The new Vette: What people are saying
 |
The 2014 Corvette Stingray Photo credit: BLOOMBERG |
| Sponsored by |
| » | ||
| » | ||
| » | ||
| » | ||
| » |
Reprints
Print
Respond
"Despite being a target for attacks by industry enthusiasts, the Corvette continues to perform at the top of its segment with regards to residual values. A fresh design combined with Corvette's value oriented price point for the segment will continue to support strong residual values."
-- Eric Lyman, vice president of editorial at ALG
"If you're going to steal, rob a bank, not a grocery store."
-- Jack Telnack, former chief of design for Ford, comparing the new Corvette to a Ferrari, adding that the new Vette is a solid blend of American and European styling cues, in Autoweek.
"The seventh generation Chevrolet Corvette ... a 450-horsepower high-tech American sports car that says as much about GM in the post-bankruptcy era as any financial spreadsheet or marketing campaign."
-- Joann Muller of Forbes.com
"The 2014 model will again have a pushrod V-8 engine in its nose, driving the rear wheels. That conservative approach might be seen as a timid compromise from a company that has just begun to get back on solid financial footing. But the front-engine, rear-drive layout has long defined the Corvette, and this car, like its C6 predecessor, may well show its taillights to cars with specs that more closely conform to what is considered state of the art. While automakers are quick to toss around the words "all new" to describe their latest offerings, however warmed over they might be, in this case the term is justified -- the 2014 Corvette shares only two parts with its predecessor ... The C7 Corvette's styling is in keeping with the brand's persona, yet it projects a more aggressive image than previous generations."
-- Paul Stenquist of The New York Times
"The Chevrolet Corvette is 60 years old this week, and that's a miracle. Many miracles, in fact. The iconic American sports car has survived a troubled birth, quality problems and development delays. it has overcome threats from recessions and regulations. And it has outlasted waffling by Chevy parent General Motors over whether such a car should exist at all. It appears, through all that, to have become younger than ever."
-- James R. Healey of USA Today
"If you really want to transform this company from just playing it kind of four-corner stall, as they say in basketball -- but go on offense, you are going to have to take some risks. It's a statement about American ingenuity -- it's about technology and, frankly, our risk-taking. This is the first car that was designed start to finish-post ... [The new Corvette] is a balanced risk … that speaks volumes about the brand and the company."
-- GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson, in The Detroit News
-- Alexander Edwards, president of San Diego-based consulting firm Strategic Vision's auto division
"The biggest challenge facing the Corvette team was to not just once again build the best performance car for the dollar, but to go beyond that: To make a car able to compete with the best sports cars in the world regardless of price. The Stingray engineers fixed what needed fixing to achieve that. The much-improved interior springs to mind. By the looks of it, it will be a home run."
-- Wes Raynal, editor of Autoweek
“On rare occasions, at least one car premieres at an auto show that absorbs all the light and air in the building, that takes our breath away, and takes every one of our editors' votes without debate. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is that car.”
"The new Corvette manages to incorporate enough familiar design cues to satisfy the Corvette faithful while finding ways to evolve the design and give Chevrolet a chance at capturing buyers who might otherwise be considering more-expensive sports cars like the Nissan GT-R and Porsche 911."
-- Mike Hanley of cars.com
"The car's brilliant and ... a great surprise, pleasant surprise for all Corvette lovers everywhere ... a huge shock to our competitors ... because I don't think anybody was expecting something that good. What pleases me the most about it was that ... I can say this is the first car that's come out, that was done since I left. Because the Impala, I love it, but I was there to supervise it. The Cadillac ATS, car of the year, I supervised that one, too. The Corvette I did not supervise. And what that tells me is that the philosophy of focusing on product excellence and spending more if necessary and the drive to be as perfect as you can possibly be and better than the other guys, that has survived my departure. And I was a little bit worried that it wouldn't ... that the company would slip back ... and I'm happy to see that hasn't happened."
-- Bob Lutz, former vice chairman and head of global product development at GM
"It's great to see a product whose sole purpose is to excite people's emotions."
-- Jim Farley, Ford's global chief of marketing, sales and service
"Corvette history is full of body and interior freshenings being passed off as new cars. Even the fifth and sixth-generation Corvettes share much more than a passing resemblance. But this seventh-gen Corvette (aka C7) shares just two parts with the outgoing car, while remaining true to the car's 21st-century persona. This is a new machine. The core formula remains unchanged, with wedge-like styling, beefy V8 up front driving the rear wheels, and two seats in a form-fitting cabin. However, it is sharpened at every corner. The C7 looks more modern, even ready to transform into an Autobot. The lines, vents, flares, and lights all give the car a more premium appearance."
-- Jeff Bartlett, in Consumer Reports
Theresa Clift, Autoweek, and Bradford Wernle contributed to this report
