I was told its not just one part but several parts and it changes DAILY....The parts thing is a nightmare for Cadillac right now.. They are working on it and said its going to get better...
I'll stick my neck out on a limb here and take a shot at shedding some light on this...
A month ago, Chevrolet dealers received notification that the engine appearance package for C8 Corvettes were no longer an option and dealers would have to modify orders with that option by removing it prior to placing with allocation if they wanted the orders accepted.
The engine appearance package is comprised of two lights inside the engine compartment as well as exposed carbon fiber covers over the two frame rail sections on either side of the engine.
The reason? The company that manufacturers those carbon fiber components was ceasing all carbon fiber production as part of their business model on January 31st - yesterday.
Exposed carbon fiber high wing spoilers for the C8 Corvette have been on a national constraint for at least a month now. Corvettes are being built - but the exposed carbon fiber high spoilers are an LPO - a dealer installed option shipped separately from the car. I'm not sure if orders going forward can be placed with the CF high wing spoiler as an option.
There are Corvettes sitting at dealers for nearly a month now still waiting for those spoilers as well as the other LPOs ordered with the cars.
A little background:
Vehicle Outfitters or "ADIs" is/are the main distributor of LPOs for GM...or at least Chevrolet...I would assume Cadillac as well....but I'm not sure. Vehicle Outfitters receives the LPOs directly from GM and then they ship them to the dealers. If a car is ordered with multiple LPOs (black lug nuts, custom luggage, splash guards and a high wing spoiler) and that high wing spoiler is on constraint or backorder - Vehicle Outfitters will hold on to those LPOs but GM will NOT allow them to release them to the dealer without ALL the LPOs available. So if one single LPO is held up - it holds up all of the LPOs for that car.
It takes an act of God and sometimes a GM district sales rep to step in and put in a request up the food chain to get those LPOs released to the dealer without the constrained LPO.
Now...imagine the dealer's position when they have to tell a customer who's been waiting nearly a year for their Corvette and now a month at the dealership - that the LPOs aren't available and GM has NO ETA. As expected - the customer is now pissed.
They're pissed directly at the dealer (who isn't at fault) and they're pissed at GM. In many cases, customers are willing to take delivery of their car with what LPOs they can get - and then come back to the dealer once the rest of them arrive.
Why GM handles this type of situation this way, is anyone's guess. I assume to save shipping cost? Personally, I find it distasteful - and not exactly a prudent way to try to win over your customer base from the competition...but hey....what do I know...
Anyway...I digress...I don't know if the company that manufacturers the engine appearance package also manufactures the high wing spoilers for the Corvette and the carbon fiber appearance packages for the Blackwings.
GM works with many tiers of suppliers - but in my opinion - their promise of it getting better holds little value. To me, that's an easy way to try and pacify the masses with little to no guarantee. GM is at the mercy of their suppliers - just like all of the other automotive manufacturers out there.
In order to become a GM supplier you have to meet strict quality control and production guidelines established by GM. That all takes time and most of that is done prior to a new generation of vehicle going into production.
You can imagine the hell that GM and other automotive manufacturers probably go through when one of their primary suppliers suddenly tells them they're ceasing operation at the end of the month - or they can't get the raw materials to meet GM's production schedules.
