PHOTO: GMGM The new C8 Corvette starts at a surprisingly low price for something with Italian supercars in its sights, but it seems GM is swallowing the difference to make it that low.Motor Trend reports the $59,995 starting price charged to U.S. buyers $69,998 in Canada will only stick around for one year. And if it doesnt go up by $20,000, the company will continue losing money on the lower trim levels, according to what a senior GM official told the publication.Its not surprising, really, given that the C8 marked such a radical departure from the front-engine C7. Even minor changes to a vehicle can run into the millions, taking into account the cost of redesign, retooling, any adjustments or training at the assembly level, any new crash test requirements, and even the far more mundane, such as stocking new replacement parts or rewriting the repair manuals. With a major change such as C7 to C8, costs can get closer to or even over the billion-dollar mark. Its hard enough to make that back on a volume-seller, and even tougher on a halo car that will end up in far fewer driveways.Motor Trend said the base price of the last-gen C7 rose nearly $2,000 the year after it debuted, and then went up another $2,000 the following year. The GM source said that, with the C8, the price would have to go through the roof in order to cover GMs cost.Keeping the initial price down might well prove worth it, in terms of the buzz it created and how many buyers are eager to plunk down their deposits and its likely many people will come in for the starting price, but go home with something higher up on the trim scale.For American buyers, $59,995 gets you a 1LT trim, while the 2LT starts at $67,295, and the 3LT begins at $71,945. Thats even before you start piling on options that range from premium paint colours ($500 to $995) and specialty wheels ($2,695), to a carbon-fibre roof at $2,495, or the Z51 Performance Package for $5,000.Motor Trend reports that GM loses money on every C8 priced under $80,000, but that customers also drop off the radar when a vehicle climbs over $100,000. It looks like adjusting the C8s price tag is going to be a very careful balancing game for the
Origin: Chevrolet will lose money on base-price C8 Corvettes: report