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Going back to C8 Mid-Engine Corvette...?

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  #21  
Old 04-14-2019, 08:16 AM
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Originally Posted by xxaarraa
Surprised to hear that. I find the F-Type to be much tighter on the inside than my C7 was. So does my wife.
Personal body shape will determine fit. Tall fits into an F-Type if berth is limited. A slender 6’7” will clear the roof where a husky 6’2” will not. Has to do with seat padding. The Vette is more forgiving of a wide berth.
 
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Old 04-14-2019, 09:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Unhingd
Personal body shape will determine fit. Tall fits into an F-Type if berth is limited. A slender 6’7” will clear the roof where a husky 6’2” will not. Has to do with seat padding. The Vette is more forgiving of a wide berth.
Have you sat in both, or just hypothesizing? I find the length to be tighter in the F-Type than the C7, and I have owned both. I had competition seats in the C7 and they were a tighter fit than the F-Type R Seats.
 
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Old 04-14-2019, 11:42 AM
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Dang that's ugly.
 
  #24  
Old 04-14-2019, 02:04 PM
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I was planing on buying a 2016 Z06 before I landed the great deal on my F-Type. Glad I made that move, but still love Corvettes.
One thing I always liked about the Vette is the large trunk area.
The lack of storage was the main issue I had with the R8, Gallardo, Huracan, and other mid-engine cars- preventing road trips.
I am sure the ME Vette will also have a lot of storage, as GM has always pushed that.

Most recent article I read had the base "Stingray" using a ~500hp V8, and future higher performance models offering up to 1000hp with a twin-turbo V8 & electric front motor combo.
Can't wait to see the car in final release!
 
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Old 04-14-2019, 02:25 PM
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Originally Posted by xxaarraa
Have you sat in both, or just hypothesizing? I find the length to be tighter in the F-Type than the C7, and I have owned both. I had competition seats in the C7 and they were a tighter fit than the F-Type R Seats.
I have to admit the last Vette I sat in was a C4 and at 6’2” I was touching the headliner. I have over 4” of clearance in the F-Type. The Vette indeed had longer leg room, but much narrower.
 

Last edited by Unhingd; 04-14-2019 at 02:28 PM.
  #26  
Old 04-14-2019, 02:41 PM
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I had a C4 for years. Loved it... and hated it. Build quality was poor, as were interior materials.
Still...



I have driven the C5, C6, and the C7 Z06. They made huge improvements in the interior quality since the C4.
C7 with performance buckets:



I recall the interior to be a bit larger in the C7 Vette than the F-Type, but about the same size overall. The trunk was larger, the instrumentation and infotainment was better, and the trunk was huge. It also had 650hp, and a 7-speed manual.
Styling was a bit boy-racer for me, but damn.
Here is one I nearly bought, but the negotiations fell apart:



I am hoping GM knocks this Mid-Engine model out of the ballpark. They certainly have the resources.
 
  #27  
Old 04-14-2019, 03:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Tork Monster
I had a C4 for years. Loved it... and hated it. Build quality was poor, as were interior materials.
Still...
Whenever I hear build quality dings about the Vette, my blood starts to boil. My last car that I traded in for the F-Type R was a 2017 Lotus Evora 400 that was a giant pile of **** build quality wise. I have also owned a 996 C4S which was a pile of **** for interior quality. My college car was a Jetta, again, a pile of ****. Even my W204 C63 had some questionable interior plastics. European cars get the pass on build quality, and American cars particularly the vette gets chastised.

The C7 (my first American car BTW so I am no Vette fanboi) is a world class car. Far far better car in every definition than 100% of the cars in its price range, and 90% of cars twice its price range. If the C8 carries on the C7s refinement, it will also be a great car. I am definitely getting a C8 next.
 

Last edited by xxaarraa; 04-14-2019 at 03:23 PM.
  #28  
Old 04-14-2019, 04:14 PM
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Again, I'm not trying to get into a pissin' contest about my F-type is much more superior than the POS Vette, or vice versa.
Just for the next 3 yrs, it'll be interesting to see if both Jag & GM will up their game to give us a superior vehicle to choose from, esp much better value for our $.
Everyone's priority is different. Mine is HP per $.
Just disheartening that at my last service at the Jag dealer, salesman tried to convince to trade "up" from my 550 hp R for their brand new less than 300 hp 4 cylinder F-type for $75K...
 
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  #29  
Old 04-14-2019, 05:15 PM
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Originally Posted by xxaarraa
Whenever I hear build quality dings about the Vette, my blood starts to boil. My last car that I traded in for the F-Type R was a 2017 Lotus Evora 400 that was a giant pile of **** build quality wise. I have also owned a 996 C4S which was a pile of **** for interior quality. My college car was a Jetta, again, a pile of ****. Even my W204 C63 had some questionable interior plastics. European cars get the pass on build quality, and American cars particularly the vette gets chastised.
The C7 (my first American car BTW so I am no Vette fanboi) is a world class car. Far far better car in every definition than 100% of the cars in its price range, and 90% of cars twice its price range. If the C8 carries on the C7s refinement, it will also be a great car. I am definitely getting a C8 next.
I was speaking of my experience with my C4. The drivetrain was bulletproof, and the sport seats were the best I have ever been in.




However, I owned the car for 80,000+ miles, and the dependability & build quality was worse than other cars I've owned before or since. It was constantly in the shop for various things... so often that I bought a '66 T-Bird as a spare driver (another story).

I loved the car, but it had its issues.

I was not impressed with the C5 styling, and although the C6 was much better, the interior still had sub-par plastics throughout.
The C7 was a huge step forward, especially if you opted for the 3LZ trim.

GM has greatly improved the car each generation, and I am hopeful the C8 will be even better.
 
  #30  
Old 04-14-2019, 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by xxaarraa
Whenever I hear build quality dings about the Vette, my blood starts to boil. My last car that I traded in for the F-Type R was a 2017 Lotus Evora 400 that was a giant pile of **** build quality wise. I have also owned a 996 C4S which was a pile of **** for interior quality. My college car was a Jetta, again, a pile of ****. Even my W204 C63 had some questionable interior plastics. European cars get the pass on build quality, and American cars particularly the vette gets chastised.

The C7 (my first American car BTW so I am no Vette fanboi) is a world class car. Far far better car in every definition than 100% of the cars in its price range, and 90% of cars twice its price range. If the C8 carries on the C7s refinement, it will also be a great car. I am definitely getting a C8 next.
Did you ever look at the reliability track record of the C4? I'd feel more confident daily driving a neglected V12 XJS than one of those.

MB's and VW's have excellent build quality. Did you know that GM tried to copy the Jetta IV's interior with the Cobalt and failed massively? You can't compare a very small specialty company like Lotus that builds bare-bones sports cars to much of anything.
 
  #31  
Old 04-14-2019, 05:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Tork Monster
I was not impressed with the C5 styling, and although the C6 was much better, the interior still had sub-par plastics throughout.
The C7 was a huge step forward, especially if you opted for the 3LZ trim.

GM has greatly improved the car each generation, and I am hopeful the C8 will be even better.
The C5 was almost a step back in interior quality. The C5 was better than C4 interior, but the C4 was on par with cars around at the same time. The C5 was not which was the problem. I still crack up about the C5 interior door handles... GM took a lot of flack for the C5 interior, but they did up their game with the C6 and then again with the C7. Interested to see what the C8 will be inside and out.




Also, the thread title is a little misleading. It's suggesting GM has had semi-recent mid-engine Corvettes.
 
  #32  
Old 04-14-2019, 09:15 PM
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I had my C4 for 100k miles. Great handling, massively underpowered (205hp) until it it was cammed and tuned (300+hp), but rode like a buckboard and rattled itself apart. Over time, various body panels faded different shades of gray. I had it for 8 years, the shortest of any of my cars.
 
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  #33  
Old 04-14-2019, 09:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Jaggyx
Dang that's ugly.
Yup. It is further proof that in its sector (arguably in any sector) the Jaguar F-Type has no rival for beauty and balance. The proportions of the Corvette scream adolescent Boy Racer (and that is quite apart from the camouflage).
 
  #34  
Old 04-15-2019, 06:52 AM
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Originally Posted by AJ16er
MB's and VW's have excellent build quality.
They have a reputation for excellent build quality, which isn't quite the same thing.
From what I've heard, things have deteriorated in recent years.
 
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Old 04-15-2019, 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Jaggyx
Dang that's ugly.
It's more than just camo on the car, so I wouldn't put out judgement just yet. However, it's going to be Corvette so it will likely have some old school Corvette traits (like the hood and tail lights).
 
  #36  
Old 04-15-2019, 01:18 PM
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Originally Posted by scm
They have a reputation for excellent build quality, which isn't quite the same thing.
From what I've heard, things have deteriorated in recent years.
Is this collaborated by evidence or merely heresay? Reputations don't arise out of nothing - they 're earned, whether good or bad. Just like GM has earned their reputation for making poorly built and unreliable vehicles. They can't even get a Jetta competitor right.
2011 Chevrolet Cruze | CarComplaints.com
 
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Old 04-15-2019, 01:30 PM
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Originally Posted by AJ16er
Is this collaborated by evidence or merely heresay? Reputations don't arise out of nothing - they 're earned, whether good or bad. Just like GM has earned their reputation for making poorly built and unreliable vehicles. They can't even get a Jetta competitor right.
2011 Chevrolet Cruze | CarComplaints.com
Are you serious?
Comparing a 8 yr old study from the year 2011? On their cheapest car?

Try looking at a current year 2019 J D Powers study:
https://www.jdpower.com/cars/ratings

Look who has the most awards: Chevy & Toyota
 
  #38  
Old 04-15-2019, 02:54 PM
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Originally Posted by AJ16er
Reputations don't arise out of nothing - they 're earned, whether good or bad.
Agreed. But perception of reputation often lingers long after it continues to be deserved. Jaguar still has a bad reputation in some quarters from its appalling British Leyland days back in the 70s and 80s. Completely undeserved nowadays, of course, but ....
 
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Old 04-15-2019, 03:36 PM
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Originally Posted by scm
Completely undeserved nowadays, of course, but ....
JLR reputation is 100% deserved insofar as I am concerned and based on my ownership experience.
 
  #40  
Old 04-15-2019, 04:13 PM
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We'll have to agree to disagree about that one, then ...
 


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