. In the US we have artificially low gas prices; very low registration costs; ridiculously and dangerously low speed limits; high insurance rates and cars that are relatively speaking inexpensive relative to the rest of the world. So within these parameters what has happened?

(1) Low gasoline prices means that even buyers on average salaries can plump for big V8 powered vehicles including Corvettes. Internationally that is not the case and so V8 powered vehicles can only be purchased by the rich
(2) It costs virtually nothing to register a Corvette in the US - depending on the state from $300-$1000/year. In Europe the equivalent registration costs for a Corvette run from $1,300/year in the Uk to $9,000/year in Italy and France. So easy to buy in the US but hard in the rest of the OECD
(3) Speed limits - Given the dangerously low speed limits we have in the US it makes it hard for many to rationalise buying a car that can break 300 km/h - (186mph in funny money). After all what is the point of buying a fast GT if you cannot cruise at 200 kmh? In Europe though one can - so in this case it makes Corvettes very appealing as personal transportation but given the high costs to run a Corvette in Europe it is reserved for the affluent and the rich - and there are not that many 1% around that want a Corvette
(4) Ironically and to my point before insurance rates for Corvettes are much higher in the US than in Europe. And why is that? Because accident and mortality rates are higher in the US than in Europe notwithstanding the more aggressive driving styles and much faster speeds. Also we sue much more readily in the US than in Europe. But the bottom line is that even if a younger generation of drivers still has the burning desire to drive a Corvette they may not be able to afford the insurance
(5) So given that reduced interest, desirability and affordability of Corvettes in the US Chevrolet has to look for sales overseas. But overseas buyers given their parameters and given the costs of owning and running Corvettes want and need to see a premium interior. And if the 1%enters on their trips to St Tropez start seeing Corvettes maybe they will trade in their AMs for the Kentucky born sports car

I know which one I have and which one gives me the most enjoyment - the world is full of pre-conceived and fallacious notions. What can I say.

Best,

Mark
(5)

Well said.

Interesting Lamborghini problems below and the rich is clamoring to buy them.

Man burned in Lamborghini
Man Burned in Lamborghini Crash | NBC 7 San Diego

Mysterious Murcielago
Lamborghini Murcielago Crash

Lamborghini
Watch A $376,000 Lamborghini Burn To The Ground On A Test Drive

 

[c6Antonio]

C7

Will the C7 be at the Philadelphia car show in Janurary?OTE=WB9MCW;1116533]Well not much of a look but the hype sounds good.

I guess we will all see how they did with it once it is finally here.

The "across the pond" critics are the ones who always rip on the "cheap interior" of the vette.

So we will see how the C7 does with this tough crowd this time around.[/QUOTE]

 

[rodinoma]

Will the C7 be at the Philadelphia car show in Janurary?OTE=WB9MCW;1116533]Well not much of a look but the hype sounds good.

I guess we will all see how they did with it once it is finally here.

The "across the pond" critics are the ones who always rip on the "cheap interior" of the vette.

So we will see how the C7 does with this tough crowd this time around.

[/QUOTE]


The cheap interior critics are found more on this side of the Atlantic - very few Porsche, AM, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati owners in the US have cross bought a Corvette. The real snobs are here in the US. The Europeans just matter of factly report on the cheap Corvette interior - they sell so few in Europe (about 1,500) for the reasons explained above that it is not an issue for them. European drivers have much more demanding aesthetic and functional needs in their cars than American drivers - it is because cars are more expensive in Europe and driving conditions more demanding. Hence European prestige cars are built the way they are and there is a whole class of US driving poseurs that desire that - and who disdain the Corvette and its blue collar heritage. SO Chevrolet has to change their perceptions and dated assumptions and they will not du that until they have come up with an interior that bests the competition.

 

[killain]

5 days to go . . . and

I'm starting to believe the part that says "Nothing will be the same "


So I'm guessing even round tail lights as well ? Perhaps we've entered the Camaro-rama !

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Uh, not feeling it yet

Just haven't warmed up to the new Camaro yet :eyerole

Bill