Detroit Auto Show: Livestream of the C7 Launch: Comments

[William Maley]

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

January 13, 2013

Tonight is the start of the 2013 Detroit Auto Show with the most anticipated reveal: the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette. We're going to have people on the ground for the launch of the Corvette and will be streaming the launch beginning at 7:00 P.M.

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[Cory Wolfe]

*applauds*

[Camino LS6]

Liking it so far - need more pics.

[loki]

when will actual info come out for it?

[FAPTurbo]

Gorgeous.

[ocnblu]

Simply... STUNNING. Gorgeous, tough and sexy... worthy of the legendary Stingray name in every way. Those guys were like boys on Christmas morning, and no one will blame them. WOW. Of course it's my desktop background.

Edited January 14, 2013 by ocnblu

[Camino LS6]

In grey, it is lustworthy.

[pow]

Looks good in grey. It's like a supercar for the price of a Boxster.

[William Maley]

when will actual info come out for it?

Its up now - http://www.cheersandgears.com/_/chevrolet-news/detroit-auto-show-2014-chevrolet-stingray-r1260

[Camino LS6]

Quick first impressions:

- I like what i see overall.

- On this car color really matters.

- The designers made some odd choices, but they seem to work.

- One of the odd choices are the quarter windows - but they break new ground and really give the car a longer look.

- The taillights and the downward cutout that depends from them are going to raise some hackles.

- I wish a few cutlines were just slightly different.

- For some reason, I think I'm going to like the first refresh of this design even more than I do this one.

- Not sure I care for the way the dash merges down into the console - a minor quibble.

- Longer, lower, wider indeed!

And, the tech sounds fantastic, looking forward to taking in all of the details.

Edited January 14, 2013 by Camino LS6

[Intrepidation]

I love it. Love the greenhouse. Looks like it finally got the interior it deserves.

[Robert Hall]

Like what I've seen of the front, profile and interior. I can see dark gray, black and other dark colors would work better--I don't care for the black rear lower fascia..

[ocnblu]

I wondered myself about some cars with this feature... new Camaro and Mustang, for example. It's actually a gravel guard area. Apparently, if that area were painted, it would get chipped up.

[G. David Felt]

As I stated in the other thread with all the pictures of the Corvette, I love this one the most out of all generation's. My only issue is the rear taillights and their down turned corners. I really wish someone would ask GM why they wanted this sad looking Rear Taillight? What do those black triangles communicate?

[Robert Hall]

As I stated in the other thread with all the pictures of the Corvette, I love this one the most out of all generation's. My only issue is the rear taillights and their down turned corners. I really wish someone would ask GM why they wanted this sad looking Rear Taillight? What do those black triangles communicate?

I wonder if they are functional vents or just cheese.

[Camino LS6]

They are functional - and therefore I excuse them.

[balthazar]

I see vents atop the rear quarters- sure looks like a functional vent system for RR wheel well pressure reduction / airflow... but time/details will tell. Corvette sure has the performance where a functional system here would actually do something.

[Camino LS6]

I see vents atop the rear quarters- sure looks like a functional vent system for RR wheel well pressure reduction / airflow... but time/details will tell. Corvette sure has the performance where a functional system here would actually do something.

Transaxle, brakes, and engine compartment all have functional venting. No non-functional vents on the car.

Airflow management is big on this thing.

[Camino LS6]

So what do all of you think of quarter windows on a Vette?

[2QuickZ's]

So what do all of you think of quarter windows on a Vette?

I'm not sure. I think I'll reserve judgement on a few of the details until I see it up close in person. The window itself is very small as the B-pillar takes up a good portion of it. I want to see what it see what it looks like under the lights at NAIAS. Overall, I like it much more than I thought I would based on the few sketches that leaked out from service bulletins and whatnot.

[Camino LS6]

So what do all of you think of quarter windows on a Vette?

I'm not sure. I think I'll reserve judgement on a few of the details until I see it up close in person. The window itself is very small as the B-pillar takes up a good portion of it. I want to see what it see what it looks like under the lights at NAIAS. Overall, I like it much more than I thought I would based on the few sketches that leaked out from service bulletins and whatnot.

Fair enough.

[Robert Hall]

The quarter windows are an interesting detail change, as is the flattish rear window. In profile and the front the car it reminds me of the most is the Ferrari 599.

[Camino LS6]

I find the choice to use quarter windows really strange, but not offensive. They along with the flat rear glass aid the angularity of the design , I think.

And yeah, some Ferrari GT car designs come to mind.

The windows really make the car look much longer.

If nothing else, the C7 has staked out its own design turf.

[2QuickZ's]

After looking at the pics in the gallery again, I think it is a really nice looking car overall but I am still really unsure about the rear end. The tailights, the vents, the spoiler, the black lower fascia... there is a LOT going on back there. Very busy. That troubles me much more than the 1/4 windows. I agree with you Camino that while an odd choice (especially for a car with no back seat), I do think they aid the the flow of the design. Again, I'll reserve full judgement until I see it in person. Overall I give it a big thumbs up, though.

Edited January 14, 2013 by 2QuickZ's

[Camino LS6]

I think the rear is why I say color really matters on this car - and red isn't a good one.

[Robert Hall]

The rear just seems overwrought to me...the C6 rear is relatively clean by comparison.

[Camino LS6]

Once the rest of Drew's shots of the grey car hit the gallery, opinions may shift a bit.

The ones he's posted on facebook are great.

Edited January 14, 2013 by Camino LS6

[Camino LS6]

Drew also posted a pic with the rear open - the car is a hatchback!

You'll have to see it, it's very different.

Really makes me wonder what the convertible will look like.

[bobo]

I approve. I always planned to get a Corvette ever since I took a bus at the age of 15 to Martin Chevrolet in Torrance, California, in March of 1983 to see the debut of the C4. I passed on the C5 because I never warmed to the big butt, and I eagerly awaited the debut of the C6. I went to the local Chevy dealer with the intention of putting a deposit on one before it came out, but they said they were not taking them because they did not know how they were going to price them, i.e. added dealer markup. However, when I drove the C6, it just didn't seem like me, and I decided to pass, other than later briefly considering getting a used 2007 that my next-door neighbor was selling. The C7 is taking the car to another level, but I don't think it's the right time for me to get a car like this when I have a two-year old, and my priorities have changed. However, it is still one of my goals to have a red Corvette someday.

I love the refinement of the design inside and out. The small rear quarter windows do recall Ferraris, though my only potential issue is how it helps or hinders rear visibility. I would assume that it helps with the rigidity of the structure or reduces weight compared to bigger glass hatch. I'm not sure how I feel about the Stingray name, but it seems that the car has the goods to back it up.

I agree that red is not the best color for the car. Dark gray, charcoal, or black would look best.

[Intrepidation]

So what do all of you think of quarter windows on a Vette?

I like them, give the car a proper fastback roofline. I never did care for the way previous generations looked from teh front 3/4, because the rear glass became hidden from that angle, leaving only the upright b-pillar visible. Never liked that.

[G. David Felt]

So what do all of you think of quarter windows on a Vette?

I have no problem with the quarter windows, I still have issue with the black triangles on the edge of the rear taillights. Even if these are functional rear exhaust vents, I think they could have incorporated them better into the car for the over all look rather than have it come across to me as an after thought.

This is just like the 2014 Grand Jeep Cherokee. The nose is pretty much the same just a change in headlamps and you can see the same over all shap as on the compass and they just used black plastic to fill in the gaps so the new headlamps fit. After thought change for the jeep just as I feel the rear tailights on this beautiful corvette with the corner dropping triangle vents appear an after thought.

[2QuickZ's]

Well, I got to see the car in person today and I can say it looks MUCH better in person than in pictures. I actually liked it quite a bit. The rear 1/4 windows don't bother me at all. The rear panel is actually painted a gloss black (or dark gray, couldn't get super close) so it isn't a cheap looking mold in color piece like I thought it might be. Plus, if it really gets negative feedback, it would be easy enough for them to paint it body color.

I do think it looks better in gray than red. That was only two colors they had and the red one was actually hanging up on the side of the display so the gray one was the only one you could get a good look at.