With the C8 Corvette continuing to build on Corvette’s rich history, enthusiasts appear to still be very confident about the future of America’s Favorite Sports Car, despite recent personnel layoffs and the looming electrification of the brand.
That’s the take-away from a new article that was posted Wednesday morning by the Detroit Free Press in which they also discussed the Corvette’s aging demographics and how the brand must adapt to changing technologies while keeping its current fanbase.
S&P Global Mobility says that 59% of Corvette owners are 55 years or older while drivers younger than 34 only make up 4.6% of Corvette owners last year. However, the age demographics are retreating slightly as a Cox Automotive report shows that Corvette ownership is younger today than it was in 2019 when 62% of owners were aged 55 years or older. That same factoid dovetails with one of the major concerns of those involved in the automotive hobby which is that those same young people are just not all that interested in cars the way we were 30 years ago. Plus, cars today don’t offer the same driving experience as they once did with manual transmissions now gone from the new Corvette experience.
Photo Credit: Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet
One of the Corvette enthusiasts interviewed by the Detroit Free Press is none other than noted collector and Chevrolet dealer Rick Hendrick who is “not one bit concerned” about the future of the Corvette. Hendrick just paid $3.7 million for the rights to purchase the very first retail edition of Corvette’s newest super car, the ZR1. In the article, he says that he can’t recall a time when he’s seen so much interest from customers in a Corvette as they are in the ZR1:
“I’ve had hundreds of people try to get in line for a car. I’m not taking orders because it’ll be so slow at getting them out,” Hendrick said, noting the engines are hand built, and it has several modifications that make production complex.
“I’ve spoken to the board before and been in those meetings, I am not one bit concerned about the future of the Corvette,” Hendrick said.
While GM recently let go Corvette’s external design manager Kirk Bennion and Product Manager Harlan Charles, there are still people at GM who want the Corvette to succeed. One of the reason’s that Hendrick is still bullish on the Corvette is that it’s made by “hands on” car guys like GM’s President Mark Reuss and Ken Morris who is GM’s senior vice president of product programs, product safety, and motorsports.
“They won’t let a Corvette out of there unless it sounds right. You’ve got all these engineers, but (Reuss) is the one who is going to sign off,” Hendrick said. “These two guys are tremendously involved in the sign-off to ensure that it handles, it performs and it’s bulletproof.”
Hendrick says he remembers a time when GM’s management didn’t really want to keep the Corvette around. But that’s not the case today.
“Mark and Ken are so involved in that car. Mark is a perfectionist, he and Ken both, and they have a love affair with that car,” Hendrick said. “They are gearheads and they are car guys and they know what feels good, what sounds good and what runs good.”
Photo Credit: Keith Cornett
As for the regular owners like you and me, the Corvette still represents a value proposition over other exotic sports cars. One of those owners is Emery Burk, a retired Wayne State University police officer who kept a photo of a Corvette pinned to his refrigerator while his four kids were growing up. Once they were out on their own, he finally pulled the trigger.
“With four kids, I didn’t want to be eating bologna and bread,” he said. “But once I retired, I got one. It’s in a garage, but even if the weather is fairly decent in the wintertime, I drive the car. I’ve waited too long.”
Burk says he loves to hit the road for road trips with fellow Corvette enthusiasts several times a year. The latest Corvette – the C8 – offers more storage than the average exotic sports car which makes it more practical.
He was asked about what a future version of the Corvette might entail and he said, “Well, gosh, I’m getting old, so I don’t know if faster is the right thing to say. You can only drive them so fast, plus you got the police out there who might decide to stop you,” Burk said. “But at least you know the speed is under the hood, even if you don’t use it.”
There’s a lot more in the article by the Detroit Free Press so jump over to freep.com and real the entire thing.
Source:
Detroit Free Press
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Chevrolet sold over 40,000 Corvettes last year. I don’t think they are “worried” about demographics.
Not sure where you are getting your statistics in my 40s and I have been seeing people 20 years younger driving them here in South Florida, people who are poor people are middle class and well-off. How they pay for it or lease or even exotic rentals don’t know. I don’t believe the DetroitFreepress sounds like gm wanting to keep pushing the e.v. narrative. Btw the eww-ray I mean eray I haven’t seen many here . Alot of Z06s and base models I don’t buy the hybrid hype either. Not just domestic but foreign automakers are scaling back on the ev nonsense and even the hybrids, no one cares if gm loses r.o.i because they had friends previously in the w.h. and got duped into investing in nonsense.
Go Dog Go!!!
🔴🟣🟢
Corvettes are for us old dogs. As far as generation Z, just build them a Bolt with stripes and fake spoilers. No need for a manual transmission because no one their age knows how to drive one. Trying to adapt the Corvette will kill the brand
I’ve read repeatedly that Corvette is profitable for GM. If that continues to be so then as a product it’s safe.
Add to the profitability is the halo effect of the Corveete. It’s longevity nameplate and racing successes are all positives for GM.
The C8 was the quantum leap from past generations go mid-engine so the engineers and designers have a big job ahead of them.
“What do we do now:?”
Forget all the media chatter about the average age of Corvette owners. There is only one simple reason: price. How many 30year olds do you know who have $90k (or more) to blow on a 2-seater? I’m a textbook case. I couldn’t afford to pay that much cash-ola until I was north of 60. Young adults have too many other things to deal with: marriage, kids, buying & furnishing a house, college expenses, etc., etc. If the price of Corvettes had not doubled (or tripled) over the last 10 years, a lot more younger people would be driving them. Case closed.
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