The automotive industry – with a helping hand from many in the press and even some major government officials – put everything it had into a nearly decade-long push for an all-electric future. To manufacturers, the EV presented cheaper and simplified manufacturing processes, a way to seem environmentally conscious for the first time in their existence, and the assurance of some sweet carbon credits (which scored Tesla $2.76 Billion in 2024!). Cutting cost, signaling virtue, and government handouts? Pushing EVs was the perfect plan until those pesky consumers stepped in like the Scooby-Doo gang to ruin everything. Car buyers have spoken, and this whole electric propulsion thing has left them feeling bearish (and nostalgic for gasoline), especially when the topic of performance cars comes up.
The industry’s best-laid EV plans have been showing cracks for a while, and they have entered full-on crumble mode in 2025. Despite its good looks and the unbelievable marketing synergy provided by its historic name, the new electric Dodge Charger has suffered a cold reception that has Stellantis hitting the panic button: rushing the turbocharged “Six-Pack” model to market and even seriously considering unretirement for the Hemi V8. Honestly, nobody ever thought American muscle car fans would want anything to do with the silence of an electric powertrain, but the lack of demand stretch all the way to the top, where Rimac won’t commit to EVs long-term after struggling to sell out its planned 150-unit run of record-breaking Nevera hyper EVs after three years of trying, Maserati has decided to pull the plug on the electric version of its MC20 supercar, and everyone from Aston Martin to Mercedes-AMG has hit the brakes on electrifying their respective lineups.
Perfect timing, then, for General Motors to show off its new Advanced Design Studio in the UK by way of an all-electric Corvette concept that has everyone speculating about the upcoming C9 generation:
To be fair, The General never said anything about this – admittedly stunning (except for that split front window) – concept being anything other than a styling exercise, and the rampant conjecture around the web really is just guesswork done during a slow automotive news cycle. But, even under those tenuous circumstances, it remains extremely jarring to see one studio’s all-electric vision of the Crossed Flags’ future. Factor in GM’s massive (it’s more than $35 billion at this point) investment in EVs and the firm’s propensity to be late to the party (see, the embarrassing NFT episode from a few years back), and Corvette Nation is right to be feeling more than a little nervous about the immediate future of their favorite American icon! We can only hope that the Honchos in Detroit felt the shifting winds before development of an all-electric next-gen of America’s Sports Car got past the point of no return! EVs as a choice can work – though we remain very skeptical about batteries’ ability to replace the soulful nature of internal combustion – but what the customers have said time and time again with their wallets is that they have no interest in accepting a forced transition. May the Small-Block V8 live forever, even if it is just as an option box on top of a plug-in base car!
Source:
Photos by General Motors
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