Not all Chevrolet dealers might get a chance to carry the much-anticipated seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette. This comes after General Motors decided to require dealers to meet a sales-volume level to carry the Corvette. Dealers told Automotive News that those who failed to sell at least four Corvettes in 2012 would not be given the opportunity to carry the 2014 Corvette. Byron Hansen, a Chevrolet dealer in Brigham City, Utah, sold just two Corvettes in 2012, making him ineligible to carry the newest model of the vehicle. He told Automotive News that he does not expect to get the new Corvette this year, just like many smaller dealers – which may number to hundreds. Dealers who failed to meet the sales requirement lament that they would not be able to use the new Corvette as showroom eye candy.
Jim Stutzman, owner of Jim Stutzman Chevrolet-Cadillac in Winchester, Va., said he could keep one or two Corvettes as showstoppers. Stutzman expects to be dropped from the Corvette allocation list after selling just few of the model in 2012.
Stutzman, who claims that he sold up to 50 Corvettes a year in the 1980s and '90s, remarked that he understands why GM wants smaller dealers out of the Corvette market – to allocate the volume to the metro stores. He said that being a Chevy dealer and not being able to sell Corvette makes him sad. GM is set to unveil the seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette today at the Detroit auto show. The model is set to hit the showrooms by late summer.
