The New Corvette: 400hp, 4.3 to 60, 186 mph, $45,000. Why don't I want one?

[nostatic]

Originally posted by JackOlsen
Really? In California, I never see fast ones on the track.

At Streets, there were a couple getting smacked around by the Evos and a Toyota Matrix wagon.

[North Coast Cab]

I think the ZO6 is very impressive. Out of the showroom it's a tremendous car. If I wanted a mostly track/de car and I had $40-50k I'd jump all over one.

My last De instructor had one and was a very experienced driver. He has 2 sets of wheels, both with MPSC's, and drives the car on the track and street with them. The car is indistructable. He only replaces normal components and they are very cheap. After the first day he decided to replace the front rotors since they were cracking. They were $22 each.

That said, I wouldn't buy one because every monkey that finds a few buck buys one, beats on it, and sells it two years later. I drive the 911 because it's a beautiful unique car and continues to turn heads 20 years after it was built. I also love to tell the other drivers it only has 200HP, no anti-lock brakes and no traction control.

John

[UconnTim97]

All the AutoXs that I have attended, the newer vettes do quite well. The styling has come a long way from the 84 door stops. If I were to ever get a Vette, I would surely buy a classic one though

[nostatic]

ewww....sorry, doesn't do it for me.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

And some of us can get over ourselves.

[jpachard]

The new vette in coupe form is a beautiful car, especially in black. The ALMS Vettes do very well. Let's hope some folks drive this new one to it's limit( it will probably debut in Sebring next year, maybe Daytona if we're lucky).

Cheers, James

[89911]

Originally posted by JackOlsen
Really? In California, I never see fast ones on the track.

Next time you are out East, I'll point out a few to you. I guess it depends on what circles you run in.

[CJFusco]

isn't it common knowledge that although American trucks are bullet proof, American cars are complete crap?

every other country knows this (and refuses to buy our cars with only a couple exceptions), yet Buicks still sell like crazy?

[layzee]

Yup, GM managed to sell *a few* vettes and camaros here but I think they stopped in '02. They were cheap for their performance but the price differential between UK and US was gaulling. I think it was £28,000 for a V8 Camaro, and nearly £40k for a Vette.

Since then they have been hammered on depreciation and can be picked up relatively cheaply. Their image is even worse here than in the US though!

[CJFusco]

every time i've visited the UK or continental europe, I've made it a point to keep an eye out for American cars (not counting Ford Europe). I think the most notable sighting was a Pontiac Firebird in London. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

Another reason i would never buy a Corvette is because EVERYONE HAS ONE. I see probably 5 or 6 Vettes on my way to work every day, and that's only about 15 miles on back roads.

[Overpaid Slacker]

Nor would I challenge one to a race unless it was missing 3 wheels.

LOL

I'm impressed with the new Vettes. And I'm warming to the body style. The market isn't just about power any more -- heck, you can get a Subaru w/ 250ish HP or a Maxima w/ 250+ for about half the price of a Vette.

Why wouldn't I buy one? B/c for those ducats I could buy other, cooler cars that are on my wish list... I could probably get a mint Charger or mid-60's tri-power Grand Prix and an Alpine A110 w/ an 1800 Gordini motor or a mint Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

They say 1/2 the 911s made went to the US and 1/2 of those went to California. I think it's a safe bet that 1/2 the Vettes ever made went to (or wound up on) Long Island. You can't swing a dead cat ... er, make that "a gold chain"... w/o hitting a Vette out here.

JP

EDIT -- Glasgow 911SC, where do you download Top Gear episodes? Sleepy-Fish.com is pretty good, but I'm looking for other sites/episodes. Speed is carrying 5th Gear, but it's a pale shadow of Top Gear, and w/o the humor.

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by MikeSid
A 59 Corvette is pretty durn cool car. In 45 years will a Z06 look that great? I don't know, but I don't think so. The vettes lost their soul....sometime around the start of 1983. I think this happens with any long run of auto body styles....even the 911.

The same can be said about Porsche..."around the start of 1974"

[84porsche]

Corvettes are not that bad but obviously if I had a choice it would be a Porsche. I had an opportunity to drive the Z06 on El Toro Air Base and it was a blast to drive. Of course I couldn't get to 3rd gear on the short distance they were letting us drive. All things considered, it is a good value for the money. The styling on the other hand is something to beckon with. I don't know if I like the Ferrari style light on the front.

[911Velocity]

I like the old vettes. I have a 67 BB which is a blast to drive. I rarely see another on the road. Very different car than the 911. Raw and vicerally primative. The newest seems to be a lot of bang for the buck but will depreciate fast but if I had the spare cash I could be tempted.

[turbo6bar]

$45k = nice 993 or über bad-a$$ C2 turbo. Those Porsches and Corvette are well above my driving ability, so the performance differences don't mean much for me.

I like the last-gen Corvette best of all Corvettes, but it would probably require a brain transplant or nice gift to get me into one.

[Stanley]

Originally posted by Overpaid Slacker

EDIT -- Glasgow 911SC, where do you download Top Gear episodes? Sleepy-Fish.com is pretty good, but I'm looking for other sites/episodes. Speed is carrying 5th Gear, but it's a pale shadow of Top Gear, and w/o the humor.

You can get full episodes on Bit torrent from http://gear.viper007bond.com/downloads.php You need a Bit Torrent client first, i suggest using azureus. They are usally posted the day after the show airs- or sometimes even quicker.

[350HP930]

Depreciation can be your friend if you are willing to buy used.

[Mule]

Steve wrote:
"One reason I like Porsches over Corvettes is that they are at least sophisticated. A Corvette has a pushrod engine in a tubular frame body (which ain't all that light, either). My Boxster is a steel unibody with a double overhead cam, variable lift engine. Even 1965 911s have overhead cams. You can certainly get a lot of power out of pushrod engines, but it just seems like such an old, unsophisticated technology.

In fact, the whole Corvette strikes me as an unsophisticated car. Their handling comes mostly from making the hub carriers strong enough to carry huge wheels, not from any technological advancements. In fact, as a corrolary, look at how many patents Porsche applies for when they develop a new engine vs. how many Chevy applies for."

This conversation again. For street purposes, please list for me the disadvantages of a pushrod engine. How much lighter is a turbo than a "not that light" Z06. At LeMans, what award to they give for "Most patents?"

[Chris_924s]

I'd sure like to have my '70 LT1 350/350 Factory 4 speed back.

The new ones.. no thanks, altho the Z06 is quite impressive.

Spend 6 years rebuilding a 67 vette and you realize how far ahead of it's time it really was.

The new "Viper" C6's do nothing for me.

Thank you, I'll keep mine.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by Mule
At LeMans, what award to they give for "Most patents?"

LOL, this comment made me go to the USPTO site and do a little search.

This was going to turn into the Post From Hell as I was going to list all the patents I could find. Then I did a search:

Porsche listed as "assignee": 1135 patents.
General Motors listed as "assignee": 9035 patents.

Hmm....who's more sophisticated now....?