Grand Sport takes a bit of a battering on 5th Gear
Discussion
Just watched this afternoons episode of 5th Gear. It featured the Grand Sport convertable priced at £73'000. Johnny Smith done the review. So it was done by someone biased to American cars.
First thing he picked up on was the sound. Or lack of it. A very,very muted exhaust note. He then went on to slate the interior and the build quality of it. Pointing to a rather flimsy bit of trim by the hood cover. The sat nav was next in line commenting that the graphics were straight from a Commodore 64.,fablon carbon fibre trim. The start button which he thought was part of the heating system. And then finally on the test drive he commented that the air con packed up.
Finished of by saying that Yes. It's still an American icon. But it samples the worst bits of America with it. And priced at £73,000. There are cars in that price range that are streets ahead.
First thing he picked up on was the sound. Or lack of it. A very,very muted exhaust note. He then went on to slate the interior and the build quality of it. Pointing to a rather flimsy bit of trim by the hood cover. The sat nav was next in line commenting that the graphics were straight from a Commodore 64.,fablon carbon fibre trim. The start button which he thought was part of the heating system. And then finally on the test drive he commented that the air con packed up.
Finished of by saying that Yes. It's still an American icon. But it samples the worst bits of America with it. And priced at £73,000. There are cars in that price range that are streets ahead.
5 USA said:
I saw that.
IMO the car is fine - it's the pricing which has gone crazy! Has any other car on sale in UK doubled in price between 2006 and 2012?
Other cars have increased in price, but not to the same extent. It's really simple: the Vette is now too expensive. The C5 and C6 were both introduced with optimistic pricing...didn't sell...then the prices dropped to sensible levels...then imports stopped. Only the C6 has subsequently come back and had the price increased to quite ridiculous levels, which doesn't bode well for the C7 (from our point of view).IMO the car is fine - it's the pricing which has gone crazy! Has any other car on sale in UK doubled in price between 2006 and 2012?
I know some people will trot out the old lines about exchange rates, duty, etc...but how does that explain why the relative price of a Vette versus a Camaro is higher in this country than it is in the US, for example?
I watched the programme myself last night.
Totally agree with all his comments.
The car is over priced for it's standard of interior. (seats, dont mind the dash etc.)
The "Sat Nav/ entertainment center" is not up to the class or price range it is in.
So overall quite an accurate account i think.
Totally agree with all his comments.
The car is over priced for it's standard of interior. (seats, dont mind the dash etc.)
The "Sat Nav/ entertainment center" is not up to the class or price range it is in.
So overall quite an accurate account i think.
Haven't seen the Fifth Gear bit, but would guess that most existing Vette fans/owners (& potential owners) with £73k to spend are waiting for the C7? And when it does comes out, and Top Gear get their hands one, yes it would be nice if Richard Hammond (or whoever) is not banging the dashboard and saying look at the state of these cheap plastics as he did with the early C6. Remember of course that even Clarkson preferred the "mental" C6 ZR1 to the "sensible choice" Audi R8 V10 when he tested them back to back on TG.
Having said that, I have owned a C4 for 23 years. Has a piece of plastic trim ever broken or fallen off? - No. Does the C6 have a reputation for having interior squeaks and groans because of the allegedly cheap interior plastics? - Not that I am aware of.
But if you did still fancy a new UK spec Grand Sport (from the UKs only authorised dealer?), as it is not before too long to be an outgoing model (?) would you have to pay £73k for it? The "base" (of 3) new Jaguar F-Type models appears to be £55k before extras. Bloke wrote into Autocar the other week compaining that by the time he had specced up a base car on the on-line configurator, it was coming out at £65k. Autocar's Grand Sport/Jag XKR/Nissan GTR comparison last year was perhaps kinder to the Grand Sport - "Brilliant but feeling old." Can't wait to see that C7.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/corvette-grand-...
Having said that, I have owned a C4 for 23 years. Has a piece of plastic trim ever broken or fallen off? - No. Does the C6 have a reputation for having interior squeaks and groans because of the allegedly cheap interior plastics? - Not that I am aware of.
But if you did still fancy a new UK spec Grand Sport (from the UKs only authorised dealer?), as it is not before too long to be an outgoing model (?) would you have to pay £73k for it? The "base" (of 3) new Jaguar F-Type models appears to be £55k before extras. Bloke wrote into Autocar the other week compaining that by the time he had specced up a base car on the on-line configurator, it was coming out at £65k. Autocar's Grand Sport/Jag XKR/Nissan GTR comparison last year was perhaps kinder to the Grand Sport - "Brilliant but feeling old." Can't wait to see that C7.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/corvette-grand-...
Edited by Silver C6 on Sunday 4th November 12:31
The car needs to be priced 20 grand cheaper. Regarding the interior plastics. Yes they are cheap. But very very durable. Ive found American stuff 10 years + where the interiors are still as good as new. On the other hand i have seen some high end european cars where the interiors have looked rather tatty after only a couple of years use.
Raitzi said:
So many things in the car were already below European standards in 2005. Now the new model is coming and the "old" still costs crazy amount of money. Now you can buy "new" C6 competition (z51) version in Germany for around 37k€.
But the original Top Gear (LS2) test car at the time still managed to get round the track faster than a Porsche 911 GT3. Can't find any "new" Euro spec C6 Vettes on here in Germany for 37k Euro ??http://suchen.mobile.de/auto/corvette.html?scopeId...
Silver C6 said:
But the original Top Gear (LS2) test car at the time still managed to get round the track faster than a Porsche 911 GT3. Can't find any "new" Euro spec C6 Vettes on here in Germany for 37k Euro ??
http://suchen.mobile.de/auto/corvette.html?scopeId...
LS3 is even faster. I do not know why it never went to the ring with the right driver. I meant new in terms of driven km not model year. Competition edition was only made 2009 for EU market with black paint.http://suchen.mobile.de/auto/corvette.html?scopeId...
http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/corvette-c6-6...
or:
http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/corvette-c6-c...
Competition edition - Thanks Raitzi, I was not aware of that one/now I am:
http://www.worldcarfans.com/10803261725/corvette-c...
http://www.worldcarfans.com/10803261725/corvette-c...
The problem for you guys is VAT and Import Tax add 10% then 20% to the already rubbish US $ : UK Pound exchange rate that GM seem to use.
Totally agree the Corvette which is BTW the biggest profit per unit GM sells way over priced over here and also over there.
However saying this you could buy a 2013 60th Anniversary Grand Sport convertible here for about $60k which even at the rubbish rate, plus shipping, duty, VAT will still be approx 50k UK Pounds so not sure why you would want to pay the 23k extra for a UK supplied one.
Totally agree the Corvette which is BTW the biggest profit per unit GM sells way over priced over here and also over there.
However saying this you could buy a 2013 60th Anniversary Grand Sport convertible here for about $60k which even at the rubbish rate, plus shipping, duty, VAT will still be approx 50k UK Pounds so not sure why you would want to pay the 23k extra for a UK supplied one.
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