Electric Corvette

GM President Mark Reuss announced this morning that the Corvette is going electric. There isn’t much more to the announcement than that, but the supposition is that it will be a hybrid much like the Ferrari hybrids. The attached article says that Corvettes were sighted throwing up snow with the front wheels, implying electric motors on front. Remember that GM promised to be all electric by 2035. What do you think? Is it an attractive alternative to the current ICE version?

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An AWD Corvette would be a plus. I don’t think the owners care about the hybrid part at all unless it boosts performance. Since it is a hybrid, maybe a plug in hybrid, (not really an EV) doesn’t make any difference at all in helping the environment since they don’t build many and owners don’t drive them much.

The CNN Business article said that the industry refers to hybrids as electric vehicles. Certainly GM does since they called the Volt an EV. While just a supposition, I suspect that the electric motors would add to the power of the 6.2L V8, already at 495 HP. That’s how Ferrari and Acura handle it. I’m sure it will cost more than the base Vette, but even if it’s $10,000-$15,000 more, the car is still a bargain in that market.

I’ve wondered how the NSX would be with all the hybrid stuff stripped out, simpler, lighter, cheaper. Slower? Maybe, but I’d wonder how they’d compare.

Yeah, the industry can call a chicken a duck but it still can’t swim! :wink:

You can put gas in it or plug it in… that’s a hybrid. EVs just plug in. The Volt was a hybrid no matter what GM called it.

I have seen a few headlines claiming full EV. Maybe in the future.

I saw a Tesla Model 3 at a track day last weekend. I didn’t get a chance to talk to the driver about it. Based on my 21 mpg trip TO the track and my 6.4 mpg ON the track…the Tesla would be spending the night recharging while I was already home having dinner after the 95 mile drive.

I think adding cost to a $100k car is bad business decision.

Why? The cars it competes with are MORE expensive and GM is selling every one they build.

Porsche 911s start at $103K and grow to $208K for the most expensive turbo model. Ferraris start at $220K and go up (WAY up) from there. The Ford GT is $500K, The Acura RX is north of $170K, the Audi R8 is $180K, McLaren GT is $215 and up.

The current $100K Corvette can hang with any of these cars for far less money. There is at least $50K worth of space to improve the car at a higher price.

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I suspect an all-electric Corvette could be built to out accelerate an internal combustion model, and until you’ve driven a performance electric car you really don’t understand the amazing instant torque. The only significant down side is that it’s silent. Corvette owners do love that exhaust sound.

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The sound is partly what made Harley Davidson’s electric motorcyle a failure. The sound and the pitful range.

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It would be pretty easy to add a sound generator to produce a most impressive roar!

Govt says Chevy will make Ev’s. So, it is what it is. I know people who buy $80k street rods. They are into cars and have money. Do they want a $150k vette? Don’t know.

Well, no. Chevrolet said that they will build EVs, just like other manufactures said they would. If there is a government mandate other than for their own fleet, please show it to me. BTW, in 2018 GM said they wanted the federal government to mandate EVs.

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What govt mandate is that? When did that happen? EV’s are NOT the only non ICE vehicles. Honda is still working on Fuel Cell vehicles.

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Sure. They probably make more money off of them.

GM is at the forefront of full EVs and forcing other auto to manufacturers to follow them would give GM a big head start over the competition. I’m thinking about the large Asian manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai. Toyota essentially owns the hybrid market, and forcing them to go EV on someone else’s time table would set them back big time.

Why would anyone think of gm?!?

California is trying to set up a series of goals for electric vehicle sales, with 30% by 2026, I believe, and 100% by 2035. Since it’s the biggest single market in the US, 40,000,000 people, and since other States often adopt California environmental regulations as their own, this is a big deal. Complain all you want about California, something’s still going to happen, and the car makers know it.