We’ve tracked most of the shutdowns here at CorvSport, with this newest one beginning the week of March 20th, and for those keeping entries in their diary here they all are. The most recent was the week of February 20th, 2023, then we had the week of October 17th, 2022, March 2022, May 2021, November 2020, October 2020, and March 2020.
The chatter on the most popular Corvette forum is considerably quieter than the last halt in production, making one wonder if the rabid “I want my C8 now!” crowd is starting to become desensitized to these closures. Although only a handful of enthusiasts have commented so far, the glass-half-empty remarks still remain, as one poster says, “one ominous thing I read was that the Bowling Green employees were being briefed on unemployment benefits. Maybe that’s standard for a shutdown. I don’t think it’s been announced when BG employees will go back to work. I’m on a C8 waiting list.”
As always, there is the eternal forum optimist who says, “No big deal. These things happen in manufacturing. They’re called inventory adjustment shutdowns. It gives the suppliers a chance to catch up with assembly.” Aside from the inconvenience of waiting just a bit longer, how will this latest shutdown affect an already turbulent C8 market? Will the Covid pricing phenomenon I wrote about recently continue? I’m still seeing used C8 prices at or above MSRP on the popular Facebook for-sale pages.
And the reason for this 8th shutdown? Once again The Detroit News breaks the story and cites, you guessed it, “an unspecified parts shortage.” And as always, GM spokesperson Dan Flores had a polished statement regarding the shutdown, saying “our supply chain, manufacturing and engineering teams are working closely with our supply base to mitigate any further impact on production to meet the strong demand for our products.”
I will give credit to GM and the Bowling Green workers where credit is due. Despite this record level of stoppages they have still managed to crank out a verified 72,415 C8s from 2020 to 2022, with an estimated 8000 plus produced thus far in 2023. The love and demand for the iconic Corvette are alive and well, and I can’t wait to see the final numbers for 2023!
We often have vibrant discussions on our Facebook page, I would love to hear from you! Douglas B.
