[VIDEO] How the Corvette Hobby is Changing

1. Sad but true. I’ve had my 17 Grand Sport for 8 years. I’ve been thinking about the future when all the sophisticated gadgets start to fail due to age.

2. Automobiles becoming more complex is a fact across the entire industry; so I would not think that is a unique vettes’ reason for the long trem ownership decline. One important factor, I believe (not trying to make a joke), is the fact that a lot of vette owners are old and they want to get one last newer toy (C7 or C8) before they kick the bucket.

3. It’s the gospel truth that modern Corvettes and other cars are getting more and more too high tech and over engineered. It does makes you wonder what it will be like when your C7 or C8 is ten years old or older and things start to break on it.

4. Agree wholeheartedly…….I built street rods for fun for years, and the switch to Corvettes was to spend less time building and more time enjoying my cars. I have found a local guy who keeps up with the latest technology consistently. I’ve wondered what I’ll do when he retires? It’s a different breed of guy who works on these cars. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy it and let my sons worry about what to do with them when I’m gone. Great insight enjoyed the presentation.

5. I agree. But maybe an aftermarket company will see this too, and begin to reproduce components that are likely to fail, especially in the electronic side.

6. Since the intro of the C8 I have expressed the same thought and opinion, that the Corvette is a very complicated car now, to those that are thinking of purchasing a C8. And I’ve expressed that to Corvette engineers at various NCM events.
   I’m a life long Corvette enthusiast. In my garage are a 1980 w/a 4spd man trans, and yes, therefore an L48, which we have owned since 2008, replacing a 1973 we sold to our brother-in-law, and a 2013 Grand Sport w/a 6SPD man trans.
   I spent a year specifically searching for a 1980, the last year for No Captain Electron Computerized Anything!
   I do all the work maintaining the ’80, not as much with the ’13 GS.
   Part of the experience of owning a Corvette is, or was, being able to wrench on them. Not so any longer. Then again, with the aging of Corvette owners, maybe that is evolutionary progress.
   And younger C8 owners don’t have a clue, don’t know anything about the history of Corvette, nor THE WAVE! I know of one C8 owner who had no idea who Zora was. And there you have it!
   It seems to me, however, that I see more C3s showing up at car shows now, with the owners having done a lot of work restoring and maintaining.
   Lyle at C&S Corvettes, you are right on target!
   Mike 8TY4SPD & MNL13GS

7. I agree, Mike, but your generation has its share of ignorant & disrespectful owners as well.

   I’m a lifelong enthusiast. First Corvette was a 1977 that was passed down to me; that car was my ride home after I was born. Unfortunately, that car was destroyed when I was hit by a drunk driver. Undeterred, I remained a fan, learning the Corvette’s amazing history better than some docents at the NCM. Try me. I’ve been to Zora’s birthplace and all the places he grew up when I lived in Europe. When I lived closeby some years back, I visited the NCM frequently. Still a member to this day.

   I saved for over 20 years after that accident for a new Corvette. When C8 arrived, I went for it, and after a year’s wait, I took delivery of my 70th Anniversary Edition in mid 2022, 2023 MY #548 off the line. I was both proud and excited; I had finally laid my hands on a piece of automotive history that I could call my own.

   However, the owner community, in my opinion, disgusts me to a degree I cannot put into words here. I was invited to a local Corvette Club meeting; I was literally more than 15 years younger than the next guy, and all I saw were a bunch of pompous boomers one-upping each other, and the ones who acknowledged my presence had the audacity to pull the “why’d you only get this/that?” while bragging about how many they’ve owned over the years. I walked out before the meeting even started. Yet, boomer wonders why my generation stays away. The owner community disgusts me so much that here I am, with a C8 in my garage, a car I worked my a$$ off for over 20 years to get, and yet, despite having it and being a lifelong aficionado, am actually starting to struggle to hold interest. I don’t even like going to Cars & Coffee anymore, because I cannot stand other owners; whenever I do, we have a much better time parking where the other Corvettes don’t.

   The terrible ‘economy car’ experience that is nearly every GM service center I’ve ever been to isn’t helping either. I didn’t sign up for that. Who would? Go to a BMW, Audi or Mercedes service center and tell me GM does it better.

   My point is that when the last boomer dies, GM stands to lose 99.9% of their Corvette customer base. That’s a cultural problem that, sorry to say folks, Princess Emilia or Brink of Speed among other ‘influencers’, cannot possibly solve.

   Sorry for the blackpill, but it’s the truth.

   We all have a lot to do to keep this hobby alive…and healthy.

8. Perhaps, factors like new technology, planned obsolescence engineering as well as the push to solve our pollution problems (EVs) are underwriting this new paradigm shift?
   I am confident the secondary aftermarkets will eventually see the need ($$$) and produce the parts that are no longer available.

   Thanks,
   Ray

9. Not just electronics that may be impossible to replace. Items you don’t really think about may be much harder to come by, like door handles, windshields, dash knobs, rear view mirrors, seat controls, etc.

10. Well over all as a 5 time owner and current C7 owner, I agree. The complexity that make last 3 generations outstanding performers will eventually be problematic.
    However one contributor said he though 10 years old was kinda ageing out.
    My 2014 C7 #485 out of Bowling green in August 2013 just celebrated its 11th birthday.
    Chevy/GM did a great job with the quality of material and workmanship which
    has lead to 54,000 car free, repair free miles and years of enjoyment.

11. I have an idea; if you plan on keeping your C8 for 20 years or more, buy some of the parts you believe will be hard to find. Develop a relationship with the parts department at your favorite Chevy dealership and hopefully receive a discount. You can be pretty confident that those parts will be worth way more than you paid Down the road, it’s a win, win. If you need the parts you win, if you don’t you win when you sell them. Store the electronic parts in your house so they aren’t effected by temp or moisture. Just a thought

12. Agree with this and would also like to add, if not said already, that money is also part of this equation of course. While most need a few extra bucks to buy any new or used Vette, never mind a true high value classic, it is now taking big’ish bucks to maintain. Its harder to try to save money maintaining and repairing an older or even a few year old Vette yourself or letting the neighborhood “cheap” mechanic fix it. Vette drivers will all need to have alot of throw away cash, much like Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes drivers, etc…. While the Corvettes are becoming super high tech and ultra performers the Vette community is definitely losing something as well. The Vette driver will need to be in a higher tax bracket in many cases, not just to buy, but to keep comfortably. Like so many things now a days it will become all about money and not the Corvette lifestyle.

13. Boba Fett has that “you don’t get it …I own a NEW C8 and anything you say about your “old” car is an attack on my car.” I owned a 67, 69 and a 95. Also 631/2 Galaxie 427, Mach 1 351 Cleveland and a 95 Impala SS. The one thing I do know is that THEY ARE ALL CARS.
    Everyone take a breath and enjoy our chosen passion. Save the wave.

14. Dave, my brother, that was not what I was saying. Not one bit. I was making reference to the pompous owners I’ve dealt with, not the cars. Those a-holes at the meeting disrespected both my wife and I…not my car; you would have felt the same if you witnessed it. I am more than fond of all Corvette generations, and on the lookout for a ’77 to restore. I’m a car & airplane guy…always will be. I’ll always respect another’s ride, no matter what it is. It’s all about respect at the end of the day, and those chaps at the meeting simply proved they don’t understand it. Their loss! For what it’s worth, we’ve made pretty good friends with a couple we connected with on MECF that happened to live closeby. Good, decent folk that also have similar sentiment & concern.

    See you out there!

15. Cars becoming “over-teched” is why I’ll be keeping my 2013 6-speed manual GS forever. I thought about a C7Z, but after seeing so many gadgets and gizmos inside the car, I quickly realized a) the interior of this car will age REALLY fast as technology is constantly evolving, and b) these gizmos will fail and I can only imagine the cost to repair them will be off-the-charts.

    I love the analog gauges in my GS and the simplicity of the engine. The LS3 is rock solid and with an A&A kit, mine makes 628rwhp on pump gas…fast enough to embarrass 99.9% of any car I meet on the roads. Easy to work on, rock-solid reliability, other than mag ride, no gizmos to worry about failing.

16. I bought my ’82 in 2004. I’ve driven the Dickens out of it. The odometer now reads 243,391 miles. I’ve replaced just about everything except the body and the engine, certain parts multiple times. In my local club most members own the latest Corvettes. Most of them have the resources to seek the latest and greatest Corvette so my car stands out because mine is one of only 4 C3’s in the club. I would assume that the frequent turnover inhibits the relationship that is built by owning, driving and repairing past the many hurdles of an aging car especially with all the miles I have. I literally feel my car’s condition via feedback I’ve become sensitive to over the years and miles. What my Corvette lacks in modern bells and whistles it more than makes up for with our history together. It is still a strikingly good looking Corvette, too. People react to my 82 more than they do the newer ones. It looks like nothing else on the road today and still has the classic SBC roar.

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