Darth Xed

But, I think you have the scenario backwards.

Most people will want the options, and the T-Tops... history proves that.

So... the question really should be... Will you be willing to wait to order a Z28 without T-Tops?

And, again, the answer historically has been a resounding "NO!" as 85% of coupe production has T-Tops.

dream '94 Z28

Well, maybe I do have it backwards. If you want all that why not go for the SS model?

As I've been following the thread it's sounded like the proposed line up would be the V6 and SS cars having options gallor(sp?) and the Z28 being more basic racer.

So being in business, if it sounds like most people want low option Z28s, that's what I'll give them IN ADDITION to being able to specially order option on Z28s, but the option cars would more than likely be special order cars. Perhaps dealers would stock 3-4 option Z28s, but I think mainly it'd be mostly V6s and SS with a minority of Z28s that are really performance oriented.

Z284ever

That's only if you apply 4th gen rules to the 5th gen.

There was no 4th gen equivalent to what we are describing. Maybe a 1LE six speed Z/28 had some of the flavor....but we're describing a much more focused and comprehensive package.

The Z06 is the closest thing Chevy has done in modern times to what we describe...and as we said, it accounts for 25%-30% of production. Pretty successful, if you ask me.

The point is, that Z/28 doesn't need to be...or should be...all things to all people. Really, that IS the whole point.

For variety, the SS will cover those segments. No problem.

But for many of us, the Z/28....the REAL Z/28 described here...will be the choice preferred. It's not for everyone....but it's for us.

Darth Xed

If the powertrains were the same from SS and Z28, I probably would, but then, what would be the point of having the two models? It's be like the 4th Gen again, with little difference between the two.

Darth Xed

What was the T-Top percentage for 3rd Gens? It's gotta be pretty high too.

We're going in circles here, but I strongly believe that (hardtop) Z06 sales would be MUCH lower if the drivetrain was offered in the Coupe and Convertible. The Z06 exists as a way of bailing out the failed hardtop and giving it a purpose.


That's all fine and dandy... just don't restrict me from getting the hottest powertrain setup with all the options and features offered throughout the line. If it says "SS" on it, that's fine by me.

But wait.... that's pretty much what the 4th Gen did, and you bash that to the end.

dream '94 Z28

Interesting. I've been under the assumption that the SS and Z28 would have equally hot powertrains, but the SS would be high option cars with the Z28 being low(er) option cars with different suspention tuning.

Same powertrains, but different driving personalities between the cars.

guionM

Looks more along the lines of an SS to me.

Z284ever

We are going in circles. The hardtop exists because it's light and stiff and makes the Z06 possible. A convertible Z06 would be heavier, slower, have a softer suspension, handle with less precision....and generally complicate, add cost and subtract performance from the whole Z06 program. Would the convertible be a real Z06?
I don't know how else to communicate that. That's why Dave Hill refuses to make the LS6 available on other models. It also may be that they've got a pretty good formula in the undiluted hardtop package, that consistently surpasses sales projections.

Quote:

That's all fine and dandy... just don't restrict me from getting the hottest powertrain setup with all the options and features offered throughout the line. If it says "SS" on it, that's fine by me.

Well, there you go....everyone's happy.

Darth Xed

Well, of course no one from GM is going to come out and say "We are only putting the better powertrain in the HardTop only, because it's the only way we can get the money back out of it."

They are putting a spin on it to make it sound better.

If the coupe and convertible can't handle it, I guess we are in for a world of trouble with the 2005 Corvette and the LS2 which is at least as powerful as the LS6.


Again to think that anyone is buying the hardtop for anything other than the powertrain is crazy. The LS1 hardtop did not sell... and it was even brand spanking new then too... by the time the Z06 came out, the hardtop was 3 years old! It proves the point...

Z284ever

The Z51 package is only on the coupe.

Darth Xed

No... actually ... it's available on both the coupe and the convertible!

Z284ever

By golly Darth, you're right!

Z28Wilson

I agree with Darth here. If you read ACAR, it was a GM exec's vision to have a "Billy Bob" Corvette (his words, not mine) which would be a fixed roof car and would be priced thousands less than the Targa/Vert models. There was a big problem with the Billy Bob. The FRC car somehow was never priced a lot cheaper than the other models to make living with a hardtop Corvette worth it. What is the motivation to buy a hardtop that costs about as much as the targa coupe and has the same drivetrain? I can't think of one and apparently no one else could either. As Darth said, from '97-2000 hardtop sales were in the tank. The Z06 package came along to give Corvette that real performance package but if Chevy people were being completely honest I have to believe they'd admit that it was a great way to get hardtops rolling out of the showrooms at the same time.

I guess it's the chicken-or-the-egg debate as to which came about first, or why.

Chris 96 WS6

Darth, the problem with ttops and all these other options being on the theoretical Z28 is simply what will differentiate it from the SS if they both have the same engine, same options and everthing.

It'll be back to how the 4th gens were. You'll have a visually bland Z28 that is a bit cheaper than the equally performing SS, yet the SS will have the head-turner factor.

I want a Z28 that offers something the SS does not, and that is a more race-bred package w/o as many frilly, weight adding options, with a unique head-turning look of its own that is less flashy but still aggressive (vs the 4th gen z28 which was visually indistinguisable from a V6 except for badging).

Yes people want cars loaded with options, I will grant you that, but if you have a Z28 and an SS side by side and they have all the same options but one looks a little different...what's the point in having the two cars at all?

Chris 96 WS6

I think that's a wayyy oversimplification. Yes you can say that the ONLY reason Z06 exists is to prop up the failed hardtop car. YOu can also make the case listening to Dave Hill that the Z06 is what they wanted to do with the hardtop from the beginning but just couldn't get it all done in '99.