Wondered when NASCAR splitters would start showing up on new production cars!

[martinfan5]

Well, you guys are going to be shocked , lets take a look some steering wheels from Chevy

first up, is the steering wheel from a C6 Vette

Second is the steering wheel from a Coblat

and third is the steering wheel from a Malibu

[Lownslow]

  On 12/13/2012 at 4:03 AM, Longbox55 said:

I've never seen a Cobalt steering wheel in any Corvette.

[Jordan White]

Could it be a 'Vette wheel in the Cobalt?

[Lownslow]

  On 12/13/2012 at 5:27 AM, Jordan White said:

Could it be a 'Vette wheel in the Cobalt?

Maybe still as bad as buying a buick, Corvettes are cool but its like riding a scooter its fun till someone sees you driving one.

Edited December 13, 2012 by Lownslow

[tabsscale1]

  On 12/11/2012 at 3:20 PM, Lownslow said:

enter the worlds ugliest vette

Hasn't been a good looking Vette since 1969!!

[2002p51]

  On 12/13/2012 at 1:31 AM, robiwon said:

. So Chevy is starting a trend with tail lights. ???

Hardly starting anything. Both Chevy and Ford did the same thing in the sixties. Chevys had similar two or three small round taillights on full size cars, Corvairs, and Corvettes, while Ford went with large single round taillights on Galaxies, Falcons, and T-birds.

[gerdog]

  On 12/13/2012 at 6:03 AM, Lownslow said:

Maybe still as bad as buying a buick, Corvettes are cool but its like riding a scooter its fun till someone sees you driving one.

Also, a 'vette was a 'vette. A choice of one. Now the choices are 13 coupes and 8 convertibles.

[trogdor]

  On 12/11/2012 at 4:16 PM, Harry P. said:

1968.

1967 is the correct answer

[Scale-Master]

  On 12/13/2012 at 6:03 AM, Lownslow said:

Maybe still as bad as buying a buick, Corvettes are cool but its like riding a scooter its fun till someone sees you driving one.

Interesting viewpoint. I for one am not embarrassed to be seen driving my Corvette (or any of my Camaros for that matter) or as a passenger in someone else’s.

But I have heard that type of comment before (and I'm sure I'll hear it again) from people who drive much lesser cars and to me it sounds like sour grapes or even a little jealousy.

[Chuck Most]

Speaking of taillights, didn't they try messing with things in the '90's, when all 'Vettes got the ZR-1's 'square' taillights? People didn't like those, so they went back to an oval shape, which finally came back to round-shaped again. If they do stick with the Camaro-ish tails, who's to say they won't revert to the more familiar style if enough people, well, complain?

[Harry P.]

  On 12/13/2012 at 3:52 PM, Michigan Madman said:

Speaking of taillights, didn't they try messing with things in the '90's, when all 'Vettes got the ZR-1's 'square' taillights? People didn't like those, so they went back to an oval shape, which finally came back to round-shaped again. If they do stick with the Camaro-ish tails, who's to say they won't revert to the more familiar style if enough people, well, complain?

Corvette is an icon. Why on earth would the big brains at GM think that "sharing" taillights with the Camaro is a good idea? Shouldn't a car as distinctive as a Corvette remain distinctive and apart from the "regular" Chevy lineup? I think so.

Corvette has already become way too Ferrari-ish looking as it is, and has lost its unique "Corvette-ness" to some degree, like it used to have. Now they decide to tack on a Camaro rear end? Why?

[Scale-Master]

  On 12/13/2012 at 3:52 PM, Michigan Madman said:

Speaking of taillights, didn't they try messing with things in the '90's, when all 'Vettes got the ZR-1's 'square' taillights? People didn't like those, so they went back to an oval shape, which finally came back to round-shaped again. If they do stick with the Camaro-ish tails, who's to say they won't revert to the more familiar style if enough people, well, complain?

The C4’s went from round to squared off on the ZR-1 and that style later was applied to the base C4 Corvette.

Some ZR-1 owners were peeved as many casual observers used that taillight as the only “spotter” ID and assumed any Corvette with square lights was a ZR-1 for a bit.

C5’s (new body design) got the oval taillights and they were made less oval for the C6.

I'd expect a round themed taillight, probably two per side, on the C7.

[Chuck Most]

What exactly is 'Corvette-ness'? It's a performance car, right? Why does styling even matter? You mention Ferrari- I never hear anyone say anything about how the latest Ferrari doesn't 'look like' a Ferrari. And yes, Ferrari is a manufacturer, not a single model, but still- nobody knocked the Enzo Ferrari for not looking enough like an F40 or a Testarossa.

[Harry P.]

  On 12/13/2012 at 4:13 PM, Michigan Madman said:

What exactly is 'Corvette-ness'? It's a performance car, right? Why does styling even matter? You mention Ferrari- I never hear anyone say anything about how the latest Ferrari doesn't 'look like' a Ferrari. And yes, Ferrari is a manufacturer, not a single model, but still- nobody knocked the Enzo Ferrari for not looking enough like an F40 or a Testarossa.

Styling always matters. Most people buy a car based on styling to some degree, many buy a car based almost completely on styling. Yeah, the Corvette is a performance car, but it's also traditionally been "different" from the rest of the Chevy lineup (if not 100% mechanically different, at least different in "spirit"). I know, that sounds a little vague, but part of Corvette's appeal over the years has been its uniqueness, and lately it has become less unique. Back in the day, a Corvette would never have been mistaken for any other car. Same as with a Jaguar E-type... instantly recognizable as something unique. It was a very distinctive car. Today it's looking more and more like a lot of other high-end performance/sports cars and has lost it's "Corvette-ness" (there's that word again!).

So sharing a major styling theme with the current Camaro seems to go against the idea of a Corvette as being something special. At least that's my take on it.

[Casey]

  On 12/13/2012 at 4:00 PM, Harry P. said:

Now they decide to tack on a Camaro rear end? Why?

  On 12/13/2012 at 4:31 PM, Harry P. said:

Styling always matters.

I think you answered your own question. People prefer the styling of the Camaro over the Corvette, so the latter borrows styling cues from the former, regardless of which is the brand's "flagship" model.

As long as the Chevy model's names all start with "C" or are named after Florida counties, it's all good.

[Chuck Most]

  On 12/13/2012 at 4:31 PM, Harry P. said:

Styling always matters. Most people buy a car based on styling to some degree, many buy a car based almost completely on styling.

And many don't seem to care if the car resembles a toaster on wheels- witness that parking lot full of Camrys, Malibus, or What-Have-Yous.

Now out of left field- if Chevrolet had never produced the Corvette, and this were some all-new product for them, and it still had the Camaro rear end treatment, would it be as 'offensive' for some for the back end to look like that? Probably not. But now let's take the Corvette's history into consideration.Don't look at how this design compares to past Corvettes- look at it in this context... Look back on the past generations of Corvette- yeah, they were unique from other Chevrolet products. And they always had a stronger resemblence to their European sports car competitors than any other American car. Camaro tails aside, that's what this design looks like to me- in fact it looks a bit better to me than some European and Japanese sports cars it will be competing against in the market. (SOME, not all, yes.) Personally I think it's a good thing to see that Chevrolet is at least considering moving forward with the design, rather than get stuck in some cheesy and completely pointless 'retro' rut. Style the car to modern standards, and if it's remembered 50 years from now as a classic design, great. If not? Well, it's still a Corvette- it'll be remembered more for its performance prowess and being a bargain for what it is. After all, isn't that how they designed all the previous generation Corvettes? And if they do keep four round taillights on the back, I don't think it's a huge deal in the grand scheme of things one way or the other.

[Scale-Master]

Many are still assuming this “possible look at the C7” rendering is from GM, I for one do not think so as I have stated before, so I think intimating that this is GM’s idea to appeal to the masses is off base.

Corvettes have had a pair of (ostensibly) round taillights since 1961. Hidden headlights have come and gone, but the pair of rounded taillights are an ingrained feature I expect to continue.

If anything the Camaro will possibly receive a similar treatment after its first major make over. I base this opinion on the history of the first and second generation Camaros taillight treatment and the similarity of the change mimicking the then relatively new Stingray. The current Camaro lights are a nod to the first generation Camaro, and no Corvette ever had any such taillight styling.

As for the Enzo not looking enough like an F40 or F50? I heard a lot of discussion about that, most of it not in favor of the direction they went and that it should have followed that “logical” path.

[Danno]

What Mark said. This is not necessarily GM's design, nor is it a certified production design. Just another interest-building (and conversation-stimulating) artist's conception of what the C7 may look like.

And take heart, purists. The camoflage has round holes over the taillights and back-up lights.

No matter how it ends up looking ... it will still be ... a Corvette!

That's Corvette-ness.

[Scale-Master]

No matter how it ends up looking ... it will still be ... a Corvette! That's Corvette-ness. = Like

[wisdonm]

Don't like them tail lights at all, no sir. And who in hello thinks the latest gen Camero is good looking, much less inspiring?

[Longbox55]

  On 12/13/2012 at 5:27 AM, Jordan White said:

Could it be a 'Vette wheel in the Cobalt?

Exactly! While I do see some styling cues that are similar, the 'Vette wheel has a different shape to the wheel itself (no hand grip bumps like the Cobalt). IIRC, the diameter is different, too.

[lordairgtar]

Corvette and Cobalt wheels do not interchange. Only the center badge does, which will wind up in my HHR (LOL) which does indeed use the Cobalt wheel.

[Joe Handley]

Don't care much for the Camaro tail lights, but that wouldn't stop them from doing round tails that are kinda "cut off" at the top like like the square tails on the Camaro, Malibu, and upcoming Impala are.

[Lownslow]

  On 12/13/2012 at 3:45 PM, Scale-Master said:

Interesting viewpoint. I for one am not embarrassed to be seen driving my Corvette (or any of my Camaros for that matter) or as a passenger in someone else’s.

But I have heard that type of comment before (and I'm sure I'll hear it again) from people who drive much lesser cars and to me it sounds like sour grapes or even a little jealousy.

Im in my early 30s and people i hang around with share the same opinion even heard it being referred to as a souped up buick century on a facebook page. Id rather rock a 370 Nismo over a vette, maybe my opinion about them will change when i hit 65. To me a cool corvette stops at C3.

Edited December 14, 2012 by Lownslow

[Scale-Master]

  On 12/14/2012 at 3:03 AM, Lownslow said:

Im in my early 30s and people i hang around with share the same opinion even heard it being referred to as a souped up buick century on a facebook page. Id rather rock a 370 Nismo over a vette, maybe my opinion about them will change when i hit 65. To me a cool corvette stops at C3.

Thanks for validating my point.