Is It TimeFor The Corvette To Appeal To Something Other Than The Gray Haired Crowd?

As a 30 something, the Corvette is appealing to me. Problem is, I am not at a point in life where I need a two-seat sports car. As far as lack of gadgets, I don't want 'em. When i drive a Vette, I turn off the radio, take the top off and enjoy the sound of the V8. Always a great experience.

As someone over 50yo who cross-shops the German's [SL, 650i and Porsche 911] I'd say the reasons I've never looked seriously at the Corvette are many. I suspect many of the reasons and suggestions listed below WOULD also resonate with younger potential customers of the Corvette.

1. I may not want to mix with the "plebs" at a Chevrolet dealership - this can be overcome by (a.) bringing the salesperson and vehicles to my home or office, and by (b.) having loaner cars brought to my home or office and my car returned when any work is finished. Some German dealerships do this already. A third and less appealing option would be to have a version sold through Cadillac dealerships rather than Chevrolet dealerships,

2. The famed plastic interiors - this can be solved by having higher quality interiors standard, or by having optional two tone full leather interiors similar to those offered at great expense by Porsche

3. The design - needs to be tweaked to be modern, cheapest way to do this would be to have LED lights front and rear

4. I'd prefer a solid-retractable roof as an option . . . this would be a big advantage over the 911 and 650i . . . though purists might scream, so make it an option

5. Leading edge technology - I like the fact that the Germans offer blind-spot-assist, big navigation screens (especially the 650i), parking sensors, adaptive cruise control, massaging seats etc. etc.

Yes a complete redesign might increase sales, but I'd rather the investment be spent on modern technology, beautiful interiors and the customer experience rather that a redesign for redesigns sake.

Cadillac already attempted your ideas with the XLR. It went over like a turd in the punchbowl.

I think MercBasher was thinking: sell a more mature trim version of the Corvette via Cadillac outlets. It's nice to have a ZR-version, but GM should build an interior worthy their most expensive Cadillac in a Corvette with only luxury levels of materials and content.

Yes, the car is hella fast and iconic...the interior is a running joke. Consumers of all ages like speed and performance, but the overall ownership experience also includes looking at and touching beautiful interior surfaces & buttons; and having access to all sorts of available options.

Actually I had the Cadillac option as a distant third option, and purely for the purposes of avoiding Chevrolet dealerships.

While the XLR was closely related [on the insides] to the Corvette, it shared none of the Corvettes iconic shape and seemed awkward and over-priced relative to the Mercedes SL, Porsche 911 and Lexus SC of its era.

1911 you don't get the current economic environment - the rich are getting richer and many young folks have a lot of money, how well here are some sources of money the young [kids and young adults under 40yo] can and do use to purchase expensive vehicles:

Inheritances and trust funds
Wealthy living parents who buy cars for their kids
Kids with jobs in banking, investment banking, hedge funds, technology, entertainment, law, medicine, accounting, engineering, actuarial sciences, importation and exportation
Kids who start and succeed with their own "small" businesses
Kids with jobs who live at home with their parents and pay no rent or health insurance and blow it all on their vehicles

If you start with a defeatist attitude in this land of great opportunity how can you expect to succeed?

I can honestly say that a Corvette doesn't do a single thing for me. Their performance isn't enough for me to get past just how boring I find them inside and out.

Not meant to be mean or anything, just being honest. I have wondered before why I am just totally unimpressed by them. Two of my older co-workers have them and I can't bring myself to tell them what I really think.

"The Vette is truly a vehicle that gets women moist."

Really? No woman I know. Do 99% of the women of whom you speak watch NASCAR or something? I would quote something my father once said (about NASCAR) but it is somewhat supercilious.

Something along the lines, "Is your asshole jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth?" Oh wait, that has nothing to do with Nascar or Corvettes.

It needs to have a much better overall build quality and sense of nimbleness. As it stands, while the performance may be strong, it drives rather cumbersome and ponderous. I have a 911 now, but would buy a vette if it was more of a sports car and less of a muscle car.

Throw a powerful V6 into a solstice, redisign the body, keep the price under 30, and call it a Vette. Not a corvette.

While I have driven many vettes and they are fun, because of their heritage and build quality they are thought of quite differently than the Europeans. No less fun to drive but more Route 66 than Autobahn. To capture a younger age market in volume you need to price it at the Mustang price point but what do you do with the Camaro. Corvettes are boxed in...too expensive for young guys with families and not enough
prestige for people with real money. Don't get me wrong...vettes are
great but their appeal will always be limited...except for first couple
of years after a new generation is introduced.

As someone who was in the car business for several years, I can intelligently state that the vette already has appeal to the something other than the "gray haired crowd". Generally, emphasis on "generally" the cost of admissions is too high we're not talking about an 18K hot hatch, this is a high performance sports car that can reach north of 100K, most of the younger generations couldn't even afford to properly insure a base Corvette much less a ZR-1...

Corvette doesn't need to Change, they have industry leading numbers. What does need to Change is Porsche!

Corvette Sales in September 1,147
Porsche 911+Boxster+Cayman+Panamera Sales in September 1,240

"Industry leading numbers" - what a laugh? What industry - typewriters?

Here's the sad truth for the 'vette:

2006 36518 units sold
2007 33685
2008 26971
2009 13934
2010 12624 units sold

and in 2011:

"Corvette sales in September were buoyed by a number of factors... new incentives with special APRs and loyalty bonus became available.

For the 2011 Corvette, buyers can receive a $3,000 rebate or finance 0% down for 60 months or 2.9% for 72 months. 2012 Corvette buyers can get $1,500 dealer cash or a 3.9% APR for 60 months. Buyers who currently own a Corvette can receive bonus cash of $3,000 which can be combined with other incentives."

and yes Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini sell less units per month than the vette - means nothing about being an industry leader.

Apparently even the grey-haired aren't that interested in 'vettes

Yet they still sell about as many cars as Porsche's 4 sportiest models put together. The decline is expected, by 2007 that same general design reached a decade old! Hopefully the C7 is more of a clean sheet, and less of a Porsche evolution!

Corvette isn't the only sports car selling poorly. Chevy's headed in the right direction, but ever so slowly. It's about the same size, weight, and performance as a 911...duh? BTW, I own a Porsche Boxster 'S'.