Corvette production stops

May 7, 10:04 PMTampa Sports Car ExaminerMichael Berenis

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Tampa Sports Car Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

With all of the economic talk of small econo-box vehicle futures, it brings up a very important question to sports car enthusiasts across the board. "Will Corvette production stop?" This is scary to even consider, but things aren't looking to bright. Most people assume that due to GM's current fiscal situation, it is likely that the Corvette will no longer be made past 2010. However, according to a recent interview with GM CEO Fritz Henderson, this is not going to happen.

The Corvette model according to GM CEO Fritz Henderson is still under R&D, and GM has plans of producing a C7 Corvette generation. This is good news for enthusiasts, but it might just be corporate fluff. In my honest opinion, GM has no say whether or not the Corvette will be produced. It's up to the market, and the free will of consumers determines whether or not the Corvette continues production. If people start buying up Corvettes now, we can increase the chance of the Corvette staying around longer. If you have any plans of buying a Corvette, now is a better time than ever. Do it before it's too late!

In order for General Motors to produce a car, they must see that it's profitable. A smart company like General Motors understands that you must produce what people want.  This high stake gamble is what landed GM into bankruptcy, billions of dollars in tax payer funding, and worse yet; loss of customer base. All because they couldn't properly retool lines to change production from truck majority to econobox majority.

The majority of vehicles made by General Motors has been utility vehicles, trucks, and other large equipment used commercially around the world. This is the selling car game at it's finest because they were properly tooled for a current market. Some unforseen circumstances occured, and completely lobsided the market to smaller, more economical customer base. GM is so big, they could not keep up and retool fast enough. It's not that they didn't want to, it was not logically possible considering the shear magnitude of General Motors. Game over, continue?

What will the government do with General Motors? They've already canceled the high performance division aka "SS program" which brought us great performance vehicles like the Z06, Trail blazer SS, Silverado SS, and the Cobalt SS. The Corvette has something in common with these vehicles; high performance.

If the Corvette lives past the bankruptcy of General Motors, it will not be the same. Consider the ZR-1 as the "good bye" to the muscle car era. Thank you to General Motors for producing the ZR-1, sports car enthusiasts everywhere love you for it. Unfortunately, the last of a dieing breed considering ecological, economical, and fiscal circumstances.

Welcome to environmentally friendly car production. There has even been talk about smaller engine Corvettes, like a supercharged 4.8 liter. The big bang era of huge engines is gone thanks to "clean & green" the world efforts. The problem of pollution isn't by vehicles, it's an issue because energy companies failed to reinvest in new technology. Now the small guys have to pay for the big brutes mistakes, why tackle the big problem when you can tackle the small one and get just as much glory? It's a shame that we (small problem) have to convert before big energy (big problem) has to convert. General opinion amongst sports car enthusiasts: Sour.

Video content: Tribute to Corvette

Summary: "Will Corvette production stop?"

Take a look at where technology is going today, and you will see why the Corvette as we know it is a dieing breed and chances are high production will cease. Almost all top performance vehicles today use smaller, more efficient engines. Look at the prototypes of tomorrow released at this years auto shows; they're all small engine econo-box sports cars. The future of the Corvette officially by GM is still in good standing, but we all know better than that. The Corvette and big block performance died when gas hit $5.00 per gallon, this new generation of smaller engine Corvette is nothing more than marketing and to many enthusiasts will not be the same vehicle. Eventually, the Corvette could possibly be an electric based sports car; Take a look at the Dodge Circuit EV.

Good bye big block Corvettes, we'll all miss your rumble.

 Related articles:

• Will gasoline become illegal?
• Free car babes: Corvette girls
• 1000's of free car babes slideshow
• 2010 Camaro SS quarter mile video
• Classic Corvettes and collectibles
• 2009 Hennessey Corvette ZR1 standing mile run
• Corvette ZR1 top speed run
• The 254 mph Sledgehammer Corvette
• Is General Motors claiming bankruptcy?
• Corvette vs Ferrari
• Chevrolet Camaro performance parts
• Chevrolet Corvette performance parts

Read more about the author's car at http://subaru-offroad.blogspot.com