High demand to limit C7 Corvette supplies initially

[Stingray]

Originally Posted by rp0029

Is Lorenzo Bomnin one of those twoS.Fl. dealerships?

Nope unless you're ready to pay an extra 10k ADM on top of sticker.

Check with Autonation Ft. Lauderdale (ask for Peter) and Tropical (ask for Vicki)... both sell at MSRP.

[GunnyG]

Originally Posted by terryg75

If you've had a car ordered for this long and it's still not made it past the 'preliminary' status (1100) then your dealer does not have enough allocations for it to be pulled or your order is full of constraint items. The competition seats have not been available at all up until now and just a couple of weeks ago the Z51 pkg went on a 4 month national constraint. Non Z51 cars can be built and done in 4-5 weeks now and those are what we're trying to lean folks to that want to order now. And the carbon fiber roof orders will also take a while it looks like--not enough to go around.

I thought the Z51 constraint said "Less than four weeks"? Not 4-months?!?!

[90503]

Originally Posted by Tran

Automotive News
October 4, 2013 - 2:31 pm ET

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The 2014 Corvette will be in short supply, with few unsold units on dealer lots until spring at the earliest.

General Motors officials said production of the two-seat sports car will be capped at about 160 units per day on one shift. Despite high demand for the redesigned sports car, GM will not add a second shift, officials said during a plant tour here this week.

"We've seen this again and again. You bring out a new Corvette and the demand is sky-high at the beginning, and then it tapers off," said Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter. "It's not worth making that investment [of a second shift], even though for awhile we make a lot more money getting those cars out there."

GM produced 14,960 Corvettes in 2012 in the car's lone plant. If GM sticks to its current production plan for the redesigned 2014 model, output will nearly double to about 30,000 units for a full year.

GM officials declined to say how many Corvette orders it has, but several enthusiast sites say GM has banked enough orders from dealers to keep the plant cranking out cars at 160 per day for at least the next six months.

In addition to the one shift, two other factors could limit shipments to U.S. dealers. First, GM plans to offer the redesigned Corvette in nearly all 140 countries that sell Chevrolets. A greater number of exports will reduce the number of cars available in the United States.

Second, the plant is ramping up the convertible model, which will add complexity to the manufacturing process, at least initially, which could slow production.

GM spent $131 million to retool the Corvette plant to assemble the 2014 model, which uses a new frame, body and suspension.

Via: http://www.autonews.com/article/2013...vette-supplies

Wow...unbelievable....IMO this Juechter guy should be fired....Could add a second shift to meet demand, make more money and happy buyers, but no, let the new 131M plant sit idle 2/3s of the time ....just make 'em with one shift, cater to exports first, let the US customers eat-it with delays and a rip-off dealer mark-ups...

This is a scam for the ages....

[Highway 61]

Originally Posted by 90503

Wow...unbelievable....IMO this Juechter guy should be fired....Could add a second shift to meet demand, make more money and happy buyers, but no, let the new 131M plant sit idle 2/3s of the time ....just make 'em with one shift, cater to exports first, let the US customers eat-it with delays and a rip-off dealer mark-ups...

This is a scam for the ages....

Did you not read "We've seen this again and again. You bring out a new Corvette and the demand is sky-high at the beginning, and then it tapers off," said Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter. "It's not worth making that investment [of a second shift], even though for awhile we make a lot more money getting those cars out there."

I think they know what they are doing. Another thing is, a lot of people like myself in northern locations are not worried about getting their new Vett until next spring, which means late April for me, so I'm not putting my order in until February.

[90503]

Originally Posted by Highway 61

Did you not read "We've seen this again and again. You bring out a new Corvette and the demand is sky-high at the beginning, and then it tapers off," said Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter. "It's not worth making that investment [of a second shift], even though for awhile we make a lot more money getting those cars out there."

I think they know what they are doing. Another thing is, a lot of people like myself in northern locations are not worried about getting their new Vett until next spring, which means late April for me, so I'm not putting my order in until February.

Well, yeah, for sure demand tapers off when you know you have to wait six months to get your car....I doubt there would have even been a high initial demand had this intentional slow production been known from the beginning...Customers will go buy something else...., then that will make Juechter look like a genius....after all, he's seen it, done it before....

[Highway 61]

Originally Posted by 90503

Well, yeah, for sure demand tapers off when you know you have to wait six months to get your car....I doubt there would have even been a high initial demand had this intentional slow production been known from the beginning...Customers will go buy something else...., then that will make Juechter look like a genius....after all, he's seen it, done it before....

"Customers will go buy something else" ???

If someone wants a Corvette, they will wait no matter how long it takes if they need to order one to their liking, otherwise they can just buy one off the dealers lot if their not worried about colors and Trim level.

[zimm888]

Alright boys time to calm down we're all on the same team here.

[90503]

Originally Posted by Highway 61

"Customers will go buy something else" ???

If someone wants a Corvette, they will wait no matter how long it takes if they need to order one to their liking, otherwise they can just buy one off the dealers lot if their not worried about colors and Trim level.

Apparently that's the exact plan of Juechter and GM....Too bad for anyone who feels otherwise, I guess...Why not build half as many as they are now, extend the deliveries even longer, and charge twice the price?....After all, it shouldn't matter to a true Corvette buyer....

Sad that they'll never know how many more orders they could have received, cars built and money made, if they would use the capacity available to deliver more in a timely fashion....

[bnall40]

I suspect Tadge Juechter is only the messenger. He strikes me as a "pro-active" guy with a lot or personal effort invested. I imagine that the "pre-bailout" mentality of the higher echelons is at work again here!

[mjw930]

Originally Posted by 90503

Apparently that's the exact plan of Juechter and GM....Too bad for anyone who feels otherwise, I guess...Why not build half as many as they are now, extend the deliveries even longer, and charge twice the price?....After all, it shouldn't matter to a true Corvette buyer....

Sad that they'll never know how many more orders they could have received, cars built and money made, if they would use the capacity available to deliver more in a timely fashion....

Originally Posted by bnall40

I suspect Tadge Juechter is only the messenger. He strikes me as a "pro-active" guy with a lot or personal effort invested. I imagine that the "pre-bailout" mentality of the higher echelons is at work again here!

You've got it wrong, the point is they aren't willing to hire and train an entire additional shift simply to satisfy production spikes. This ain't their first rodeo, they have the same issue every time there's a new version and history shows that by the spring supply will have met demand and they won't need that extra shift.

Personally, I would rather the people that have been trained over the last 3 months to build this car build mine, not a newly hired and trained second shift.

At their projects run rate of 160 / day they can easily build 35000 C7's for MY14 which quite honestly will be plenty. Production historically settles at around 25000 / year so if they can maintain 30000+ through successive model years the C7 will be the most successful corvette in history. All without adding a second shift.

[Glen e]

Originally Posted by mjw930

You've got it wrong, the point is they aren't willing to hire and train an entire additional shift simply to satisfy production spikes. This ain't their first rodeo, they have the same issue every time there's a new version and history shows that by the spring supply will have met demand and they won't need that extra shift.

Personally, I would rather the people that have been trained over the last 3 months to build this car build mine, not a newly hired and trained second shift.

At their projects run rate of 160 / day they can easily build 35000 C7's for MY14 which quite honestly will be plenty. Production historically settles at around 25000 / year so if they can maintain 30000+ through successive model years the C7 will be the most successful corvette in history. All without adding a second shift.

I agree - astounds me how many don't understamd production basics and see a conspiracy behind everything. One well oiled shift can get it done andf then some, based on mkt conditions. A really solid hiccup on wall street again and Corvette sales dip substantially. The product/pricing is extremely market sensitive at >$60K.....everything is....

[Highway 61]

Originally Posted by mjw930

You've got it wrong, the point is they aren't willing to hire and train an entire additional shift simply to satisfy production spikes. This ain't their first rodeo, they have the same issue every time there's a new version and history shows that by the spring supply will have met demand and they won't need that extra shift.

Personally, I would rather the people that have been trained over the last 3 months to build this car build mine, not a newly hired and trained second shift.

At their projects run rate of 160 / day they can easily build 35000 C7's for MY14 which quite honestly will be plenty. Production historically settles at around 25000 / year so if they can maintain 30000+ through successive model years the C7 will be the most successful corvette in history. All without adding a second shift.

"Personally, I would rather the people that have been trained over the last 3 months to build this car build mine, not a newly hired and trained second shift."

I didn't think of that, but so true. Another reason I don't feel as bad having to wait until next spring to order mine now.

[zimm888]

Do you think it'll be so long that we should wait for 2015 models or will that take even longer?

[Highway 61]

Originally Posted by zimm888

Do you think it'll be so long that we should wait for 2015 models or will that take even longer?

Hey Zimm, I'm waiting until spring because we'll have snow on the ground here in a couple months or less, and by then, all the got to have it now buyers will have theirs ordered. I also hope to pick one up for less than MSRP by then?

You should have no problem ordering an 2014 if you have a little patience and the longer you wait, the better deal you might be able to get on one. Sounds now like if you ordered the Z51 package today, your wait time has increased, but that will probably get back to normal by spring time again.

Chevy didn't help our biggest Vett dealer in town as they have just received their first five in over the last few weeks and another dealer has two coming in this week that I know of. Unfortunately for them, not much time to sell them before the snow flies?