Even with the New 1986 Corvette Convertible, Sales of the Car Still Slump
The 1986 Corvette moved even closer to becoming the world class sports car that Chevy always said it was and for the first time the Corvette had anti-lock braking system, or ABS. Though ABS is now found in almost every car sold both here and abroad, back in 1986 it was very new technology and was reserved for the ultra-luxurious models. However this and other additions, including a new rag top version, would not be enough to rescue the super car from further sales slumps.
The 1986 Corvette made it harder for thieves to get their hands on the super car and implemented an upgraded anti-theft system called VATS (vehicle anti theft system). VATS employed a small pellet that had a specific electrical resistance embedded in the ignition key that had to be read by an unseen decoder box. If someone used the wrong key or attempted to start the car another way, the decoder box would electronically shut down the fuel pump for a minimum of two minutes before another attempt could be made to start the car. VATS proved to be worth its weight in gold and the 1986 Corvette saw a drop in theft by as much as 20 percent in some areas of the country when compared to previous years.
Power under the hood remained much the same as the 1985 Vette but what certainly came as somewhat of a welcomed shock by all happened midyear. The C4 was designed from the get go to be a convertible and half way through the sales year the coupe was redesigned to become the first convertible the C4 generation had known and the first in 11 years for the Vette line itself.
All of the convertibles for the year were designed to be replica Pace Cars of the Corvette that paced the field at the Indy 500 that year. This was regardless of equipment or color, though the actual Pace Car that year at the Indy 500 was a bright yellow. No matter how they spun it, much to the delight of the Chevy engineers, the convertible was back and it was hoped that the new addition would raise sales that had been slumping for some time now.
Though Chevy had waited for some time to add the convertible to the lineup the gimmick failed to impress and the 1986 Corvette once again saw a decline in sales. For the model year, the 1986 Corvette only sold 34,937, of which only 7,264 were rag tops. Once again it seemed that while the Corvette should have excelled, it fell flat on its face.
Again Chevy could easily pinpoint the main problem with the slumping sales and again it was price. Even with all the added features it was hard for Chevy to justify how mcuh the 1986 Corvette would be just as a base model. When the sticker read ’$27,027’ there was a true sticker shock felt by the Corvette Nation. Add another $5,000 to that price for the rag top and it is easy to see why the 1985 Corvette had a less than stellar year as far as sales were concerned.
Tags: 1986 Corvette, convertible, GM
