Chevrolet Corvette Z06 podcast

Johnny O'Connell ia an absolute genius behind the wheel. I could not finish listening to the podcast because he says "you know" every third word and it drove me crazy!

Make the Corvette it's own franchise. It's the one thing GM hasn't screwed up yet by cross breeding it with an import.

GM blew it with engineering on the Chevy Uplander.You can opt for the trailer package but you can't find a hitch to fit it yet as they are now being manufactured???
My Silhouette had mud flaps.My uplander has the holes drilled for it but again they are not available yet??
Why weren't they included with the car.
This is my 5th GM vehicle.1 Chev 4 Oldsmobiles and now back to the Chev as the Olds is gone-disappointed and frustrated now with GM

Never was a statue erected to a critic. I know, I know...it's CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. What's more constructive than a progressive positive attitude towards the #1 brand?

I agree with Cody.

Make Corvette its own separate franchise, and only allow some dealerships to sell them. There are some really tacky, old Chevy facilities out there that have no business selling a $50k car. Only allow Chevy dealers with newer facilites, and who are willing to dedicate a specific area of the showroom to Corvette, to sell it. After all, if I'm buying a Corvette, I don't want to mix with the "rif-raf" looking at Aveos and Malibus. And it sure doesn't help Corvette's image to be paired with those cars in the showroom.

If not every Chevy dealer sold Vettes, then volume would go up for those who do. Therefore, some high-volume Corvette dealers might even build separate showrooms just for Corvette. Picture a showroom with a coupe, a convertible, and a Z06 on display, color option displays, a Magnetic Ride option display, nice lighting (like at new Cadillac showrooms), nice signage, and a few Vettes parked out front. It doesn't have to be a huge building, and service facilites could still be shared with the main Chevy facility.

Maybe non-Chevy dealers -- especially dealers of luxury makes (Cadillac and even non-GM brands) -- should be considered for Corvette franchises as well.

GM should also offer a Cadillac-like 4/50 warranty on the Vette. It's ridiculous that they don't.

I also beg of GM: in your new franchise agreements, please mandate that your dealerships be allowed to fly no more than one American flag at a time. The flags at car dealerships are out of control and tacky, and they cheapen Old Glory.

Is there any chance for a "smaller" Corvette?

The comment regarding the use of our National Flag as a piece of advertising is on target. Some of the dealerships are plain "tacky" and would benefit from a good cooth class.

dave: If you don't enjoy the "rif raf" in a Chevrolet dealership, then maybe you should be purchasing an XLR and not a Corvette. The Corvette is an unbelievably nice vehicle, but it is no luxury car. It is priced 10k higher than the SSR. Honestly, I think the new Chevrolets are pretty nice, especially the new Cobalt coupe (not the sedan--there is no good reason why the sedan had to debut with the rear clip of the Pontiac Pursuit...the sedan rear is distinctly Pontiac and not Chevrolet. How hard would it have been to put the coupe rear on the sedan?) and Aveo that was recently unveiled. Right now, GM's best assets are its small cars for the Chevrolet division. The Corvette, with its image of performance, is well suited to the SS sub-brand of Chevrolet. One is pretty much dependent on the other. Chevrolet's racing history also plays well into Corvette history.

Bob,

Please disregard any recommendation to move Corvette out from under Chevrolet Motor Division. To most folk the Chevrolet name represents affordable performance and Corvette certainly beats it's competition, bang-for-buck.

While I'm not in the market for a new Vette, I would race down to my nearest chevy house if you were to offer the Nomad (concept car)!!! This car is the direction y'all need to focus towards--A retro RWD hot rod that is capable of solid performance and economy.

Dave--Dealership appearance is important, to a degree. A well-maintained and clean older facility tells me more about a dealership than a new pretty one. Pride in ownership equates pride in service to it's customers!

What is important is a technically competent service department and how accommodating the dealership is to my wife and me when there is a service issue.

And about the American flag; this thirty-year Air Force vet thinks you cannot have enough of them aloft. Just don't display them in disrepair.

Oh yea.....Bob, did I mention I would really like to have a brand new Nomad in my Garage? I bet there are thousands that would want the same!

Stop hyping the halo vehicles!

These are the gotta-haves at the gotta-pass prices.

Hype the regular-joe cars!

Assuming, of course, that they're worth the hype. If Ford can build a compact cheapo car that journalists can call "fun to drive" (i.e. the Focus), then surely you can too. Then you'll see some results.

Bob: Stop trying to have all brands be all things to al people. Distill the brands down to their unique identity:

1) Chevy: Value, Value, Value
2) Pontiac: Performance and Styling (in that order!)
3) Buick: Conservative, peerless quality and refinement (American Lexus)
4) Cadillac: The Standard of the World (You're on the right track, but don't price yourselves past the market)
5) Saab: Well, let them be Saab. Nerd cars for nerds.

What you then need is a brand to take on the luxury performance cars, like the G35, Acura TSX/TL, Audi A3/A4, and BMW 1/3 series:

This will sound crazy, but buy Alfa Romeo from FIAT. You get a brand with a performance heritage, great styling, huge name recognition. Now all they need is investment in quality and subsystem engineering. We all know FIAT will sell 'em cheap.

Ok, I'm biased. I owned one of 30 1995 Alfa 164Q's imported their last year (It was a d**n fine car, but unreliable as all get out), and I'd like to see them back in the game here.

Bob,

Nice to see the LS7 engine rated at 505 ponies. Is there any way get one of those in a Solstice?

Also, was the LS7 engine used in the Monaro 427 or was that a different 7.0?

I think it's time to bring back "The Humbler" to pipe those Ford guys down with their new Mustang. I will take mine with 455 cu in. based on the LS7 block.

Has GM considered that most Corvette owners are probably over 50, trying to relive their teenage fantasies?

How about a Corvette Jr., priced below $16K fully equipped, to appeal to today's teenagers?

The term "niche" vehicle is a code word for "cash sinkhole". SSR, Z06, GTO, XLR, H2, are the first ones that come to mind. When you consider all the development costs, facility and tooling investment, marketing budgets, and manufacturing costs, compared to the total profit potential that can be expected from a limited production vehicle, it is clear that GM devotes too many resources and too much capital into the niche cars. It also seems that the bread and butter cash cows that actually pay the bills get second class treatment.
Forget the halo vehicles and concentrate on the high volume cars.
And the sooner you face up to the fact that the hydrogen economy is a ridiculous dream and quit pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into fuel cell cars, the better. Instead of thinking about how to be best postured for sales in 2025, you need to worry about staying solvent until 2025.

There was a "Corvette Jr." once. It was price in the high teens / low 20s, and offered V8 power and great looks, and was an incredible value.

It was called Camaro.

Bring it back for gods sake!

The new Z06 is the only thing that's kept me from buying a Viper. So far, it looks like a better all around car in addition to more my style on the track.

However, if Chevy announced a convertible Z06 with a factory 4pt roll bar, I'd write a check today rather than waiting to see.

Too bad I will never be able to afford a Vette, However,
I could afford a CAMARO but they don't build it anymore.
Thanks Bob, You and the rest of the big wigs know your stuff.

What was the design logic in changing the driver's right side lower under dash facia panel on the C6 (flatened out vrs. the concave/convex of the C5 design) as I am 6'4" with a 34 1/2 inseam and fit fairly well (at least 1" clearance)in my '01 C5, but my right lower leg has zero clearance under the C6 dash. I understand that the Corvette Plant Manager has been driving a C6 & new ZO6. What was modified to get him and hopefully me later, into the new Corvette? Thanks, dt

Corvette is a nice car, but where is anything affordable, rwd with a v8?

Part of GM's problem is not plugging the most glaring holes in their lineup in the highest volume segments first.

A $25,000-30,000 v8 could sell 100,000 units annually. Instead, GM brings to market first a $76,000 Xlr which sells about 4,000 units annually. The same thing can be said about building the two miata clones before the high volume coupe.

I grew up with GM cars in the family and if we owned anything else it was around very long. It is sad that I am no longer brand loyal. I own 3 late model cars, a Vette, Tahoe and a Dodge. The reason for my lack of brand loyality is most GM's cars are boring. I rent new cars all the time and GM is the king of generic, plane jane cars.

Maybe it is time to ask yourself this question: what would Harley Earl do? (WWHE braclets?) I think he was not a happy camper about being cited in the recent Buick commerical.

Very few GM car excite people these days. The the Vette is one major exception I can think of. Why is that? It holdss it own with competition, and it is not part of a generic GM mold.

Leave Dave Hill and company to do their own thing and the car will last another 50 years.

Can GM sell 100,000 units per year on a new model? No question, yes you can and you did in 1979 with the Trans Am. It pains me to think GM waved the white flag with the Firebird and Camaro and the Mustang lives on.

Clearly, you need to get after this market again with a car under $30K that excites the population on more time. Don't go half _ss either like the GTO with its very generic shell. How about a car with more than 3 interior color choices like in the 70's? There are other colors besides black, gray and tan.

If you let the bean counters tell you all about cost savings you will continue to lose share. If you really want to freak out the accounting folks how about a Pontiac with a Pontiac engine? It's all about making people loyal one more time. GM needs to recapture the passion. Step one Mr. Lutz, go to a car show with cars no newer than 25 years old. Listen to the way the folks talk about these cars. They love them, and each car was very different. A 442 was very different from a GTO, Chevelle or Buick GNX. Think this is dated thinking? If you think yes, then just ditch the nameplates and have the GM brand. The day that happens the party is over.

I can write a book here, but I won't. I do think the new Z06 will make most of us think there is still hope. I will end in saying that when I drive my pristine 79 TA I get more traffic light nods of approval and compliments than any new GTO will ever get.

Time to bring back passion and build brand loyality. Tell the bean counters the sales and profits will follow.

When is GM going to stop the downhill slide? The only good thing they have going for them right now is the new Z06, of which I am desperately waiting to take delivery of. Look at their trucks, they are consistently losing ground to Ford and the others due to the fact that they have not changed and updated that truck in 10 years. Changing the taillights, or headlights does not cut it.
But the main problem GM has as a corporation is that they continue to let each of their divisions try to be everything to everybody. They just cannibalize themselves and have no distinct meaning and image for each division. They have got to go back to at least the 60's when a Cadillac meant the top of the line, then Buick, etc. You can't make a $ 80,000.00 XLR and a little CTS for $30,000.00 and establish an image. By the way, can anyone tell a CTS from a STS without having them side by side?
The other thing GM has to do is improve the quality of the materials, and the designs of the interiors, particularly dashboards etc. of their cars. The interior of the new STS for
$ 50 K + is a joke.
The other thing that GM loves to do is try to solve everything by volume, volume, volume. This is evident in their dealer inventories taking 100+ days to turn, and many leftovers of the previous years, when the new model year debuts.
The other thing GM has pretty much ruined is the Hummer. They could care less about the H1, but they can't wait to see how many H2's they can produce, to flood the market and destroy the exclusive image of the Hummer name. Again, they don't care about the image of their divisions, just how many vehicles they can produce and shove off to the dealers to sit on. I can't believe what I read in Autoweek this past week from the gal heading up Hummer marketing saying she wants a baby Hummer under 20K, where does it end, isn't the H2 and H3 humiliating enough.
When I had heard that Bob Lutz was coming from Chrysler, where he did a great job on vehicle development, to go to GM, I thought finally they might turn the behemoth around. Where are you Bob? Are your hands tied by Wagonner? I tell you what, if GM doesn't staighten their act out soon, hopefully to be spurred by Kerkorian, we are going to witness one of the greatest American car manufacturers being bought by the Chinese.
Sometimes you have to have tough love.

I just learned that the base price on the '06 Z06 will be $65K and its 0-60 time is 3.7! Exterior colors are Metallic Red, Blue, Sebring Orange, Silver, Black, and Yellow. All interiors will be Ebony with two insert options (red or gray) for some exterior colors.

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Is there going to be 2008 ZO6 Stingray with 600hp? I read GM was thinking about buiding one.

a z06 stingray would rock!!

What is the latest news on the pontiac solstice coupe? Mr. Lutz strongly hinted at production some time ago. But still no word. Sorry but I refuse to buy the roadster! The EDAG station wagon conversion is tempting but will rattle and squeak like heck after some road time. Many of us still prefer the styling of the 2002 orange coupe mock-up that was shown in Detroit with the grey roadster. Please GM give it the green light before too long!

I have owned corvettes for years and still have a tricked out C-5 coupe. But I just got a 2007 Z06 and let me tell you, You cannot put a price on this machine. It is a Beast and the most beautiful car out.

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