Death of the Corvette

[SoonerAviator]

The C8 looks like any other exotic to me. Ferrari front/side profile with a Lamborghini tail lights/rear. I think the C7 was the culmination of the Corvette styling, absolutely sinister in certain color combos. I wouldn’t own one without the manual. I don’t care if the DCT is faster or better at the track, because I wouldn’t be driving it at the track all that often. It’s a fun street car, and I enjoy rowing through the gears. Doesn’t matter if it’s a ‘67 or a ‘17. I’ll probably end up with a ‘19 targa top Z06 or at least Grand Sport at some point down the road because I’m such a fan of the C7 body style, but it’ll have a manual in it. The C2/C8 are my favorites of all the models.

I don’t like rowing the gears in anything but a muscle/spirts car. Jeeps, trucks, etc. tend to have lots of slop in the shift mechanism and I don’t generally need that “control” aspect of being able to hold a lower gear through a corner.

 

[SoonerAviator]

6 speed manual in my C5. It's always fun downshifting when there is a tailgater on your ass. ( I can't go anywhere with this other car in front of me why are you riding my ass?) How am I supposed to do that in an automatic?

Technically you’d just shift into manual mode and drop down to whatever gear you wanted to use with the paddle shifters. However I get the point.

 

[NJP_MAN]

Downshift. It's all about the downshift. Manual trannies do it right, paddle shifters, not so much. JMHO.

Have you heard Porsche PDK downshift ? that's about as sweet as it gets in my opinion.

 

[Pilawt]

Get real. If you're gonna need one hand for the shifter, how can you text?!!



"Siri, shift into third, please ... "

 

[NoHeat]

All ICE cars are, or will be dead soon. They are anachronisms.

The new Vette platform actually anticipates that. It’s designed to accommodate electric drive, to be offered in a future year.

 

[denverpilot]

Written before the Corvette announcement.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g20734564/manual-transmission-cars/

With a right hand that now no longer always wants to work correctly on certain days, my manual driving days might be over.

 

[chartbundle]

I used to love driving, then I spent 2 years doing an 40 mile each way commute, even though traffic was fast I've decided I'm never commuting again, and every time I drive I seem to like it less and less. So my new pickup is an automatic, and if it had full autopilot type capabilities I would have gotten those also.

 

[RudyP]

I’m very impressed with what Chevy is bringing to the table in terms of technology, performance and looks for $60k. I’ve never owned a corvette and they haven’t been at the top of my list of cars to own but this one, I find quite impressive. I do love a mid engine car and I love that they are making such an affordable car that is a near rival to exotics that cost 3-4x as much. The Z06 and ZR1 variants of this thing are going to be giant slayers!

That said, the automatic is a complete non-starter for me too. I hate automatics. I have one in one of my cars (a dual clutch PDK) and I abhor it. All my other cars are manuals and I only have the one auto because there just isn’t any new car available on the market that has the practicality and driving dynamics of my Macan GTS and comes with a manual option.

So I guess overall I’m with you Ted.. this is a miss for me too but they were so close! If they’d only offered a manual, I may very well have ended up buying a Corvette - which is a surprising statement for someone who prefers European sports cars.

 

[JOhnH]

LOL. Like round engine piston airplanes?

Yeah, a lot like that. They will be museum pieces with a few that are kept running out of nostalgia.

 

[EdFred]

All ICE cars are, or will be dead soon. They are anachronisms.

Yep and Nuclear Fusion power is 5 years away, and flying cars are 5 years away, and....

 

[wsuffa]

Probably need the auto to meet Fed fuel/emissions requirements.

 

[Kenny Phillips]

Ban automatics in F1. The Europeans were converted by the "shift like Schuey" rally cry.

How silly for the "pinnacle of motorsport" to be hamstrung by an archaic mechanical bit. They already ban too many things that are found in $15k new cars!
But I'm now considering a new Corvette, if they sell it with the rumored DOHC 32-valve engine.

 

[JOhnH]

Yep and Nuclear Fusion power is 5 years away, and flying cars are 5 years away, and....

Nah, not 5 years. Twenty years. Always has been, always will be.

 

[Ted]

I think there are some people missing my point. I am not making the John Henry argument that I am better than the machine. No doubt that if you put two cars - one with a proper, good DSG and one with me in them, the DSG will do better than me. Or substitute me for one of the best drivers in the world who makes me look like an amateur - no doubt, the DGS can beat that person, at least most of the time. The same is true for my Ram. I will fully admit that the automatics, especially the Aisin, can do effectively every aspect of shifting better than I can for my manual 6-speed.

Of course, these are street cars. I would bet that fewer than 5% of them ever get on the track, at least with any consistency, whether it's test-n-tune at the drag strip, a generic track night, or actual competition. Fewer than 0.1% of those sold in the US will go to Nurburgring.

And my Ram is something I drive. I want to enjoy it. I'm not trying to win any races or any trophies, just like most of us.

That's my point with all of this. A lot of the replies talk about the technical advantages of automatics. More speeds and quicker shifting makes better acceleration, better use of the engine's torque band, consistency, etc. I'm not arguing any of that. I'm arguing the enjoyment of the drive.

I've had a 30 minute commute for my career. I've generally wanted houses about that far from work because I enjoy the drive and want to enjoy it. I also have chosen houses in such a place that the drive will be more enjoyable as opposed to sitting in traffic. But even when I've had times where my commute involved sitting in traffic, driving further distances, I still prefer the manual. That continues to get harder and h

Written before the Corvette announcement.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g20734564/manual-transmission-cars/

That's actually more encouraging, although the Corvette is of course no longer available with a manual. Those are mostly cars I'm not interested in buying, but a few on there that get my attention.

With a right hand that now no longer always wants to work correctly on certain days, my manual driving days might be over.

And that is certainly a good reason to go with an automatic, and part of why I'm not opposed to vehicles of any sort being offered with an automatic. I've thought about what I would do if I lost function of one of my limbs. If I lose a leg I can make a complex air actuated clutch setup that I could put on the shifter. But loss of hand function gets harder to deal with an still shift.

When they did away with the manual choke and spark advance they turned drivers into sissies

Come now, I've not said that. I'm building the Cobra from scratch and could add in such things if I wanted, and I'm not doing that.

However I have thought about purposely building a vehicle that is as complex to drive as possible after the Cobra.

 

[RudyP]

Yeah, I saw a few of those replies too Ted... It's weird that people don't seem to get it.

When I say that I enjoy manuals and don't like automatics, I don't mean "I have always loved the concept of automatics, I just wish they shifted faster." I'm not getting paid to win the race to the office or the grocery store. I'm not trying to shave 10ths off my commute... In fact, even when I take it to the track (I am a Porsche Club instructor), I'm still the one paying to be there to enjoy myself, not chasing a trophy for my income. And for me, using my left foot, rowing the H pattern shifter and the well executed choreography of a heel and toe downshift are a big part of the enjoyment. Going slightly faster by giving up some of the magic of the experience is a tradeoff that is all backwards. Taken to the extreme, I could probably shave another second or two off my lap time by hiring a pro driver to drive my car while I watch him from the stands - but that really doesn't sound like much fun!

Put another way, artificial insemination is much more high tech and probably more effective, but I still prefer doing it the old fashion way! Since I'm in a shrinking minority and not enough Rudys and Teds exist to buy manuals in sufficient numbers for manufactures to keep making them, I'll keep hanging on to my older, slower, but so much more engaging and fun sports cars while the Joneses can brag about their sub 3 second 0-60 time and never use more than 10% of their robot car's capabilities.

How's that for a "get off my lawn you damn kids" rant from someone who owns a (relatively speaking) high tech airplane?

 

[Salty]

I don’t enjoy driving off the track anymore. To dangerous to have any fun.

 

[RudyP]

I don’t enjoy driving off the track anymore. To dangerous to have any fun.

Yeah, you're generally supposed to stay on the track...

 

[Ted]

When I say that I enjoy manuals and don't like automatics, I don't mean "I have always loved the concept of automatics, I just wish they shifted faster." I'm not getting paid to win the race to the office or the grocery store. I'm not trying to shave 10ths off my commute... In fact, even when I take it to the track (I am a Porsche Club instructor), I'm still the one paying to be there to enjoy myself, not chasing a trophy for my income. And for me, using my left foot, rowing the H pattern shifter and the well executed choreography of a heel and toe downshift are a big part of the enjoyment. Going slightly faster by giving up some of the magic of the experience is a tradeoff that is all backwards. Taken to the extreme, I could probably shave another second or two off my lap time by hiring a pro driver to drive my car while I watch him from the stands - but that really doesn't sound like much fun!

I'm completely there with you, Rudy.

I've never liked the concept of an automatic, and I've never driven a vehicle where I've said "This thing is/would be better with an automatic." I was even looking at converting my Lincoln Town Car to a manual transmission, and have thought about converting my E55 (although the latter would be much harder).

Once I get the Cobra built I do want to start getting into some track days.

 

[jsstevens]

I enjoy driving a stick. If I was trying to hustle a car around a race track, I'd want all the tech (double auto clutch, paddle shifters, TCS, ABS) I can get. I'm not doing that. I enjoy the feeling and skills of driving a stick. Heck, I bought a Nissan 370Z which is definitely a throwback car (basic car hasn't been updated since 2010). I do wish some of the electronics in the entertainment system were better/more capable. I like Apple Play in the van, for example. But the 370 is a driver's car and that's what I enjoy. (And it sounds nice, thought my son's 350Z with a NISMO exhaust added still sounds better.)

I love this tech and really like the looks of the new Corvette. And it will be an impressive performer (especially as they add higher performance models). It's just not what I want to drive daily.

John

 

[Kenny Phillips]

Yeah, I saw a few of those replies too Ted... It's weird that people don't seem to get it.

When I say that I enjoy manuals and don't like automatics, I don't mean "I have always loved the concept of automatics, I just wish they shifted faster." I'm not getting paid to win the race to the office or the grocery store. I'm not trying to shave 10ths off my commute... In fact, even when I take it to the track (I am a Porsche Club instructor), I'm still the one paying to be there to enjoy myself, not chasing a trophy for my income. And for me, using my left foot, rowing the H pattern shifter and the well executed choreography of a heel and toe downshift are a big part of the enjoyment. Going slightly faster by giving up some of the magic of the experience is a tradeoff that is all backwards. Taken to the extreme, I could probably shave another second or two off my lap time by hiring a pro driver to drive my car while I watch him from the stands - but that really doesn't sound like much fun!

Put another way, artificial insemination is much more high tech and probably more effective, but I still prefer doing it the old fashion way! Since I'm in a shrinking minority and not enough Rudys and Teds exist to buy manuals in sufficient numbers for manufactures to keep making them, I'll keep hanging on to my older, slower, but so much more engaging and fun sports cars while the Joneses can brag about their sub 3 second 0-60 time and never use more than 10% of their robot car's capabilities.

How's that for a "get off my lawn you damn kids" rant from someone who owns a (relatively speaking) high tech airplane?

I certainly "get it". And I've had 15 or so cars with sticks (and my tractor). But if I buy a car for its ultimate performance, it won't have a stick to slow it down. If I buy a Miata and stick a V-8 in it, it will need to be rowed. If I ever get into a position where I'm driving 65 miles each way to work, ain't no way it will have a stick.

 

[JOhnH]

I'm completely there with you, Rudy.

I've never liked the concept of an automatic, and I've never driven a vehicle where I've said "This thing is/would be better with an automatic." I was even looking at converting my Lincoln Town Car to a manual transmission, and have thought about converting my E55 (although the latter would be much harder).

Once I get the Cobra built I do want to start getting into some track days.

My wife loves books. She has rooms full of shelves full of books, and she keeps buying more. She even still like paper charts, but has submitted to the advantages of electronic charts. She gets upset everytime another book store closes and laments that no matter how much she likes real books, they are going away. Eventually. But she will still have her collection as will many others.

 

[Ted]

I certainly "get it". And I've had 15 or so cars with sticks (and my tractor). But if I buy a car for its ultimate performance, it won't have a stick to slow it down. If I buy a Miata and stick a V-8 in it, it will need to be rowed. If I ever get into a position where I'm driving 65 miles each way to work, ain't no way it will have a stick.

So, two thoughts there. If you're looking at the "ultimate performance" category that implies race, or something where you have competition you're trying to beat. Now sure you can use that on the street, but you're very limited in doing so. If you're looking to compete in and win at various racing/track day competitions, sure.

To each his own on the commute. When I bought my first Ram I bought it with the 6-speed, and put 65,000 miles on it in the first year. Was very happy having the manual. For a while in PA I was flying a Navajo out of an airport that was 65 miles of twisty backroads from my house. I loved that commute whether I was riding one of the motorcycles or driving my 3000GT VR-4. I don't think I ever drove that road with an automatic transmission.

I'm extreme, I get it and accept it. Nobody's ever accused me of being normal. And while my breed is dying and I'm not saying Lincoln should come out with a new 2020 Town Car with a manual transmission, I am saying that I wish there were more options, especially in the supercar realm. I would love to own a Ferrari or a Lamborghini one day, but not one with a paddle shifted DSG or whatever. I want one with a gated shifter and a clutch pedal. Unless they start to produce "nostalgia" versions with a true manual for people like me, that means all of those vehicles have already been produced and will only be getting older.

 

[Zeldman]

With a right hand that now no longer always wants to work correctly on certain days, my manual driving days might be over.

When I was a teenager I did work for a rancher that had lost his right arm. Not pretty. It looked as if someone used a giant pair of scissors to cut off his arm just a few inches below the shoulder. He still drove the big ranch trucks, no power steering and several forward gears. His personal ride was a '68 C-20 pickup, no power steering and 4 speed transmission.

And when I first met him he still threw hay bales up on the 18 wheeler trailer, but just to the floor, not all the way to the top.

So I don't want to hear ''my manual driving days may be over''. If you want to drive a stick you will find a way.

 

[Sac Arrow]

I can always tell when someone is driving a dual clutch auto. The rear wheels skid and spin on shifting like someone learning to drive a manual.

 

[Spring Ford]

You buy it because you love driving and a stick is the most fun for you.

It would not be beyond the realm of science to convert the magic dual clutch paddle/auto box to a four (or three) on the floor to suit those that prefer it.

You would just need a bit of bridge-style engineering, some microswitches and a small computer to plug into the existing control system.

I would recommend a chrome gate style top so that you can pour course sand into it if it seems to lack authentic feel.

 

[Rgbeard]

I’ve done the Corvette Racing Course with Ron Fellowes in Pahrump. Level 1, 2 and 3. 2013, just as the C7 was being released.

There were two auto cars for those that needed it but all the others were manual.

I’ve never owned one. Have always preferred Euro, But could.

 

[asicer]

It would not be beyond the realm of science to convert the magic dual clutch paddle/auto box to a four (or three) on the floor to suit those that prefer it.

Given that DSG is sequential, 4-1 downshifts might spoil the magic.

 

[1RTK1]

Here’s my two cents, for the track and general having fun nothing wrong with a stick. For commuting, traffic and town driving automatics. Less work more relaxing.

 

[Ted]

When I was a teenager I did work for a rancher that had lost his right arm. Not pretty. It looked as if someone used a giant pair of scissors to cut off his arm just a few inches below the shoulder. He still drove the big ranch trucks, no power steering and several forward gears. His personal ride was a '68 C-20 pickup, no power steering and 4 speed transmission.

And when I first met him he still threw hay bales up on the 18 wheeler trailer, but just to the floor, not all the way to the top.

So I don't want to hear ''my manual driving days may be over''. If you want to drive a stick you will find a way.

True. I've driven my manuals one-handed, and given my affinity for them, I would probably keep it going.

That said, manuals are intended for people with two arms and two legs.

It would not be beyond the realm of science to convert the magic dual clutch paddle/auto box to a four (or three) on the floor to suit those that prefer it.

You would just need a bit of bridge-style engineering, some microswitches and a small computer to plug into the existing control system.

I would recommend a chrome gate style top so that you can pour course sand into it if it seems to lack authentic feel.

That would be a compromise that I'd be willing to try driving, and it also would need a clutch pedal. Of course you'd lose all of the feel of the transmission (something I love), but in absence of the ability to have a proper manual I'd be willing to look at alternatives that give me most of the experience.

My E55 has brake-by-wire. The system has terrible pedal feel and that was always a complaint, but I can live with it. The automatic bugs me much more. I will say I would like it better if shifting was more instantaneous when in manual mode, but it still has no clutch.

Given that DSG is sequential, 4-1 downshifts might spoil the magic.

True. Of course I also ride motorcycles which have ratchet type shifters and I enjoy those fine. Jay Leno installed a Quaife sequential (ratchet style) gearbox in a Lotus Elan and it seemed really neat. Still had a clutch.

 

[RudyP]

Here’s my two cents, for the track and general having fun nothing wrong with a stick. For commuting, traffic and town driving automatics. Less work more relaxing.

Perfectly reasonable point of view. Personally, I prefer a manual for all driving, even commuting but I understand and respect your preferences. The problem is that while automatics are always an option for just about any car being made today, manuals are only an option on a vanishingly small set of cars. I read an article that I can't find right now but it showed how quickly they are going away - there were something like 100 cars for sale in 2017 where you could get a manual and down to something like 30 in 2019...

You can't buy any exotics with manuals any more - Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren, Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Pagani, etc... have all gone automatic only. There are a handful of sports cars still left (Porsche for some models, BMW for 1-2 models, Aston supposedly any day now on the new Vantage only) but who knows how much longer they will hold out.

The nice side effect is that there are very few new cars that I yearn for. Keeps my buying in check (sort of - still lots of good older cars out there!)

 

[Old97]

Given that DSG is sequential, 4-1 downshifts might spoil the magic.

Interesting idea, though

 

[DaleB]

Between this thread and Ted's Cobra build, y'all got me itching for a fast car again. I don't have the disposable income to go down that road again. Damn adulting!

That’s what I thought too. Then I discovered slightly older, very high performance sedans. I just drove across Iowa in ridiculous luxury in a car that will outperform anything I’ve ever driven before. A 2-1/2 ton behemoth that will smoke through a quarter mile in about 12.5 or a bit less. And a total sleeper.

Cost me less than a new Accord.

 

[Ted]

The nice side effect is that there are very few new cars that I yearn for. Keeps my buying in check (sort of - still lots of good older cars out there!)

There's an interesting point. When I was 10 my cousin started giving me a subscription to Car & Driver which he did through graduating high school. I looked forward to getting it every month. In those days, there were some cars that excited me and things that I hoped to own one day. I'm sure part of it was being a kid, but cars that I put on my bucket list. Some of them have come and gone as preferences have changed, but on the whole, they were there.

I gave up all my subscriptions to car magazines as an adult when the landscape just changed too much to be of interest to me. Too many computers, not enough manual transmissions. When I glance through the car magazines of today nothing excites me.

Like I said, I'd love to own a Ferrari or a Lamborghini one day. And I think that 2000ish is about the end of where they produced ones that I'd want. The Gallardo with the V10 doesn't quite do it for me as I'm not a V10 person (V8 or V12 for me), but it still hits all the other marks for the earlier ones with the manual transmission available. I think a Countach is probably top on my list, or a Diablo on the Lambo side. On a Ferrari side, a 360 Modena or Spider is towards the top of my list.

 

[denverpilot]

... 65 miles each way to work, ain't no way it will have a stick.

Depends on the commute...

... but yeah, even on the big hills I don’t have to shift the V8s. The four banger in the Subaru needs a little help to decide to downshift to maintain the speed limit.

When I was a teenager I did work for a rancher that had lost his right arm. Not pretty. It looked as if someone used a giant pair of scissors to cut off his arm just a few inches below the shoulder. He still drove the big ranch trucks, no power steering and several forward gears. His personal ride was a '68 C-20 pickup, no power steering and 4 speed transmission.

And when I first met him he still threw hay bales up on the 18 wheeler trailer, but just to the floor, not all the way to the top.

So I don't want to hear ''my manual driving days may be over''. If you want to drive a stick you will find a way.

Oh agreed. Have done the “reach through the steering wheel with the left arm” thing with my right arm in a cast to my armpit and bent 90 across my torso at the elbow thing.

The part I left out is the right hand is the worst. It’s the one losing muscle mass and the left hand, both outsides of both arms hurt, as do the shoulders across the back of the neck.

And that’s WITH the FAA disapproved drugs in me. If I doesn’t get better, I’m fooooked.

But I wanted to keep it a car thread and not about me. Sigh. And I just don’t want to drive s stick right now. Sadly.

There's an interesting point. When I was 10 my cousin started giving me a subscription to Car & Driver which he did through graduating high school. I looked forward to getting it every month. In those days, there were some cars that excited me and things that I hoped to own one day. I'm sure part of it was being a kid, but cars that I put on my bucket list. Some of them have come and gone as preferences have changed, but on the whole, they were there.

I gave up all my subscriptions to car magazines as an adult when the landscape just changed too much to be of interest to me. Too many computers, not enough manual transmissions. When I glance through the car magazines of today nothing excites me.

Like I said, I'd love to own a Ferrari or a Lamborghini one day. And I think that 2000ish is about the end of where they produced ones that I'd want. The Gallardo with the V10 doesn't quite do it for me as I'm not a V10 person (V8 or V12 for me), but it still hits all the other marks for the earlier ones with the manual transmission available. I think a Countach is probably top on my list, or a Diablo on the Lambo side. On a Ferrari side, a 360 Modena or Spider is towards the top of my list.

This is really the problem of modern sports cars. The generation that wanted to DRIVE them has the money today but they need future buyers and they’re trying to sell to kids who don’t even want a car.

They’re kinda fooooked too. But Chevy May have jumped the shark too soon on their relatively “common man” priced car here. It sure looks like out of all the people above who DO spend money on such vehicles for fun, it’s about 6/1 that y’all don’t want it.

That may be very bad for Chevy. Too soon. We aren’t dead yet. But close? Hahaha.

 

[denverpilot]

P.S. Reaching through a modern truck steering wheel is damn near impossible with all the chit and buttons and airbag holder and....

LOL.

 

[rbridges]

I grew up in a time when every guy knew how to use a clutch. I've always though manual was a better way to go, but over time, automatics became faster and more fuel efficient. I miss the idea of manual transmissions, but IMO their time is coming to an end in modern production cars.

It's like the rotary telephone. Maybe dialing the numbers got you more involved with the action, but no one uses them now because better options are available.

 

[DaleB]

Here’s the thing... apparently, for every guy who really wants an old school gated floor shifter and a manual clutch, there are enough who don’t that it’s no longer paying off to even offer the stick.

Technology marches forward. You can still have a car with all that and points and a condenser too... you just can’t buy one new, partly because they couldn’t sell enough new ones to make it worth producing them.

 

[Ted]

This is really the problem of modern sports cars. The generation that wanted to DRIVE them has the money today but they need future buyers and they’re trying to sell to kids who don’t even want a car.

They’re kinda fooooked too. But Chevy May have jumped the shark too soon on their relatively “common man” priced car here. It sure looks like out of all the people above who DO spend money on such vehicles for fun, it’s about 6/1 that y’all don’t want it.

That may be very bad for Chevy. Too soon. We aren’t dead yet. But close? Hahaha.

To be fair, I think @RudyP and @Stingray Don are the two people on here who realistically would've bought one and are against it. I was not going to buy one anyway with the Cobra build happening. I don't know what percentage of Corvettes were being sold with manual transmissions, but I'm willing to bet GM said it was small enough that a dual-clutch wouldn't hurt their sales too badly, and hoping to get more sales with the big differences from the C7.

I think if one had a manual transmission, the car would otherwise interest me enough to look into one. At $60k it's more than I'd want to spend, but within the realm of possibility once the initial dealers upcharging a ton of money goes away. After all, my Ram was a $65k MSRP (although I didn't pay that), and this would hit one of my bucket list items of a mid-engine car.

I'm not a Corvette person and the C7 and earlier really don't do anything for me. The C8, potentially could've changed that. But it has the wrong transmission.

 

[JOhnH]

I grew up in a time when every guy knew how to use a clutch. I've always though manual was a better way to go, but over time, automatics became faster and more fuel efficient. I miss the idea of manual transmissions, but IMO their time is coming to an end in modern production cars.

It's like the rotary telephone. Maybe dialing the numbers got you more involved with the action, but no one uses them now because better options are available.

I have nothing against standard transmissions. I grew up on them and I even spent one of my former lives driving a tractor trailer over-the-road behind a 13 speed. It was a sign of a rookie if you actually had to use the clutch. But I haven't driven one in years, and I don't miss them.

Sometimes when I am at the boat ramp, I watch those guys with the big boats and a standard transmission in their truck spinning their wheels and sliding around trying to pull the boat trailer out of the water. But even a millennial can drag a boat out of the water with an automatic.

 

[denverpilot]

To be fair, I think @RudyP and @Stingray Don are the two people on here who realistically would've bought one and are against it. I was not going to buy one anyway with the Cobra build happening. I don't know what percentage of Corvettes were being sold with manual transmissions, but I'm willing to bet GM said it was small enough that a dual-clutch wouldn't hurt their sales too badly, and hoping to get more sales with the big differences from the C7.

I think if one had a manual transmission, the car would otherwise interest me enough to look into one. At $60k it's more than I'd want to spend, but within the realm of possibility once the initial dealers upcharging a ton of money goes away. After all, my Ram was a $65k MSRP (although I didn't pay that), and this would hit one of my bucket list items of a mid-engine car.

I'm not a Corvette person and the C7 and earlier really don't do anything for me. The C8, potentially could've changed that. But it has the wrong transmission.

Well I really meant the folks who buy similar things and have the capital to do so. Your Cobra build “counts” in that group because even if the Corvette doesn’t “do it” for you, Chevy is still only marketing to that crowd. They know they won’t get everyone in it, but you at least looked.

There’s a whole building of well off software developers who could afford one here at work, who won’t even look. They do not care about cars. But they spend $50-$100 a month on at least one computer game, not counting the subscriptions all of them require now. And a new console or two every two to three years at $500 a pop.