Hmmm. I guess no one complains about Corvettes and Escalades having the same engine...

In any case the new F-150 is way heavier than the old one, so the Lightning must be as well. Thats probably why they were considering a different sport truck as the Lightning would be pushed out of a competitive price range not to mention performance...

 

[QUOTE=RussStang]Although I was really reaching by saying a M5 (logic being that there isn't an M5 coupe), it's even a far and away bigger reach thinking that anyone cross shops a Corvette with a GT500.

People who buy cars like this aren't bargin hunters, and aren't after the car that handles the best or accelerates the hardest. They are after the individual car itself......period!

Both the GT500 and the Corvette are going to attract people who want....... a GT500 or a Corvette.

The Corvette buyer probally had another Corvette in his past or at least a Camaro. He likely in his very late 40s, most likely has 2 other cars, and the Corvette is his personal toy that he drives to work regularly or at least on good days. At the very least, the Corvette buyer is someone who specifically has wanted a Corvette for years, and isn't going to lock it in a garage for auto shows.

The GT500 buyer is the type of person (also older... probally in his 50s) who could probally recite Mustang history in his sleep. He probally has raced Mustangs in his past either on the street or on the track, and is an avowed Mustang fan. He is likely to have at least one other Mustang in storage, and prefers to have a rare or limited edition special intrest Mustang. Unlike the Corvette driver, he's not likely to drive his GT500 to work everyday, though he might take it to the dragstrip on weekends (while the Corvette driver would be more into track or Autocross).


The pull of the last Cobra was that Corvettes couldn't get away from it on a course when just a couple of years earlier, it was barely keeping up with Camaros, so of course this was big news in Mustang circles and was natural fodder for new Mustang-Corvette comparisons.

However, NO ONE is going to cross shop a GT500 with a Corvette just like no one cross shopped a Cobra and Corvette. That's like someone cross shopping a Prius and a Cobalt SS. Sure they run the same price, and carry 5 people.... but you aren't going to mistake a Prius buyer for one that went for a Cobalt.

 

I completely disagree. I would say far and away someone will cross shop a c6 before an M5. I really, really doubt a typical M5 buyer is going to be even remotely interested in a Mustang.

And this may be true... to an extent. This does not speak for everyone though. Some people actually like to try to get the most out of the money they spend, and 40Gs is a lot of money to drop on a toy.

This could be very true for many of the buyers. Just not all of them.

The old Cobra/Corvette comparisons took place because, on paper, it looked like they could be a match for one another. Same exact reason why the GT500/Corvette comparions are happening now. I doubt a base c5 is going to have much trouble dusting off an 03/04 Cobra on a road course. MM&FF did a head to head comparison between an 02 SS and an 03 Cobra when both cars came out, and around the road course the Cobra was only marginally faster than the Camaro. A Corvette would have little problem.

NO ONE is a very strong statement, and one that is fundamentally flawed in it's absoluteness. SOMEONE is going to go against the market research, and buy the car on reasons that don't jive with the generalizations you gave of boths kinds of car buyers. I know people in real life who already throw your NO ONE theory out the window. I don't understand why it is so hard for some people to comprehend why someone would want to cross shop a GT500 and a Vette. They are both expensive, purpose built performance toys. A Cobalt SS and a Pruis comparison is a very poor example of this, as they seek to accomplish entirely different goals.

 

Two of my friends considered the following cars, Cobra, WS6, Corvette, STI when they wanted to buy cars.... They were all used but were still cross-shopped

 

Yea, and I cross shopped a 97 Camaro, an 94 Thunderbird SC, a 93 BMW M3, and a CHP Caprice when I bought my 97 Camaro used.

But if there was something I'd spend 35 or 40K on, I'd have a good idea of what I wanted.

 

I probably would too. Then again, I would want to know everything else on the market I might be passing up.

 

OK, lets say no one is going to cross shop a Corvette with a GT500, a Cobra, or an M5 like no none is going to play on a busy highway. Of course there are people dumb enough to try it, however they are grossly in the minority (and likely Darwin Award canidates).

I'm not voicing "opinion" here. I'm stating the results of buyer surveys and demographics which are available from both GM and Ford. Sure Dodge sells about 10% of it's Vipers to women, but being that 90% go to men while Corvette pulls about 70-75%, I can say the Viper is more a mans car than a Corvette. The same goes for my statement about who buys a Corvette and who buys a Cobra or who's going to buy a GT500.

As Scott used to say, just because you see alot of Camaros in your area, doesn't mean it's selling well. Same can be said about the fact that just because you may know a couple of people that may have considered both a Corvette and a Cobra doesn't mean that it's significant enough to be factored in with actual statistics and surveys.

It's enough to say that Corvette and GT500 don't attract the same buyers.

 

I understand you read heavily into this data. This data is pretty black and white though. How often is cosigning involved in an auto loan? The main cosigner on the loan, may very well not be the owner. Cosigning happens all of the time, and is just one of the reasons I don't completely fall back on buyer surveys and demographics. They definetly have there place, and there is definelty a wealth of information than can be ascertained from them, but they don't account well for all possible scenarios.

Yes, I understand all of this. You just stated NO ONE cross shops a Cobra and a Corvette, and being that I know at least one person tha has, that has invalidated your statement.

And for the most part, you are probably right. Doesn't mean it won't happen though. A super Camaro is likely to draw in it's own set of Chevy faithful that would never cross shop the GT500, even though the cars are of very similar purpose. However, that does not mean only Chevy faithful will buy the super Camaro, and some people will end up cross shopping the two vehicles.