Welcome to Quick Shifts! Quick Shifts is a content feature here at CorvetteBlogger featuring links to Corvette and automotive-related stories of interest.
We have been tracking Quick Shift views for the past few months which has left us with a theory that the amount of clicks this feature gets is tied directly to the amount of C8 content that we include. Mid-engine mania has gripped Corvette Nation and we are here to oblige your condition this week by going all eighth-gen for this edition of QS!
FIRST GEAR
Our mates across the Atlantic at Top Gear magazine got their paws on a 2020 Stingray to review for scientific purposes. It is another glowing analysis of the newest version of America’s Sports Car. It is safe to say that the UK’s “Petrol Heads” are anxiously looking forward to the first Right Hand Drive versions of the C8 arriving on their shores next year.
Read about it for yourself on TopGear.com and if you haven’t yet, be sure to read our review here.
If you can’t get enough, here is some extra reading from the Detroit Free Press about the Secrets of the mid-engine Corvette.
SECOND GEAR
Speaking of RHD Corvettes, Australian and Kiwi enthusiasts are holding their collective breath this week as their future with the Plastic Fantastic is now in limbo because of GM’s announcement that they are going to shutter their entire operation Down Under in 2021. This hit your author particularly hard as one of the top items on my bucket list is to travel to the southern hemisphere to sample some of the coolest cars to ever put rubber to pavement (or “Bitumen” in the local parlance) that we only got a small, but great, sampling of with the reborn GTO and the SS sedan. Check out these ‘Vette-Powered examples to understand my love for Holden Special Vehicles, especially cars 8, 9, and 10!
Hagerty did a nice, quick look at what Holden’s closure means for the Corvette’s future in Australia and New Zealand. You can read about it right here.
THIRD GEAR
Hagerty also posted an outstanding “deep dive” into the C8’s chassis tech by Don Sherman that is a must read! Check it out, we guarantee you will learn something (unless your name happens to be Harlan Charles). While engines get the majority of the press, this is a refreshing look at one of General Motor’s greatest strengths that has led to so many awards for their performance cars in the past decade and led Jason Cammisa to label them the gods of chassis tuning along with Ferrari.
Take in Don’s comprehensive breakdown of the new Corvette frame here.
FOURTH GEAR
The newest member of the Corvette family is such a big deal that even mainstream media has been extensively covering it since the reveal in July. CNBC ran a thoughtful piece about the importance of Gen X and Millennial buyers to the success of Chevrolet’s new halo model. As somewhat of an outlier in my generational cohort, I find articles like this interesting and wonder if the new car can hook my friends and get them to move on from their fascination with GT-Rs and WRXs. So far, I’d say the hype machine is working pretty well to that end. It will be fascinating to watch what Chevy does to market the ME once the initial buzz wears off. Mercifully, the Ad Chief behind the loathsome “Real People” commercials left Chevrolet at the beginning of this month. Now, maybe some of that is a bit harsh (I’m sure he is a good dude) but when you see one of these commercials during the same college basketball timeout as a Dodge ad featuring clouds of tire smoke billowing from a pair of drifting Hellcats, you start to wish GM would go in a different direction with their marketing budget.
Read the full piece here and please try to keep the generational warfare in the comments section to a minimum.
FIFTH GEAR
Car Buzz has an entertaining article about a phenomenon that we are about to see every day on eBay. Premier Auction Group out of Port Charlotte, FL has a yet to be built 2LT Stingray that they are hoping to make MSRP+ on. Get the full story here and keep your eyes peeled for “C8 flippers” in the coming months!
Also, of note from Car Buzz this week is their story about the extremely limited number of new, manual transmission C7 Z06s remaining at dealerships. If the C8’s many breaks from tradition and lack of activities for your left foot have left you a bit cold, you better snag one of the final examples of the Big Nasty before they are completely relegated to the history books and used car lots. See how few Zs are left here and if you don’t want to search for yourself, pick up our choice of the bunch at a nice discount here.
SIXTH GEAR
Corvette Trivia! This week we are seeing how well you know your C8. Pick the correct interior and exterior colors, wheels, seats, and more. Good luck (and dealerships, feel free to use this as a training exercise to ready your sales staff to deal with future well-read customers!).
Flex your brain muscle with C8 Corvette Trivia here.
REVERSE
We usually use our reverse gear to highlight a great Corvette review from the past but since all of the other gears were about the C8 this week, we are going to share one new story about a cool older ‘Vette in this space. Hot Rod did a great profile about a ’68 Corvette racecar that was just found under tarps after 25 years. We don’t want to spoil the details but just know that it is worth any Corvette lover’s time to look into this one!
Check it out on HotRod.com.
Previous Quick Shifts:
1953 Throwback, Honoring Ed Welburn, Michelin Tech, Rockenfeller Q&A and Corvette Trivia
Corvette Celeb Trivia, C8.R Soundtrack, C4s Cool Again, More C8.R, and More!
Jordan Taylor, Save the Manuals, Unsung Hero Mauri Rose, C8 Markups, Ronde Barber’s Corvettes and More!
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Just a note: Every time I try to look at anything on here from Hot Rod magazine, the pictures are either blurred or missing. Is there some kind of copyright thing going on here? If we can’t view the pictures, then don’t bother putting any stories from Hot Rod on here.
Jeff, sorry to hear about your issue with the Hot Rod link. I think I remember you commenting about that in a previous edition of QS.
The pictures in the link are working on multiple devices for me. Sounds like some sort of problem with your internet browser.
Crystal clear pics for me….
As a Gen X dude I have to say Millenials are difficult to peg when it comes to cars. My nephew for example had to be forced to get his drivers license but his best friend purchased a c5 base model as his first car. I don’t know what to think in regards to whether sports cars are a passion to that generation.
Top Gear used to be a pretty good show, Clarkson is an idiot and he will just bash it as more American trash. What the hell do they build?? A Jag? Lol. The American version was a little better but can’t seem to stay on the air. As far as a C5 as a first car, damn must be nice. How does he afford the insurance?? I paid $400 for my first, a 1964 Impala SS. I hope he’s responsible.
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