Corvette C4

1984-1996 Corvettes. A car I thought was cool until about 1988. They did not age well. This was apparent well before production ended. They aren't fast. Almost all are automatic transmission and have reliability problems as well as novelty digital dash cluster that stayed years after everyone was over the fad.

I've seen several 84-88s for 2500 dollars and less as far back as 1994. Unless they are pristine and low mileage you can't give these things away. Just sitting there with 2500 on the windshield for months. Decent 1996s are 8000 and no one is buying. Very low mileage examples have owners wanting 11-18k. At that point everyone knows you can get a similar condition C5.

4th generation of Corvettes built from 1984-1996. As of January 2009, it is probably the best bargain for stock performance in both 0-60/quarter mile speed and suspension performance.

Vehicle was powered over those years by these engines: 5.7L L83 (Crossfire motor), 5.7L L98 (TPI (Tuned Port Injection) motor), 5.7L LT1 motor, and the ever so rare 5.7L LT4 motor (all are in order with release dates and the amount of HP they put out).

The 80's manual transmission Corvettes were supplied by a Doug Nash 4+3 transmission (4 regular gears, the top 3 supplied with an overdrive gear). The TPI motor with this transmission was rumored to top out over 200MPH.

Was the 1st Corvette generation to combine sleek, hatchback styling with clean HP and torque and Digital gauges in the dash.

The Corvette C4 is the fourth generation of the popular General Motors sportscar, the Chevrolet Corvette. It was in production from 1984 to 1996. During its production run, it became the first American car with multi-link rear suspension and featured an early six-speed manual gearbox (starting in 1989); it had excellent roadholding, arrow-like styling with 180-degree-flip hidden headlights, and lightweight transverse springs. This generation also introduced the ZR-1 performance model, equipped with a 375-405 bhp quad-cam V8 engine co-developed with Lotus.

The C4 Corvette is the cheapest Corvette generation money can buy at the time of writing, with early and worn examples going for under $5k and powerful late model years available under $10k. This means that it is a good starting sports car bargain if Miatas aren’t your style. In particular, a ‘92-‘95 C4 has a 300 bhp 5.7-liter V8, a modern 6MT or 4AT gearbox with generous overdrive, a spacious rear luggage compartment, adjustable seats, cassette and CD - in other words, it’s quick as well as perfectly serviceable as a daily.

Like all Corvettes, the C4 is maligned for its association with slow grandpas. The only way to break this stigma is to get one and drive the pants off it.