GM first yet again; another missed opportunity?; first sports car

[Brando]

Corvette - Bill Mitchell Lays the Groundwork for the Stingray
Tesla Roadster - America's 2nd Sportscar?

 

[Brando]

I know, this Corvette is NOT an electric vehicle. I originally posted in the Roadster Forum.

I wanted to show the origins of the Corvette (the passions of founders) AND to my mind how US auto management more concerned with Wall St./profits vs having passion for their products. Similarly the EV1 suffered from the same corporate management.

PS - on the dealer front: The Saturn experiment similarly suffered IMHO.
Yes, GM again "beat Tesla" [as Tesla didn't start selling until 2008] to fixed pricing business model for cars:
{I might call this having passion for your customers??} Well the auto industry is over hundred years old.

How GM Destroyed Its Saturn Success

 

[brianman]

I'm confused what "first" the thread title is referring to, and what it's doing in this subforum.

 

[Brando]

I'm confused what "first" the thread title is referring to, and what it's doing in this subforum.

some moderator moved from the Roadster Forum to this Forum

Corvette is often known as the first sports car of GM - or of any US manufacturer.
After a hundred years, GM has been first at most everything.

Corvette at LeMans
The First Corvette To Win At Le Mans | Racing | CorvSport.com

I list Tesla Roadster # 2, but Ford GT-40 has some claim on that spot, I guess. Neither compares to Corvette in pricing - so far.

So perhaps GT-40 and Tesla Roadsters are really supercars and only the Corvette ranks as a mere "sports car" for the rest of us.

let the electrification continue
good luck

 

[brianman]

What is the "missed opportunity" you're referring to? Something Tesla Motors should have done before it existed?

 

[tonybelding]

some moderator moved from the Roadster Forum to this Forum

Not sure where this kind of stuff really belongs on these forums, but there should be a place for it here somewhere.

As for GM… I think they have a long history of being their own worst enemy, with lots of squabbling between different personalities, divisions and factions. We saw that with the EV-1, when different parts of GM were simultaneously trying to make it a success and kill it.

And then there's the C3 Corvette "Stingray". In my humble opinion it's the most beautiful, sexiest, coolest looking car in history. It was a sensation when introduced, and even today the look has never grown old. It doesn't look like it came from the same world as other 1960s cars. However… GM stole the design—from themselves! The Pontiac Banshee prototype was developed first, then GM management decreed that Pontiac couldn't be allowed to upstage the Corvette, so they killed the Banshee and then had Chevrolet develop their own Banshee-like Stingray.

So perhaps GT-40 and Tesla Roadsters are really supercars and only the Corvette ranks as a mere "sports car" for the rest of us.

We must be careful when talking about supercars, because it's one of those terms that can mean whatever somebody wants it to mean. (And hypercar seems to be based on a single criteria: money.)

The original Tesla Roadster was touted as a "supercar" by Tesla, but I don't think a lot of people took that declaration at face value. And if you are a sports car purist, the Roadster doesn't count as a sports car because they aren't generally raced and they aren't suitable for track use.

 

[Brando]

Not sure where this kind of stuff really belongs on these forums, but there should be a place for it here somewhere.

As for GM… I think they have a long history of being their own worst enemy, with lots of squabbling between different personalities, divisions and factions. We saw that with the EV-1, when different parts of GM were simultaneously trying to make it a success and kill it.

And then there's the C3 Corvette "Stingray". In my humble opinion it's the most beautiful, sexiest, coolest looking car in history. It was a sensation when introduced, and even today the look has never grown old. It doesn't look like it came from the same world as other 1960s cars. However… GM stole the design—from themselves! The Pontiac Banshee prototype was developed first, then GM management decreed that Pontiac couldn't be allowed to upstage the Corvette, so they killed the Banshee and then had Chevrolet develop their own Banshee-like Stingray.



We must be careful when talking about supercars, because it's one of those terms that can mean whatever somebody wants it to mean. (And hypercar seems to be based on a single criteria: money.)

The original Tesla Roadster was touted as a "supercar" by Tesla, but I don't think a lot of people took that declaration at face value. And if you are a sports car purist, the Roadster doesn't count as a sports car because they aren't generally raced and they aren't suitable for track use.

thanks for the post - did you watch the video? anyway, I fully agree GM focus on Wall St. & profits vs products is a long term flaw for me.

AND now yet another GM first? Hy-wire
really good article about more than just skate board idea
Meet The Father Of The Auto 'Skateboard' Chassis Used By Tesla: Chris Borroni-Bird

from above article you will find
Bertone Filo Concept