Comments on: GM designer: Next Corvette to feature split window design

By: Bankruptcy2009

Bankruptcy2009 — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 11:33:24 +0000

Well Split window or not you’ll have at least 2 windshields now in your Corvette to watch me pull out of site in my Ford Mustang in front of you and then begin to Dominate . Oh Yeah! How do you like it Chevy Guys Oh Yeah another Battle Won!

By: floor_it

floor_it — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:40:10 +0000

change is inevitable, but…

I understand the loss of flip up lights:
-less weight
-more aerodynamic
-modern design

But a split window…?
-More weight
-more expensive
-added equipment

Keep it moving forward, GM. Let the engineers build the car, then the artists can polish it. And keep the bean counters as far away as possible from the Corvette…

By: davebo

davebo — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:00:48 +0000

I don’t understand why they would have it as an option? I mean, on the original was the bar needed for stability or something? If it doesn’t serve some structural purpose, then who would pay more money to have a big vertical bar placed in the middle of the rear window? I’d say either make it standard on all models and just have a weird looking Corvette generation, or don’t do it at all.

By: DenverGuy217

DenverGuy217 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:24:34 +0000

I agree. keep it as an option, not as a standard item.

It’s not a positive marketing message when you announce something and then immediately have to retreat with an explaination on how you can overcome the inherent design flaw

“With the back-up cameras and blind-spot detection systems that we have these days, the visibility issue is much less of a problem.”

There wouldn’t BE a visibility issue if you would just put in a normal rear window. Don’t force me to to look down at a camera image on the dash. Why must manufacturers complicate things.

By: JPizzzle

JPizzzle — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:09:46 +0000

I don’t think people will have an issue with “visibility” but more a problem with looking back at a bar…i use my rear view often and would probably upset me if i had to look around a bar…cool idea, keep it as a concept or possibly an option…

By: ml350pc

ml350pc — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:56:50 +0000

Even with front engine, rear transmission and rear battery the Corvette has a nearly perfect 50/50 weight distribution so mid engine would simply be a window dressing feature or a platform that could throw all styling caution to the wind.

If anyone has watched the American LeMans Racing, the GT2 Vette in its current form is eating the mid engine Ferarri F430 for lunch……Just Sayin!!!!!

With regard to the styling, I think it is perfectly natural to draw inspiration from previous generation Corvettes. On that point the Porsche 911 has been the same tired shape for years, talk about retro.

By: reedfast

reedfast — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:02:17 +0000

are they gonna bring back white walls too!

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

By: SoTXFord

SoTXFord — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:16:50 +0000

I agree about the retro thing; it’s a complete lack of originality…but on the other hand, it works. The S197 Mustang has been a huge success for Ford and it’s a blatant throw back to Mustangs past (full disclosure, I own an 09)… Its really no suprise that Dodge and GM followed suit with what appears to be simular sucess… people just like it. The fact that the fit and finish has greatly improved on these vehicles at the same time probably helps as well.

By: El Flaco

El Flaco — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:38:28 +0000

GM don’t f this up. You already have a very Ferrari-esque shape on the Vette. Expand on that a bit by giving it some Ferrari 459 Italia type headlights. Most successful sports car companies do not fundamentally change there cars shape, like Porsche, Lamborghini, and Ferrari. Do the same don’t get all drastic like those sketches that were provided, they look very Cadillac XLR which we all know was a huge sales success.

On a side note fix the damn interior, that is the only thing that is keeping me from buying a Vette the interior looks cheaper than the one in the Chevrolet Aveo. If you do fix the interior don’t make it all complicated looking like the CTS with its button bonanza. Give it a real radio not one that is the size of a shoe box.

Good luck to you and me if you get it right you’ve got my money!

By: davebo

davebo — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:27:32 +0000

I don’t know, I’m not that big a fan of updating retro designs or trying “new innovative things” I like when cars just naturally progress from one generation to the next. The C5 was a good change from the C4, and the C6 was a pretty small but nice change from the C5. I’m fine with keeping things in that direction. What I like most about the C6 is that so little changed that it doesn’t make my C5 seem horribly outdated yet.

By: graycav56

graycav56 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:58:35 +0000

Not sure this is a good thing. The split window went away because it hampered rear visibility, both on the street and the track. Rear cameras (I have one on my Silverado) are not the same as having a good, uninterrupted view.

This seems to be a disturbing trend throughout the industry, and it hasn’t been just the past few years. For what seems decades, visibility has been reduced with rising beltlines, lower roofs and more radical windshield and backlight angles.

Folks used to complain about the sail panels on the 66-67 GM A bodies and the later Chargers…heck those are tiny blind spots compared to the slit view you get from a new Camaro or Charger.

Put somebody behind the wheel of a BMW 2002 or a 320i to see how improved visibility leads to an improved driving experience.

By: F50

F50 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:53:44 +0000

I prefer the Older C3 Corvette over the Split Window C2

By: global_lightning

global_lightning — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:50:35 +0000

A split-window should not be confused with the split-tail you normally find in the driver’s seat of the automatic transmission version of the ‘Vette.

As for an MR version, this has been a perenial topic since the 1960’s. GM will float the idea of an MR layout, or turbo-6, or AWD, or dilithium crystal warp drive, etc., etc… Then the plebian masses will scream in horror and GM backs off. Hell, even removing the pop-up headlights was controversial. They like their Corvettes Front-Rear and with pushrod V8s. Anything else is just asking for trouble.

By: armstealer

armstealer — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:31:54 +0000

?Why does the split window dictate front engine?

By: leftwingagenda

leftwingagenda — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:25:46 +0000

wahhhh

By: ygxoyn

ygxoyn — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:00:02 +0000

It’s 2009, stop endlessly looking back into the past. I won;t like a metal bar in the middle of my rear view mirror…

By: JSi

JSi — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:58:00 +0000

@ daiso if you confuse a corvette with a ferrari, you know nothing about cars and you just lost all credibility…anyhow… what happened with that concept from transformers II ? i think it was brilliant as a concept and if they can borrow some of those lines and put em on a production car, it would be a great car!

By: A4

A4 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:45:11 +0000

Funny, iafb83, you think you would have said the same to Mercedes about their Gullwing…

By: Bosley

Bosley — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:36:10 +0000

Retro is the only thing people can think of in car design, as in movies these days for example. There’s so little originality that older car models are being resurrected like old comics, graphic novels, or even older movie plots seem to be the genre that movie makers are stealing ideas from rather than coming up with new ones. I guess nostalgia is a powerful motivator when it comes to separating ’sheeple’ from their hard earned greenbacks……

By: elviososa

elviososa — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:32:59 +0000

just hope that the car won’t split itself!

By: iafb83

iafb83 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:47:47 +0000

The 63 stingray looked too much like a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing. GM –> stop making everything look ‘retro’ and come up with something new. The current Vette looks good, how about improving on that.

By: leftwingagenda

leftwingagenda — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:32:26 +0000

lutz has been quoted as saying the change to a mid-engine layout is too expensive at this time, not that it was a violation of tradition…so it think it’s safe to say that it could happen, should financial circumstances change, but not until then…

By: leftwingagenda

leftwingagenda — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:29:51 +0000

i could imagine some ferrari wedgieness (yup, i made that up) in the current vette’s rear end…that old 80s vette had a concave rear facia, which was cool at the time (i still like that look)…but they lost that character contour and flattened/slanted it in more of an italian supercar style in recent years…

i also wouldn’t mind there being two versions of the next vette, with the stingray split-window version a special edition, and not the mainstream car…

By: SoTXFord

SoTXFord — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:23:53 +0000

Actually, when Ferrari made the 599 my first impression was “Why is Ferrari making a Vette clone?”

Anyway, if GM was to take the Vette into a MR layout I think it would be a slap in the face to the Corvette faithful…Better handling or not, there are just somethings you dont change out of tradition and others because if it ain’t broke, dont fix it…just ask Porsche why they havent changed the 911’s RR layout…

By: A4

A4 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:03:39 +0000

Daiso, please, explain to me how the hell a Corvette rips off a Ferrari. Considering its current shape can be traced pretty closely right back to the 1983 Corvette (and arguably before that), I highly doubt that is the case.

By: teahead

teahead — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:46:54 +0000

Lame.

Should change it to be mid-engine.

By: Cardemon04

Cardemon04 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:25:12 +0000

well… there’s a reason they got rid of the split window so quickly. I’m all for nostalgia, but this is a horrible idea. why does it seem like all the ideas for the C7 corvettes suck? sounds like I wont have to worry about “oh, now I wanna trade in my C6 for a C7″ syndrome.

By: shaver

shaver — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:00:57 +0000

WRC is coming to US, here is the schedule on Disco HD theatre. I’m throwing a huge party Oct 4th.
http://www.rallybuzz.com/wrc-discovery-hd-theater-schedule/

By: SomeGreek

SomeGreek — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:43:32 +0000

The more character the better.
And they should also take some time with the interior as well and the cheap looking builting quality. So that there won’t be any more critisism about it.

By: BlueIndependent

BlueIndependent — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:17:14 +0000

I think such a design would be pretty daring in this day and age of more-better safety. Obviously it’ll still have a camera, but I think the greenhouse would have to be pretty tight behind the passengers’ heads for the split window to work well. The 1963 Corvette is a much smaller car than today’s machine.

That said, I was kind of hoping GM would go further in breaking the Vette’s traditional mold by taking a more Ferrari-style layout. But the Vette already performs very well compared to Ferraris, so the argument that it might perform better is a bit moot. Doing such a thing might drive the cost up a lot too. It almost certainly would drive up0 repair costs, even if it doesn’t affect purchase price (which is doubtful).

By: Elvacano

Elvacano — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:10:14 +0000

Oh no they didn’t!!

By: ChuckTown86

ChuckTown86 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:06:22 +0000

I am not to big into sports cars, but if they can bring retro to the Corvette and mix it with modern flare as they did with Camaro, then they will have continued success. Hopefully they do not stray to far from the concept.

Be American. Buy whatever you want.

By: iluvamcars

iluvamcars — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:03:10 +0000

Also, it will probably still use the bubble hatch, but with a strip of sheetmetal down the center.

-iluvamcars

By: iluvamcars

iluvamcars — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:00:59 +0000

Just a few comments and the haters are out and about criticizing. The next generation will most likely feature a ground braking design, but with a few classic hints.

-iluvamcars

By: Blakkarr

Blakkarr — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:00:18 +0000

Daiso,

If you confused a CORVETTE with a FERRARI you are not even perceptive. The two have never looked anything alike beyond their basic shapes and even then the CORVETTE was always a more Burly looking beast. It’s too easy to generalize, but what you did was just reaching.

I’m not looking forward to that Split rear window. The Bubble hatch is very much a classic part of CORVETTE design, like flip up headlights. But I guess Change comes whether you want it or not.