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Old 01-23-2013, 01:40 PM   #1
LOWDOWN
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Marketing The Corvette: What GM Doesn't Get - from The Autoextremist

Marketing the Corvette: What GM doesn’t get.
By Peter M. De Lorenzo
(Posted 1/22, 5:30 p.m.) Detroit.

Now that the smoke has cleared (somewhat) from the frenzy of the Detroit Auto Show – and the big bang debut of the new Corvette – it’s time to take a hard look at Corvette from a brand image and marketing point of view.

As I’ve said repeatedly in this column, there are only two cars (and car names) in modern American automotive history that qualify as true icons in this business, the Chevrolet Corvette and the Ford Mustang. Around for 60 and 50 years, respectively, the Corvette and the Mustang transcend all others because of their evocative imagery and indisputable status as America’s two brightest automotive lights. The true test? Even non-car people know what a Mustang and a Corvette are. Even more, they can conjure these two cars in their own historical image banks and can instantly remember an experience when they saw one for the first time or rode in one in their formative years.

But dealing with that kind of iconic status isn’t easy for Ford and GM. Half the battle revolves around knowing what you have and understanding its place in the automotive universe. That might sound simple but believe me it isn’t. Executives with – ahem – varying degrees of competence who have been given the marketing reins for these cars have come and gone over the years, and battles have ensued and mistakes have been made, but the ball more or less has kept moving forward for these two icons despite the occasional egregious missteps. It can't be overstated that it has taken tremendous effort by the True Believers involved in order to maintain the focused consistency that these nameplates deserve.

More here:

www.autoextremist.com

PDL is always an "interesting read"... Recall that his brother Tony famously raced a '68 L-88, recently sold at Barrett-Jackson. So the De Lorenzo boys "understand" the Corvette...

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/appli...d=466&Home=yes
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Old 01-23-2013, 01:54 PM   #2
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Hmmmmm
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Old 01-23-2013, 02:10 PM   #3
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PMDL's marketing strategy says he'll rebrand the Chevrolet Corvette as just the Corvette... turn it into a global single name brand.


He'd also have a 3 Corvette lineup:
  1. Stingray (entry level Corvette that the non-boomers are clamoring)
  2. SS (it'd be the newly-introduced C7)
  3. Chaparral (clean-sheet, mid-engined Corvette for the ages)
Regarding the Chaparral nomenclature, I'd say PMDL should just stay out or relocate to Chaparral shrublands in the Baja peninsula... what I think he's missing out on (or in denial or afraid to embrace) is that the 2014 Corvette Stingray is American Muscle meets next generation stealth design with styling cues reminiscent of Corvettes of the past, but with the aggressive, high-performance contours that make it very much a Corvette of the future. My 2 centavos.
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Old 01-23-2013, 02:12 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stingray View Post
PMDL says he'll rebrand the Chevrolet Corvette as just the Corvette... turn it into a global single name brand.

He'd also have a 3 Corvette lineup:
  1. Stingray (entry level Corvette that the non-boomers are clamoring)
  2. SS (it'd be the newly-introduced C7)
  3. Chaparral (clean-sheet, mid-engined Corvette for the ages)
Regarding the Chaparral nomenclature, I'd say PMDL should just stay out or relocate to Chaparral shrublands in the Baja peninsula... what I think he's missing out on (or in denial or afraid to embrace) is that the 2014 Corvette Stingray is American Muscle meets next generation stealth design with styling cues reminiscent of Corvettes of the past, but with the aggressive, high-performance contours that make it very much a Corvette of the future. My 2 centavos.
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Old 01-23-2013, 03:16 PM   #5
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"Wise men speak because they have something to say.

Fools speak because they have to say something."

I do believe Mr. De Lorenzo falls into the latter...
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Old 01-23-2013, 07:18 PM   #6
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I've always seen the Corvette as an exotic-fighter, and I've never given that up. There are some exotics in the front engine-RWD category, but I always hoped GM would move into the mid-engine space, and the Corvette is GM's existing exotic. There's always been a lot of speculation that this could happen. Logistically, that long hood would become useless—let's not forget the changes that would be necessary to the trunk area and moving up the passenger cabin—so a C7 doesn't really make sense as a mid-engined Corvette. Maybe GM will decide to make a Cadillac Cien to satisfy the likes of me.

With regard to the article, I really don't like the SS being associated with the Corvette. I can forgive branding the Corvette as its own brand, and that's how it sells in some places, so that is okay with me.

Finally, there's the Mustang. I've got to respect that Ford did some good marketing here and paid for all the right plugs in movies and pop culture. There's something to be said about all the guys at my base driving Mustangs because they want an American sports car. They're old enough, however, for me to forgive that because there wasn't a Camaro on the market. The new ones are too expensive for the junior enlisted sailors here to get into them. On the other hand, the officers, chiefs, and more experienced petty officers have some nicer rides. The interesting demographic here is that I've seen more 5thgen Camaros than new Mustangs, and that says something. For all the media garbage we're fed about the American nature of the Mustang, servicemen all hyped up on the red, white, and blue are buying Camaros when given the chance. I would safely argue that debunks the Mustang's status as the most American car in the pony class.
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