Chevrolet Dealers Must Qualify To Sell New C8 Mid-Engined Corvette

The only folks more excited than us about the C8 Corvette may be Chevrolet dealers, eager for a piece of the action. After all, the mid-engined C8 is one of the most hotly anticipated new sports cars in a long while.

However, Chevrolet dealers looking to sell new Corvettes for fun and profit (but mostly profit) will have to jump through a few hoops first according to CorvetteBlogger. The information comes from a GM-produced monthly podcast intended for dealers. The most recent podcast broke down all of the relevant information and explained the two available programs.

The programs are called "Corvette Dealer" and "Signature Corvette Dealer." A standard Corvette Dealer must invest around $5,000 for the privilege of selling the new Corvette. That includes all of the requisite training materials, a $3,500 trip for one sales representative to Spring Mountain Motorsports in Las Vegas for more in-depth training, and $1,500 in specialty tools for the new car.

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 5/3/2019 12:21:26 PM

+2 Boost

With the electrical and frame problems this model has had in its development, if I was a chevy dealer.. I may just stick with selling C7's. The C8 could turn into a big headache down the road. And nobody knows what the odds are on this either. I'd rather have happy referable clients.

skytop - 5/3/2019 1:31:54 PM

-1 Boost

Canadian: What a specious worthless post. EVERY vehicle going though development encounters problems. That is the purpose of DEVELOPMENT.
Do you grasp that now?
You obviously have an axe to grind against the C8 and your post is worthless and without any merit.

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 5/3/2019 3:47:40 PM

+3 Boost

@skytop. Development issues that come along in the long gestation of creating a new car are one thing. Major issues that come up in the 11th hour before launch that push the car back a year(?) or make it unsafe to drive are quite another. I am not a fan of the mid engine design, that it true. But I am aghast at the major issues this car has so close to the very end of its development cycle. If it was a Tesla, people would have piled on. As it is a new Chevy model, it seems to be given a boat load of forgiveness.

MDarringer - 5/3/2019 4:11:35 PM

0 Boost

@CC you are correct. @Skytop you're an idiot.

TomM - 5/3/2019 6:14:37 PM

0 Boost

CC - Matt knows that with an almost totally new vehicle - THere are going to be requirements to purchase special tools to service them - which Is the more likely reason why they want dealers to be certified. It is also possible that there will be problems with some Lifts that will require adapters and such as well.
This is NOTHING new. I remember when the last generation Corvette first came out - and you needed an unusual configuration of your lifts in order to Bleed the Clutch - which was fun. I can see them requiring at least one service person to be certified on these new items as well (Although that does not guarantee they will get the service job)

MDarringer - 5/3/2019 6:28:52 PM

+1 Boost

It's really obvious which dealers are getting the C8. They are not just beginning to consider this now. plans are definitely in motion.

Truthy - 5/4/2019 11:19:04 AM

+1 Boost

Why don't they do what Tesla does and finish development after the cars go on sale.

MDarringer - 5/3/2019 4:12:30 PM

0 Boost

One of the big parameters is customer satisfaction and another is volume of current Corvette sales.

qwertyfla1 - 5/3/2019 4:48:40 PM

+1 Boost

Wow that front overhang is HUGE and will bottom out on the slightest incline and will be a pain in the ass to pull into driveways. That is an oopsy in the design department

Truthy - 5/4/2019 11:21:15 AM

+1 Boost

Many mid-engine cars have significant front overhang. Look at Ferraris.

ricks0me - 5/3/2019 7:48:44 PM

+1 Boost

When Maybach was reintroduced early in the 2000's, MB dealers that wanted part of the action were required to invest $500,000.00 .... Worst investment ever !!!

MDarringer - 5/3/2019 9:18:27 PM

+1 Boost

Especially since the Maybachs that arrived looked like what they were: awkwardly elongated S Class sedans. Prior to that atrocity, the ONLY thing Maybach was known for was that it was Hitler's parade car of choice. Maybach was never anything iconic like a Rolls Royce, so a number of decades after they stopped making Hitler cars, Mercedes decided to reignite the memory of genocide by reviving the Maybach name and TomM adores his Hitlermobile.

The investment for the new Corvette is pennies.

mre30 - 5/4/2019 10:20:14 AM

+1 Boost

This one example of GM's strategy to thin out the dealer ranks and make the remaining dealers more competitive and more profitable.

There are SO many Chevy dealers and I suspect only 30% of them do 70% of GM's volume.

Marginal players do not get the goodies. This is not about "dealer quality control" it is about rewarding the best operators.