The C8 Corvette Has Become America’s Favorite Convertible

There just something about a driving a Corvette Convertible and apparently, I am not alone in that assessment. It was during the reveal of the Corvette Stingray HTC in October 2019 that I saw how the Corvette HTC model would be a gamechanger for Corvette ownership. No longer are there any drawbacks to owning a Convertible with owners struggling to raise or lower the top, or dealing with a lack of storage space when the top was down. Today, Corvette owners can simply press a button and 16 seconds later you have open skies above you, and the storage space is exactly the same whether you own a coupe or convertible.

Since the introduction of the C8 Corvette which started production in early 2020, we’ve seen Corvette convertible ownership climb to heights we’ve haven’t seen since the late 1960s. For 2023, the best-selling Corvette Z06 models were the convertibles by 51% to 49% while the Stingray HTC ownership was right behind at 48% of production. Looking back in Corvette’s past, the last time the convertible model was more popular than the coupes was 1968.

During the Michelin NCM Bash, the Corvette Team shared this graphic stating how the C8 Corvette is now the leader in convertible sales by beating drop-top favorites like the Mazda MX-5 and the Ford Mustang. There are no sales figures associated with the graphic, so we’re not sure just how much of a beat-down this was:

Adding additional context to the convertible story is this study by The Hustle which details the decline of popular convertibles sold in America. We came across this graphic that was going around the Corvette Facebook groups this week and it’s certainly an eye-opener. It shows the quantities of popular convertible models registered in 2001 and then how many convertibles were registered again in 2023. We think the study actually low-balled the Corvette Convertible numbers which we believe were nearly 26,000 for 2023.

As for overall Convertible sales, The Hustle study shows that in 2014, convertibles accounted for just 0.9% of all new US vehicle registrations, and they have since declined another third down to just 0.6% in 2023.

As Corvette enthusiasts, we have a lot to be thankful for and pushing a button for that open-air driving experience is just one of the reasons to buy a new Corvette. Now, if we could only find a way to bring back the manual transmission!

Source:
thehustle.co

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