Nothing is sacred any longer. A couple of weeks ago, Car and Driver magazine scooped the automotive world with the article, “Corvette to Launch as a Brand in 2025 with a Four-Door and an SUV.”
Surely this was an early April Fool’s joke! A sedan and SUV Corvette?
Reader Responses to Car and Driver Article
Allegedly, someone at Car and Driver picked up a rumor from a GM employee that the Corvette brand was going to expand. This sent the internet into overdrive, with some pretty passionate comments like these found on the Car and Driver Facebook page:
- A great example of car companies getting greedy and clueless. Looking at you Mustang Mach-E!
- This is so stupid, it’s not like it’s Mid-Engine or has anything at all to do with the Corvette. I get that it’s a way to generate interest and gain brand recognition for those upcoming vehicles, but it really just degrades the Corvette name that has been built on for decades. They still haven’t recovered from the hate over the Blazer name, do they really think this is a good move?
- Yet another reason why GM will be going in the sewer slowly but surely. Doing the opposite of what people want. Anybody see their song marketing video for their terrible looking EV “pickup truck”? Whether you like the new Blazer crossover or not, it shouldn’t have used the name. And this Corvette name usage is even more of a slap in the face to many years of great design and automotive beauty, power, and history.
- I’ve seen too much today. Seeing that Oreo is making the Oreos without cream and now this. Jesus needs to come back now.
It didn’t help that the image Car and Driver used for their article (shown above) was the current Chevrolet Blazer photoshopped to take on Corvette details. Those people who commented must have felt truly betrayed. They likely just got over the fact an overgrown Equinox was named Blazer.
Travesty!
Bad Idea or Brilliant?
Once you get past the shock that the Corvette might become diluted, let’s not forget that Porsche did something similar in 2003. They saw an opportunity to bring a performance SUV to market with their new Cayenne.
This was the first time Porsche deviated from their two seat sports car models, and guess what? It was wildly successful, and Porsche continued to sell roughly the same number of 911s each year since. The Cayenne (2003 model shown below) is now the top seller at Porsche. They sell four times as many Cayennes as 911s.
Let’s Talk It Out
My friends at GT: Garage Talk took notice of my comments about the Corvette sub-brand on Facebook, and invited me to their weekly podcast. I am always happy to share my thoughts with fellow car enthusiasts, so I took them up on the offer.
We spent a small portion of the episode talking about Corvette, then moved on to other subjects like the new Scout and many others. It’s always a fun time at GT: Garage Talk! Check out that episode at the link below, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Podcast: The Future is Corvette???
More Renderings
Motor Trend magazine got in on the action, and generated some potential Corvette SUV renderings. My four favorites are shown below.
I have to admit, these are far sexier than the image provided by Car and Driver! These are very rugged looking Corvette SUVs. That was hard to say, and did not roll off the tongue.
True Feelings
I was caught off-guard by the information shared by Car and Driver. Keep in mind, nothing official has been released by GM, so this may just be a rumor. If it becomes reality, I think this could be an interesting twist. If Porsche can do the same thing, surely GM can as well. Right?
This is the Corvette we’re talking about, not Blazer. Oh yeah, I just heard GM might do the same thing with Camaro. More on that another time…I can’t take any more change right now!
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