How is GM able to sell the Corvette for so cheap?
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 5,881
Likes: 0
From: Corn Country
Right now I think the people who want a sports car and really don't care too much about the performance look for 3 options now:
Corvette
M3
Cayman
If the vette becomes too expensive, people buy the M3 or Cayman
Corvette
M3
Cayman
If the vette becomes too expensive, people buy the M3 or Cayman
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,393
Likes: 0
Its simple, they dont waste their money developing variable valve timing and other things like that and instead use simple technologies such as pushrods and leif springs that have zero sex appeal to some people but out perform the so called "high tech" automotive competition.
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,393
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by xviper,Nov 16 2005, 12:38 PM
There is another way to look at this.
Maybe the Vette isn't cheap. Maybe it's priced just right. Maybe everthing else in this catagory is simply overpriced.
Also, one must look at more than just performance numbers. One might want to look at build quality, shakes and rattles, leaks and repairs. Maybe we should see what a 5 year old or a 10 year old daily driven Vette looks like. How many leaks has it developed? How many things have needed to be repaired? What was the total expenditure per mile over a decade? It's not fair to say how good a garage queen is after 10 years of driving it for a couple thousand miles a year.
Remember the "King of the Hill" ZR-1? I had one. I drove it daily - spring, summer, fall and winter. It didn't last a week into winter before something leaked. It was in the shop for some thing or another every other month. But man, did it PERFORM! It was a monster for its day. Was it cheap? Not even close.
My S2000 is also daily driven, 4 seasons. It's over 5 years old. Nothing has started to leak and it has never seen the inside of a service bay since the day I took delivery. Nothing has broken that I didn't accidentally break myself. Is it cheap? It's a bargain.
Everything is relative.
Maybe the Vette isn't cheap. Maybe it's priced just right. Maybe everthing else in this catagory is simply overpriced.
Also, one must look at more than just performance numbers. One might want to look at build quality, shakes and rattles, leaks and repairs. Maybe we should see what a 5 year old or a 10 year old daily driven Vette looks like. How many leaks has it developed? How many things have needed to be repaired? What was the total expenditure per mile over a decade? It's not fair to say how good a garage queen is after 10 years of driving it for a couple thousand miles a year.
Remember the "King of the Hill" ZR-1? I had one. I drove it daily - spring, summer, fall and winter. It didn't last a week into winter before something leaked. It was in the shop for some thing or another every other month. But man, did it PERFORM! It was a monster for its day. Was it cheap? Not even close.
My S2000 is also daily driven, 4 seasons. It's over 5 years old. Nothing has started to leak and it has never seen the inside of a service bay since the day I took delivery. Nothing has broken that I didn't accidentally break myself. Is it cheap? It's a bargain.
Everything is relative.
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,490
Likes: 0
From: Santa Clarita, CA
Originally Posted by xviper,Nov 16 2005, 12:38 PM
Also, one must look at more than just performance numbers. One might want to look at build quality, shakes and rattles, leaks and repairs. Maybe we should see what a 5 year old or a 10 year old daily driven Vette looks like. How many leaks has it developed? How many things have needed to be repaired? What was the total expenditure per mile over a decade? It's not fair to say how good a garage queen is after 10 years of driving it for a couple thousand miles a year.
Remember the "King of the Hill" ZR-1? I had one. I drove it daily - spring, summer, fall and winter. It didn't last a week into winter before something leaked. It was in the shop for some thing or another every other month. But man, did it PERFORM! It was a monster for its day. Was it cheap? Not even close.
Remember the "King of the Hill" ZR-1? I had one. I drove it daily - spring, summer, fall and winter. It didn't last a week into winter before something leaked. It was in the shop for some thing or another every other month. But man, did it PERFORM! It was a monster for its day. Was it cheap? Not even close.
1. Brakes squeak and have since 1,500 miles. This is due to the compound Chevy uses in their pads. They think it is normal and I think it is embarrassing. I am going to get a different pad.
2. I feel like my C6 consumes too much oil. They are doing a consumption test, but thus far Chevy says my consumption is normal. We'll see.
Other then that, I am amazed at the overall quality. I have no delusions that this will offer Acura/Honda or Lexus/Toyota reliability, but C6 seems to be a great improvement over previous offerings.
Registered User
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 9,512
Likes: 478
From: Dallas
As the resident Corvette fanatic, I'll chime in with 3 primary reasons:
1. Smart engineering
2. Many years of evolutionary experience
3. Economies of Scale - the more you build, the cheaper each unit becomes.
1. Smart engineering
2. Many years of evolutionary experience
3. Economies of Scale - the more you build, the cheaper each unit becomes.
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 37,305
Likes: 19
Originally Posted by Christople,Nov 16 2005, 02:42 PM
Right now I think the people who want a sports car and really don't care too much about the performance look for 3 options now:
Corvette
M3
Cayman
If the vette becomes too expensive, people buy the M3 or Cayman
Corvette
M3
Cayman
If the vette becomes too expensive, people buy the M3 or Cayman
The Cayman is not a real world known commodity as yet, but don't you think that people who buy Vettes and M3s THINK about performance? I sure do.
I hate to tell ya, but around here, a well equipped M3 costs about the same as a C6 Vette - both running around $70,000.00 Cdn. I haven't checked on the Caymen price, but a well equipped Boxster S is in the same ball park. If the Vette goes up in price, I would think that is reflecting the market conditions and the others will also rise in price.
Registered User
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 9,512
Likes: 478
From: Dallas
Originally Posted by xviper,Nov 16 2005, 01:03 PM
But Mercury Marine built it.
You had a problem with the LT5? Not unheard of, but fairly surprising. Save for a few anciallary parts on the motor, the engine itself was nearly bulletproof.
I still remember a crazy haired old man at Texas World Speedway during a lapping weekend. He had well over 100k miles on his early ZR1 and dozens and dozens, maybe hundreds of drag strip passes spraying nitrous and he was just flat running the crap out of this ZR1.
How did I know? He had headers and a nearly open exhaust. It was one of the loudest cars I ever heard. Due to my mad driving skilz
I passed him a few times over the course of the weekend in my old modded '01 C5 and it was all I could do to keep from blowing my ears out even with a full faced helmet on. 
It sounded beautiful.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 7,981
Likes: 10
From: mount airy
they are cheap compared to a 911 or a Ferrari. But $50+K for a vert isn't exactly cheap as all get out.
For the price of a C6 vert you could buy a S2000 + Civic Si (for example). Probably you could buy a S2000 + TSX after options on the price of a Vette.
Plus some times the C6 haven't been exactly cheap. Take the 50th anniversary Vette with special paint and badges, that cost another $5K. Or a Commemorative Edition Z06 that has a hood decal and CF hood that cost's another $5K.
IMO the base vette may be close to a loss leader, but the full boat cars that they sell a lot of (I'd bet) they're making plenty of money on.
For the price of a C6 vert you could buy a S2000 + Civic Si (for example). Probably you could buy a S2000 + TSX after options on the price of a Vette.
Plus some times the C6 haven't been exactly cheap. Take the 50th anniversary Vette with special paint and badges, that cost another $5K. Or a Commemorative Edition Z06 that has a hood decal and CF hood that cost's another $5K.
IMO the base vette may be close to a loss leader, but the full boat cars that they sell a lot of (I'd bet) they're making plenty of money on.