2008 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible Review

Mark Morrison
by Mark Morrison

The Chevrolet Corvette is the exception that proves the rule. It’s the one GM car that has never, ever been boring. Sure, there’ve been times when the ‘Vette lost the plot– when comparing its dynamic capabilities to a similarly priced foreign sports car was like pitting Cheese Whiz against Normandie brie. But the ‘Vette was never po-faced about it. Besides, those days are gone. As I sampled a 2008 convertible automatic with a few new upgrades, I wondered: what could GM learn from the Chevrolet Corvette?

The latest Corvette’s "sheetmetal" remains exuberantly faithful to the model’s phallic traditions– despite Pokemon-eyes set within a vaguely feminine, Viper-esque nose. (Not to mention poorly integrated quad exhausts that seem to hoik the car’s derriere into the air in the great Gallic tradition.) Top down, the ‘Vette’s profile is breathtaking; the strakes and intakes are as flawlessly sculpted as the sinews in the arms of Michelangelo’s David.

The ‘Vette’s cabin is strictly as case of ‘nothing to see here folks; move along.” While the new Malibu gets sexy snickery and touch-friendly materials, the ‘Vette’s plastic controls would be right at home in an ‘80’s Subaru, and the materials are about as luxurious as a Day’s Inn suite. The new Custom Leather-Wrapped Interior Package only makes matters worse, drawing MORE attention to the Corvette’s piss-poor polymers. Oh, and the Chevy Cobalt called; it wants its steering wheel back.

Fuhgeddaboutit. Fire-up the Corvette’s LS3 small block V8, and you will. Even (or especially) at idle, you can sense those 430 horses kicking the starting gate. Give the fillies their head, and, well, the Vette ‘vert weighs-in at 3246 lbs. What do YOU think happens GMNext? Whatever your opinion, think fast; the Corvette chop top teleports its occupants from zero to sixty in 4.3 seconds. The only thing more dramatic than the Corvette’s ability to get its driver to scream a religious blessing on excrement: the NASCAR roar drowning out any and all expletives.

Once you’re out of quarter-mile challenge mode– which will take some time and may never occur– the LS3’s bottom end is surprisingly weak for a 6.2-liter engine. But the mid-range swell makes up for it. Oh yes it does. Got revs? Got power. Enough power to humiliate all but the most exotic of supercars in terms of hyperspace button in-gear oomph. God bless the V8 engine! Oh wait; He already has.

Unfortunately, our tester was equipped with an automatic gearbox– rather than the new short-throw self-shifter. The Corvette’s six speed slushbox is a bit dim-witted. Prod it hard and the mighty motor pauses slightly as the requisite greasy bits slip down a gear (or two) to find the requisite shove. On the positive side, under what some call “normal conditions,” the Corvette’s cog swapper swaps cogs so seamlessly you’ll find yourself going a lot faster than you thought (honest officer).

The steering is similarly effortless; which may or may not be a good thing depending on your testosterone levels. If you’ve got the balls, the Corvette’s balance, low center of gravity and wide gumballs (18’s up front, 19’s in the back, and no all-season mishegos) will see you through the most tortuous of twisties, at the most hair-raising of speeds. But you’ll need your wits as well; the drop top’s scuttle shake adds unwelcome lateral complexity.

Thankfully, the Corvette’s hugely powerful and tireless brakes (at least off-track) solve the most vexing Vette side effects. And you get an amazingly compliant ride for no extra charge. Less sporting drivers (a.k.a. most convertible owners) should leave the $1995 Magnetic Ride Control box unticked, wait for the straights to let slip the dogs of war and waft in peace. Although most Corvette convertibles are destined to wear a garage queen’s ermine robes (i.e. a soft car cover), this Corvette rivals Stuttgart’s finest in the “everyday” part of the everyday supercar olympics.

Speaking of which, perhaps the single most remarkable thing about Chevy’s uber-drop top is its $60k asking price. If you’re measuring sheer bang for the buck, you can’t beat it with a stick; although, again, the manual transmission is highly recommended. And it must be said that's one Hell of a lot of money for a Chevy.

So what have we learned from the Corvette Convertible? That constant, incremental evolution keeps a car competitive between significant re-thinks? We knew that. That sex sells? Duh. That a clear unique selling point (horsepower) is the key to sales success? Double duh. That GM should have upped the model’s price and fixed the interior, eliminating the last reason NOT to buy the Corvette Convertible. True dat.

The most important lesson that the ‘Vette can teach GM: whatever the Corvette product development and management team is doing is EXACTLY what ALL their product teams should be doing. Inside GM, common sense is not so common.

Mark Morrison
Mark Morrison

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  • Broberts13 Broberts13 on Sep 25, 2008

    As for "Beggars can’t be choosers but yes I would have preferred a manual", I simply looked on line to find a manual with the trim level I wanted at a dealer in the next state and he held it until Sunday for me. I wasn't keen on the color, but beggars can’t be choosers. Oh, there was even a $1k incentive that weekend.

  • Belinda Belinda on Nov 27, 2008

    I am a 31-year old female and I owned a 1984 Corvette. The car had it's shortcomings because it was more than 20 years old and not as dependable as I would have liked. But when I started it up and heard that roar that would set off people's car alarms when I drove down the street...it was heaven! I had to sell the car because I needed a more dependable car to commute in, and I actually got misty-eyed when I sold it. I have never gotten teary over a car and I think that attests to the power of this car. Once, I had the opportunity to drive a 2007 convertible Corvette. Before I knew it, I was smiling from ear to ear. I actually got all patriotic and was feeling really proud of America to design and manufacture this great car! I agree that if you drive a Corvette you will forget about the interior and fall in love. I have an Acura now and the interior is very nice but I miss having decent acceleration(my mom's V6 Mustang has less horsepower and goes faster). As soon as I can afford it, I am buying another Corvette. I think Porsches are and have always been butt ugly and I think that German cars in particular are pretentious. Japanese cars are dependable and not quite as pretentious but can be a little boring. I hate to say it, but something about Japanese and German cars just seems less masculine to me and it makes me wonder if the guy can perform, if you catch my drift. Italian cars are nice-looking but too expensive for most. We all know that people buy any sports or luxury car because they want their peers to admire them. So the question is, who is your audience? I'm attracted to guys who drive muscle cars and I was raised with a respect for muscle cars so that's what I prefer. And by the way, back in the 80's Mattel did make a Corvette Barbie car (which was in my toybox!)that was the same body type as my Corvette, so I used to call my Corvette "my Barbie car". There was also a Barbie Porsche Boxster a few years back. And there was a Barbie Ferrari. So there is nothing insulting about being a Barbie car (or a Matchbox car, for that matter)and in fact it is really smart marketing when you think about it (groom those little bast-, I mean kids, to be future car buyers and inspire brand loyalty).

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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