2009 Corvette

[GrimJack]

The Noble kicks ass. Too bad it's virtually impossible to buy over here. I ran into one on the street a while back. My car is by no means slow, I've beaten a good number of fast cars pretty easily, but the difference between my car and that Noble was like the difference between my car and a Honda Civic pulling a trailer.

One thing to keep in mind though - money to performance will change depending on where you are. Same with money to quality.

Corvettes cost a shitload more in England than they do in the USA. So do Vipers. Lambos cost more in the USA than they do in Italy. Aston Martins cost more in the USA, etc, etc. Well, after you take into account salary differences, anyway. Furthermore, lots of European cars are virtually impossible to get here - the Vauxhall? Good luck, I haven't seen any of those in North America since 1970.

PS: Several of my friends own Corvettes, across many generations, and I have yet to see one that spends more time on the road than it does in the shop.

 

[Syris]

What i dont understand is, for the price it sells at, surely an extra $1000 for independant rear suspension would be warranted....

As for the interior - i've been in a Corvette before and the interior smelled like a plastics factory and was paper thin, to the point of being embarassing to be associated with it

Yea I bet the car would embarass you, between you and the car when it came down to it I think the girl would be more impressed by the car...:biglaugh: no pun intended

 

[dugums]

In terms of technological development, yes, we're better at producing cars than you.

Who's we?

I thought you lived in the UK. I agree that GERMANS make a few damn good cars. The British certainly make lovely, technically-advanced paperweights.

:sarcasm:

I am just kidding (sorta :dunno

 

[MassSupra89]

In terms of technological development, yes, we're better at producing cars than you.

Less money? I hardly think that $100,000 is 'less money' do you? You must be on crack if you think a Chevy is better than a BMW, especially in terms of fit and finish.

You're the one on drugs here...

Then how come none of your companies come near the production numbers of GM?

Less money than what it directly competes with for speed, handling, and power... Yes. By my math it is still half the price of a 195,000usd Porsche 911GT2. I don't know how you do math, but yes... that is less.
Now find me a BMW that can compete with the Z06.(which is an 11 second car remember) and pass me some of those drugs.

 

[GrimJack]

lol - comparing a 'vette to a Porsche 911 GT2 is a recipe for disappointment. The GT2 has more power per pound, more torque per pound, a better skidpad, and it will start every morning and drive you to work. Or the golf course, I suspect that more people who own one don't really work much anymore.

Hell, take the average of the user ratings for every 911 and every 'vette on carpoint.com - a USA site, for crying out loud.

'vette - 9.015
911 - 9.39

Even your fellow Americans think the Porsche is a better car.

 

[MassSupra89]

Oh it is, don't get me wrong. But it is also twice the price, and they lap the 'Ring within seconds of eachother.Power per dollar it doesn't beat the 'Vette.

 

[GrimJack]

I'm not sure that's true. It's true if you live in the USA, but how much do they both cost in Germany? How does the pricing there compare to the average income there?

When you're discussing things internationally, you really need to start thinking that way - the prices on US soil in US dollars is only half the equation.

 

[gtsfirefighter]

I love Corvettes. Good ole American muscle car. I've heard people complain about the interiors before, but like anything else, it all depends on how you care for it.

 

[Brewster]

In other words, i'm correct. Enjoying that cheap shit interior and ancient engine descended from the plant of Hades?

Yes their interiors are crap, moreso the last gens than the c6 though. No arguing about that at all. There's nothing wrong with OHV, it allows the engine to be much smaller physically, lowering the center of gravity of the car. The Vette has fully independent suspension and uses monoleaf springs, it's nothing like a trucks leaf spring suspension.

For $70k, not much can touch a Z06.

 

[OneJoeZee]

Hmm OHV crap? 505 Hp and 475 torque is crap out of NA motor that even comes with warranty(speaking z06)? Well what other way would you consider that is more perfected than that is natuarally aspirated?

cheap plastic interior, what do you want the interior to be made out of? Wood?

Whats wrong with leaf springs? From the way Joe already put it, seems to me that, that the suspension setup on them are pretty much dead on. Seems like most of the time the Corvettes are leading the pack on the track on a side note. Doesn't say all too much for "exotic" suspension now does it? Last I checked Double Wishbone is pretty old also.

+1. If it works, who cares how old the technology is?

 

[Quin]

+1. If it works, who cares how old the technology is?

I don't like this argument. Arrows still kill people, but I don't think that justifies sending our troops to war with longbows.

Now, if it still pwns, who cares how old the tech is? I like that better.

 

[Sawbladz]

If a car can annihilate the majority of sports cars built while costing a fraction of the price, why do people pick apart it's design?

I rode in my uncles 07 Z06 on Christmas day and had the time of my life. The car does not ride rough like Top Gear says and the interior is quite nice. Granted, it could be better but what more can you ask for? You are paying how much less that a Porsche 911? And how much faster is the Porsche?

I would take the Vette over a number of more expensive cars because I know that they can stand up to a great deal of abuse and still get you home after.

 

[OneJoeZee]

I don't like this argument. Arrows still kill people, but I don't think that justifies sending our troops to war with longbows.

Now, if it still pwns, who cares how old the tech is? I like that better.

bad analogy

 

[RazoE]

If you're so pro-Euro Kai, then why do you drive a Supra..?

Vettes are the only cars that can run with the big guys for much less than the competition..

Wanna talk about shitty interiors? Look at a Lotus, they don't even give you carpet...

"oh but that's different"


its bullshit and you guys know it....

 

[Kai]

I'm not pro-Euro, nor am i anti-US.

I dislike most current american cars because of their cheap build quality, shoddy workmanship, sloppy tolerances and ancient mechanicals. For muscle cars built in the 60's and 70's, ancient mechanicals are not a problem. For cars built in the TWENTY FIRST CENTURY come on! GET WITH THE REST OF THE FUCKING PLANET'S CAR INDUSTRIES!

Corvettes aren't supposed to be expensive and encroaching on BMW and Mercedes pricing - they're supposed to be cheap and fun.

You're defending it because of national pride, not because of its merits. You're trying to excuse its huge gaping flaws, when really, on the world stage, it pales in comparison to everything else in its price range - and yes, for the same price, you can get a BMW M3 or an AMG Merc SLK55. If you'd still rather have a chevy that costs the same price, then you're plainly retarded or you must LOVE pissing money down the toilet...

Which lotus doesnt have a carpet? If you're referring to the Exige, then DUH, its because its designed for use as a TRACK CAR. Ariel Atom? Same deal. Look at the Ferarri 360CS - ooh look! No carpets there either! Porsche do one too.

There are very few current US cars that have earned my respect - the Ford GT being one, primarily because it has soul - its not been designed by accountants and lawyers.

Australian Vehicles? Well - they're almost all good. £29,995 for a 6.0litre V8 Coupe (Holden Monaro)? Wonderful! Yes, its simple, but it doesnt have pretensions of being a thoroughbred or a magnificent BMW beater. It's simple, cheap, well built and it can get away with using simple mechanicals *because* its cheap and a hell of a lot of fun to drive. The australians also use the 4.0litre 'Barra' DOHC 24v Inline-6 - which automatically makes them 100% cool.

*IF* the Corvette was truly a cheap, blue collar car, i could excuse the flaws. As a $100k car, i'd rather have a mercedes, a BMW, an Audi, a Lexus etc etc...

$20k? Sure, i'll buy it.

 

[OneJoeZee]

lol

 

[BlackMKIII]

Oh my, look at what I've gone and started. :biglaugh:

 

[Poodles]

What i dont understand is, for the price it sells at, surely an extra $1000 for independant rear suspension would be warranted....

As for the interior - i've been in a Corvette before and the interior smelled like a plastics factory and was paper thin, to the point of being embarassing to be associated with it

Wait.... WHAT!??

The corvette has had IRS for damn near forever (since 1963), hence the whole corvette vs supra discussions I've had many times.

Yes, the interiors where pretty "plastic fantastic," but the owners bitches and Chevy finally started putting money into making the interiors nicer.

The leaf springs are setup in such a way as to function much like a coil, and they work great. The C4 ZR-1 had leaf springs made out of composites to save weight as well (FAR lighter than any coil spring).

The ZO6 comes with coilovers stock anyway, so this discussion is mute as well...

For the price point (in the US, as the taxes in other parts of the world make the car extremely expensive, hence why GM owns other names and makes the cars there to get around that) it is THE best bang for the buck car out there. It will blow the doors off cars MANY times more expensive in a straight line, around a course, in braking, ect, ect...

FYI: Vauxhall and Holden = GM!! Opel Speedster = Vauxhall VX220 = Lotus Elise. They also made a Front engined chassis, that became the Opel GT, which is the Saturn Sky, which is the same as the Pontiac Solstice.

Confused yet?

 

[Figit090]

There are very few current US cars that have earned my respect - the Ford GT being one, primarily because it has soul - its not been designed by accountants and lawyers.

Since we referenced Top Gear so much - It's funny you should say that! Top Gear's review stated that basically the WHOLE CAR was designed by other countries, not America. I'm sure it's on YouTube as thats where i watch TopGear. Other countries all pitched in and it was sold under and American name. oh well.:biglaugh:

*IF* the Corvette was truly a cheap, blue collar car, i could excuse the flaws. As a $100k car, i'd rather have a mercedes, a BMW, an Audi, a Lexus etc etc...

what are these flaws you keep speaking of can you be specific? i have yet to sit in one of these cars and i'm curious.

As for me, I think it's a cool car. I dont know enough about European or otherwise imported cars to see how they stack up performance wise. I can't really see a nice luxurious STOCK BMW or Merc making laps as fast as this thing but hey... I don't really know. I've read about very fast ones but they were HIGHLY modified.

However I haven't kept up with new arrivals to the market, anybody have hard numbers of performance/supercars in the 100k dollar price range compared to the vette?

 

[Poodles]

what did Top Gear not like about the C6 ZO6?

- Tranny belongs on a tractor
- Suspension is too stiff and hard to live with
- Engine makes god aweful noises at low revs (typical LS engine)