Price gouging in times of low supply and high demand is a story as old as time. But in the automotive world, this practice can go way overboard, as General Motors Specialty Vehicles has proven with the Corvette Stingray.
Only available in 2LT and 3LT guises in this part of the world, the mid-engine sports car was previously available at 144,990 and 160,500 kangaroo bucks or 105,300 and 116,550 bald eagles. For the 2023 model year, pricing is going up approximately 15,000 dollars for every grade and body style.
The first examples are due to ship in the last quarter of the year according to drive.com.au, which notes that “some dealers are holding in excess of 50 customer orders, pushing local waiting times well beyond two years at current production rates.” GMSV, which replaces Holden and HSV in Australia, says that increased vehicle allocations are due with upcoming batches.
Hopefully followed by suspension points is the only way to describe the automaker’s promise. Heck, General Motors can’t satisfy U.S. market demand even though it’s been making the C8 since the 2020 model year.
The biggest of the Big Three in Detroit also has the audacity of promising increased allocations while deleting popular options from the order guide. In Australia, the engine appreciation package has been discontinued for the 2023 model year. Customers who ticked this box from the options list will be given a gift card, which is underwhelming for a car this expensive and a too-long wait list that rivals that of the Ford Bronco in the United States.
GMSV has told its dealers that an update for the Z06 is due in the second half of the year. As a brief refresher, the performance-oriented variant is wider and more powerful than the Stingray thanks to a flat-plane crankshaft V8 that displaces 5.5 liters. The four-valve-per-cylinder mill is rated at 670 horsepower, but peak torque does favor the Stingray’s small block.
The first examples are due to ship in the last quarter of the year according to drive.com.au, which notes that “some dealers are holding in excess of 50 customer orders, pushing local waiting times well beyond two years at current production rates.” GMSV, which replaces Holden and HSV in Australia, says that increased vehicle allocations are due with upcoming batches.
Hopefully followed by suspension points is the only way to describe the automaker’s promise. Heck, General Motors can’t satisfy U.S. market demand even though it’s been making the C8 since the 2020 model year.
The biggest of the Big Three in Detroit also has the audacity of promising increased allocations while deleting popular options from the order guide. In Australia, the engine appreciation package has been discontinued for the 2023 model year. Customers who ticked this box from the options list will be given a gift card, which is underwhelming for a car this expensive and a too-long wait list that rivals that of the Ford Bronco in the United States.
GMSV has told its dealers that an update for the Z06 is due in the second half of the year. As a brief refresher, the performance-oriented variant is wider and more powerful than the Stingray thanks to a flat-plane crankshaft V8 that displaces 5.5 liters. The four-valve-per-cylinder mill is rated at 670 horsepower, but peak torque does favor the Stingray’s small block.