Mailbag: Jack Thinks The New Vette Is “An Ugly Car”
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This article is part of the GM Authority Mailbag series, where the GM Authority Crew features and replies to your questions, comments, and observations.
This one comes to us from Jack immediately following the unveiling of the 2014 Corvette Stingray:
The new Vette – What an ugly car! It may be fast and handle well, but it looks like the previous version on steroids. Pimped out with detracting detailing and unsightly body lines (those horrible body lines up the hood… ugh) that say anything but sleek. And I love Corvettes. I have a 1960, two fuel-injected ’64 convertible’s, two 427 roadsters and a 91-six speed convertible. But I won’t ever desire the new model.
Jack — you are, of course, more than entitled to your own opinion about any vehicle, including the all-new 2014 Corvette Stingray. Personally, however, I disagree with your assessment — as do most others, judging by our preliminary reactions poll.
If it matters, here’s my reaction to seeing the C7 Corvette (in photos and in person here in Detroit): it’s anything but “ugly”… rather, it’s beautiful and awesome. I liked (and continue to like) the Corvette C6 and respect it for its capability and value. But I never really felt like I had to have one.
After seeing the C7, however, I simply must have the new model. For me, this change of heart has everything to do with the looks; heck, even if the C7 utilized the components and technology of the last-gen model, I would still be salivating for the Stingray. That is to say that the design of the C7 is not only appealing to me (the C6 was “appealing”), but it’s gorgeous, sexy, aggressive, and passionate (not to mention functional) — qualities that any Vette should be proud to possess.
In the end, whether you like the C7 is entirely up to you; but from a marketability standpoint, I expect the Corvette Stingray to attract significantly more people than it will detract.
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tell jack to shove it…….i like the lines of the new vette, as he said like the c6 on steroids…..that retro look is getting played out for one….this is nice to see them reach out side and try something new……he will get used to it….give him a few days of just staring at the picture and realize that is a nice design….he will be iight
I like the new design a lot, but I agree with Jack on the hood. All of the lines are good on the front except that one pesky stripe on the center of the hood, because it isn’t carried through any other part of the car, it’s just random.
I agree that the line does not carry throughout the car, but I think it balances out the other lines on the hood. And honestly, there is so much glass on the back, it might have looked out of place on that tiny little trunk lid.
I am glad I am not the only one who feels this way. The rest of the lines on the hood are great, but the center one just seems out of place.
The Vette is gorgeous- he must have been thinking about the new Silverado- it’s so ugly from the front -Chevy spent millions of dollars try to sell us on the tailgate
Of course, styling is subjective – but it’s pretty clear (to me at least) that the C7 has very little to do with the C6, style wise. Exterior, interior, I see nothing of the old car – could be my Corvette tinted glasses, but C7 is simply stunning. Park this car on any average street in America (or the World for that matter) and watch the people line up to get a look.
Jack, you are aloud to have a Opinion. I also have one and like everything I can find about the C8s.
First ordered the COUPE when announced
When Convertible was I changed. Looking forward to it.
You have a great day Jack.
I think it’s interesting to hear Jack, somebody who has a whole garage full of Corvettes, give this new one a “thumbs down”? I think in order to get the attention of a younger buyer, they had to make it a bit over the top? In reality, they need to sell more than 1000-1200 Corvettes per month and I’m guessing this one will do the job.
I disagree somewhat. It does look a bit “busy” as a friend of mine said to me this morning. This is due to the black air vents that should be body coloured. Otherwise I wouldn’t necessarily call it stunning or class-leading in the looks department, but it’s a step up from what prevailed before. If you want to see a busier, uglier car, head to your Nissan dealer and ask to see the GTR. Thats aid, the red car that they used at the unveil did it no justice. The pewter or the black would have done the job better.
I’ve appreciated the Corvette styling over the years, but just have never been into this type of sports car. Without that biased mindset, I must say this is a beautiful evolution of the Stingray and a nice flagship model for the Chevrolet division – as well as a solid mark for GM. They can still build a world class vehicle when they set their mind on a target.
I agree with Alex; this is the first car I’ve seen offered by an American company that my id screamed: “YOU MUST HAVE THIS CAR AT ANY COST!!!”.
Of course, my wallet, bank account and driving record just chuckled and replied: “Maybe you’ll get a nice 1/32nd RC replica for Christmas if you can go all summer without a(nother) driving infraction.”
Seriously, I could own this car and not worry about getting chest hair implants to fit in. I love it.
CTS-V Coupe was the first American car that made me scream that, though I think Im screaming louder for the corvette , unfortunately , the speakerphone of reality always scream louder. 🙂
Other than the rear end, which I will probably come to love down the road, its beautiful.
In regards to Jack, there will always resistance from the older generation when the next gen of such an iconic car comes out, Im sure sales will go up dramatically despite many previous owners being turned off, not to mention I think this corvette will be sold all around the world.
This would be a great 40th birthday present from my super awesome, gorgeous, extremely talented, wonderful, did I mention gorgeous wife. Hope she reads this. 🙂
Might as Well tell him to go see it in person then if he still has the same reaction then will talk
The old adage applies here: You can please some of the people some of the time, but you will never please all of the people all of the time. You can tell Jack is a retro kind of guy. There is nothing wrong with that, but one should be honest with one’s self when looking at a technology driven/modern car.
That’s the problem I have with retro. The stigma of being atiquated preceeds the car. GM had to revolutionize the C7 or it would look like it was there only to echo cars from the 60’s and 70’s.
The 21 century is only going to be here once, and there is nothing wrong with change if it raises the profile of the car, the brand, and the company to reflect the age in which we live in.
The kind of statement GM wants the C7 to say is technolgically advanced, world beating super car. They couldn’t do that by continuly apeing styling cues from the past while compeditors get acolades for their appearence.
Jack is likely a stick in the mud, and probably wouldn’t buy a car if it didn’t have factory whitewalls.
it’s not his age – i’m 23 & i’ll never like/own a C7 Stingray.
maybe if it looked like &/or incorporated more of these designs i would change my mind;
http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164281
but, i feel they dropped the ball completely on this design. it looks like a Nissan GT-R, Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, & C6 Corvette had an orgy, & this C7 Stingray was the resulting child.
the new taillights are a step in the right direction, but the rest of the car falls short IMO. i feel as though they tried too much & got lost in the swirl of ideas – blacking-out some panels was a big mistake too. it’s okay, but nothing mind-blowing to me – not like the C5 & C6 generation IMO.
i’ll definitely take a C5 Z06 or C6 Corvette over this design.
the real interest this C7 Stingray design gave me was for the C8 generation. haha
I agree with Jack, a lot of nice elements, in fact way too many. A crazy quilt of 21 century car design cues. I love Vettes and I love Chevy but this my friends is at best a placeholder until we get a firm hand on the design rudder and the will to let designers follow their hearts.
And one more thing there was a Stingray in 69 also. so Chevy you can update your poster of Stingrays.
Jack, John Murphey; Ru kidding me… Let thecar designers do there jobs and shut up… This Vette is stunning period… And is the right design for the times…
Time will sort it all out. Didn’t mean to rain on your parade. Let’s see what Cadillac does with the same innereds.
People can say what they want, it won’t make me like it any less.. I think Corvette will be class leading not only in the looks department but in performance also, and especially on the track. The design of the car is great and it all comes together. To me I don’t care for the looks of some European cars, they are too plain and you pay a premium price that is way out there..
Haha did anyone else notice the Camaro’s new rear view mirror on the Corvette? Looks great, though I suppose it would on any car. 🙂
If he says this is an ugly car, why don’t he say that to the Corolla Furia Concept?? Props to Toyota for making Pikachu as realistic as possible LOL
The front and side views look pretty good, but the rear end view is absolutely dissappointing given all the alternatives they could have come up with. The two-tone blocky grey bottom and the back angles just don’t flow together at all. Rear tail lights look too camaroish and cheap. Looks like some college kids designed the rear end. What a shame.
I own a C6 and this new C7 design does not appeal to me at all. I especially do not like that rear end. I do not like the lines on the fron of the hood (it just doesn’t look as aggressive as the c6), and the same goes for the fron bumper. The lines are way too similar to that of a Nissan GTR or Skyline. They obviously borrowed some elements of the new Viper for the headlights. I like the rear window, however I can easily see it become a serious issue for blind spots (where as with the C6s, C5s, C4s, and the later C3s had an all glass surrounding rear window – thus eliminating the blind spot issue). However, I suspect GM is incorporating technology such as a “back-up” camera and proximity sensors to remedy that problem (technology that should’ve been available on the C6s). I don’t mind the cowl-induction setup on the hood. Although the black decorations that come with it are a no-go. I give this new design a 5/10. GM could have easily come up with something better and I am shocked that they chose this one. This car looks like one of those concept designs, that were too crazy and abstract to what a Corvette is, and should’ve been shelved and saved for only the next Corvette album book that you would find at your local book store. Very disapointed. At least I know that I will be owning the last good looking Corvette that GM has made. I hope the C8 will redeem this Vette enthusiast.
I hate the new Vette. Rectangular tail lights on a Vette? Yuck.
It looks like 20 designers each had an idea, independent of one another, and they all just tacked their idea on. No subtle lines, and sexy curves. I have been a Vette guy all my life and have owned 6 or 7 of them. I won’t own one of these.
Hate it, just hate it,
I totally agree with Jack. It does look way nicer than the C6, but it’s basically the C6 on steroids. I know we all really like this car – I would LOVE to have one – but that’s just because it’s a vette. They had a chance here to revolutionize the design. Instead I feel they just evolved the previous gen with sharper lines and a non-curved rear windshield. Also, they borrowed the taillights from the camaro and slanted them. It’s very un-vette. I printed a black and white picture of the new vette from the front/side view to put near my desk at work – from a few feet back you can’t even tell it’s a new vette. It looks like a less advanced version of the f12 berlinetta design. Feels more plastic-y and has a tuner look. My bet is they’ll fix up all those unsightly holes and shapes with some finesse in the refresh in another 4 years. Meanwhile, being the pragmatist that I am, I love this car, but will be saving for the alpha-platform camaro. Please give the next gen camaro good visibility and a bigger trunk! Just copy the 4 series!
I love it!! finally got rid of that glass hatch back (sooo 80’s) Not crazy about all the black accents though. Corvette needed to be more modern but not to euro, think they did a good job!