C8 Corvette Production Stops Over "Supply Shortage"
9 Oct 2020, 8:23 UTC ·
by
Mircea Panait
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There’s no denying General Motors had a lot of trouble with the C8 Corvette so far this year, but troubles keep on coming. After UAW strikes, stop-sale orders, recalls, and one too many quality issues, the mid-engine sports car is temporarily out of production over a shortage of parts.
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This information comes from Finch Chevrolet sales consultant Morgan Crosbie who has also confirmed that Bowling Green has averaged 800 to 850 cars a week with the second shift in full swing. Crosbie says that the second shift is part of the reason why supplier are not able to keep up with the production capacity. This isn’t the first supplier hiccup for the C8, though.
Chevrolet has discontinued two popular options of the 2020 model citing supply issues, namely the high-wing rear spoiler and 5VM ground effects package. The question is, why did the golden bowtie agree on these suppliers knowing that they won’t be able to keep up with demand? Isn’t this the golden bowtie’s fault for choosing cheap suppliers over serious ones?
“Next week or the week starting on October 19th” is when Bowling Green is expected to get back in business. A month or so after production resumes, the 2021 Corvette is scheduled to start rolling off the assembly line on November 16th. Crosbie has also found out that C8 deliveries in Canada will be halted after the second week of November due to bad weather.
Speaking of winter shenanigans, the Michelin tires that come standard aren’t good for sub-zero conditions. Be it the all-season or summer-only rubber boots, these tires don’t perform well at low temperatures and the tread isn’t suitable for driving on snow. The Pilot Sport All Season 4 developed specifically for the mid-engine Corvette can pull up to 1.0 g of lateral grip but they’re still a compromise in cold states or in Canada during winter.
On a related note, Chevrolet has confirmed that pricing for the 2021 Corvette will be similar to that of the 2020 model year. The only notable changes can be found in the options list, starting with the FE2 suspension available as a standalone option for $995. As for the Z51 go-faster package that most customers opt for, it’ll soon cost $5,995 instead of $5,000.
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