mmarshall

Sure. Anytime.

If you like the styling, the current Dodge Viper has the same general looks as the C6, especially up front, but cannot compare in build quality. Both, however, have been troublesome....the Viper more so.

Absolutely. Good thinking. Get the base model, and take the extra 80-100K you saved by not getting a Z06 or a ZR-1 (with dealer markups), and put that cash into your retirement, paying off the mortgage, or a fund for your kid's college.


The C6 clutch, as I see (and feel) it, is up more than a notch. The difference is like night and day. Of, course, the upmarket 'Vettes, with the 500-600 HP engines, may have heavier clutches than the base cars.....I don't know.


Like the current Mustang and Challenger, the new Camaro's interior will have a number of retro touches. If you like the original one (and it was one of the cars I grew up with in the late 60s) you'll probably like this one.

As I told rdgdawg above, the new Camaro (SS if possible) is on my review list as soon as it is released.

CDNROCKIES

The ride in the winter is actually significantly softer....if you switch to 18" wheels and run a higher profile tire. I run 225/45/18 on OZ Ultraleggera's and the increased height of the side wall really cushions the ride.

I am still in disagreement on the perceived "harsh" ride of the OEM wheels and PS2's on dry pavement, but we are each entitled to our opinions mmarshall.

LexFather

Gotcha. Well thanks for the review, the as tested price is very very solid. I love the C6 Vette.

mmarshall

I know that you are a car guy like me, CDNROCKIES, and know your stuff, so I also greatly respect your opinion. And we both may be correct on this one. Early models of the IS-F (which I reviewed) were noted for a harsh ride (Lexus, supposedly, produced some of them with almost track-grade suspension settings). The one I drove was almost like a Mitsubishi Evo in stiffness, though, of course, a lot quieter. The scoop is that Lexus may (?) have softened later models a little as a running production-line change....I don't know that for a fact, but if so, it could account for the difference in your experience with the car and mine. (There may be some info on that in the IS forum). Recommended tire PSI, which also affects ride/handling, may have also been changed (I always check for correct tire PSI before I test-drive a car). I also don't know what kind of roads you drive on, but I tried out the IS-F I reviewed on several different surfaces, from glass-smooth to potholed/frost heaves. It was fine, or at least acceptable, on smooth roads, but banged up and down like a porpoise on frost heaves and warps.

Threxx

I love the C6 but don't think I could live with one as a daily driver. The road noise and ride stiffness is just too much... I need more isolation from the outside world than that.

On a nice Sunday drive it wouldn't bother me at all but for a daily driver... too much.

I suspect replacing the run flat tires with non-RFTs would help both of those attributes quite a bit though... but not sure if there's anywhere on the Vette where a donut can reasonably be placed/installed. Surely the question has come up on the aftermarket before and if there's a solution it has already been done.

I know there are also quite a few kits made specifically for the Vette to install to reduce road noise.

I suspect between one of those road noise reducing kits and non RFTs I could live with a Vette pretty well.

You know one other thing that's nice about the Vette? After the initial depreciation hit they take in the first year or two, they depreciate very slowly. You can find 2007s right now for 27-30k... buy it now and 5 years later sell it for 17-18k. That's not a bad hit at all.

Have you checked out the F55 magnetic ride control suspension package? One of my coworkers has it in his 2006 Vette and I was really impressed by the way it could change the ride quality. With the MRC suspension the Vette took bumps about as smoothly as my 335i (which is to say still kinda stiff but at least more livable) and it improved the handling performance at the same time to near Z51 suspension levels. The downside is that it costs something like 2500+ to get the suspension replaced if and when it needs to be replaced. More than double the non MRC suspension.

mmarshall

The base model was not very harsh at all......less than I expected. It's no Town Car, but it doesn't really pound you over bumps that much. The main problem is the noise on sharp bumps, rather than the harshness itself. I attribute at least part of that to the fiberglass body, which is less effective than metal in absorbing noise.


Well, like I said above, the run-flat tires on the base model really aren't that harsh, except for noise over bumps. There, you have a point.
But, if you want to convert to conventional tires, you may not necesarily need a donut...just get a bottle of Fix-a-Flat. Of course, if the leak or puncture is bad enough, even the pressurized bottle won't work.

Yes, I mentioned the relatively low depreciation in the review. That is mostly due to limited production and the uniqueness of the car. The Corvette has always had a magical attraction to the public, especially males. Until the Accord and Camry came along in the 1980's, in huge numbers, with the big demand for illicit replacement parts, the 'Vette was one of the most-stolen cars on the market, especially in ratio to its small numbers, and a magnet to car thieves. Teens would also break in and take them on joyrides. GM, BTW, pioneered and developed a number of their anti-theft electronics on Corvettes.

Yes, I know how the magnetic suspension works, and how the iron particles in the shocks are affected by changing magnetic fields to adjust damping and firmness. I have not directly sampled it on Corvettes, but I have driven a few samples of it on newer Cadillacs.

2002GGPIS3

Thanks for another great review. A couple of things, I have always been a big Corvette fan, but I can't get over the no door handles on the C6, at auto shows, I open the door, and you have to hit the button exactly right for the door to open, it just bothers me. Also I read in a Corvette magazine that it is possible to lock yourself in the car and if the battary is dead, you are in trouble. A guy fooling around in his garage locked himself in his Vette for five hours, until his wife got him out. I just don't understand when regular things work well like door handles, they are changed for no reason. I understand why you chose the base version, with the Z06 and ZR1 being more like race cars and why you chose the manual, but did you get a chance to try the new 6 speed auto with paddle shifters?, I would like to see how the Vette's system is comparable to others. Also besides the tires, do you think the base Vette is more Grand tourer, able to drive hundreds of miles in comfort or more a sports car? About the insurance issue, getting quotes for a C5, suprised me, much lower then I thought. Many Vette drivers do fit the typical sterotype, of mid life crisis car, and owners always waxing and cleaning. Many Vettes I see drive below the speed limit and owned by older guys, for every one fast Vette driver their are five slow ones, I think cars like the Mitsubishi Evo, and BMW M3 are more expensive to insure. Lastly you mentioned you did a review of the Corvette C5, do you have the link to it?, and another car I really love with a LS V8, the Pontiac GTO, did you do a review of one?, and if so do you have the link to it?, Thanks.

rdgdawg

Looked at 4 Vettes while at lunch... 1 convert, 1 LT2, LT3, and Z06... thought the LT3 was the best value by far... holy cow, have they improved inside!!! And the quality of exterior finish was surprising (raised hood to look at paint finish as well.)

Tons of leg space, and huge trunk space (for what it is). They had the LT3 marked at $49K (from $56K- chrome wheels and Z1 performance pkg), told him I've heard of Vettes going for $43K, he said, "We can work torwards that..."

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........

mmarshall

Sure. Anytime.



Just seems to be an obsession these days with electronics. BMW's I-Drive and Audi's MMI, IMO, are two of the worst.

Hard to believe, though, that Chevy engineers didn't put an emergency manual-override door switch somewhere for situations just as you describe. I didn't notice one in the car I reviewed, but it could have been hidden somewhere. I DID notice, and mentioned it in the review, that the engineers thoughtfully put an emergency gas-filler door release in the trunk in case the regular electric switch failed.


No, I didn't try an automatic. Few 'Vettes are sold with them, although one could maybe justified if the car spent a lot of time in heavy traffic.


The base 'Vette, IMO, can be driven on a long trip in relative comfort if the road is not too rough. The tires and suspension, however, do bang a little over bumps, although it is actually more noise than out-and-out ride harshness. Also, the exhaust droning, if you speed up and slow down a lot, might get a little annoying after a few hours.....I'd bring along a set of earplugs or turn the stereo up a little. .



I agree that the Evo and M3 may have more immature and more irresponsible drivers. Two of the things that make a Corvette, though, a risky proposal for some insurance companies is that, One, the cost of fiberglass repairs for the body is still on the high side, and, Two, though Corvettes are not stolen at the same frequency they once were (thanks to GM's anti-theft devices), they are still more or less a magnet to thieves and joy-riders.


I did not actually write up the C5, so there is no written record of it.



GTO? No, but, by CL request, I did do its G8 GT 4-door replacement:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...iac-g8-gt.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...iac-g8-gt.html

I had to do the review rather awkwardly, in two parts, because some Pontiac shops, at first, were not allowing test-drives.

mmarshall

Yep. GM has got that fiberglass painting routine down to a real art now. And inside, the old cheap plastic and rattle-and-squeak days are pretty much gone.

43K sounds plausible to me, too, but not (?) necessarily on the car you looked at. The 48K car (list) I drove was marked down to between 43-44K, even before any talk of a deal started. But also remember that my car was a base model with no significant options except the gray wheels.....the LT3 and Z1 packages on your car up the ante a little.

Do NOT expect any kind of discount, however on a Z06 or a ZR-1. You might be able to chip a little off the Z06's list if you bargain hard enough, but with a ZR-1, you pay to play......big time.

I8ABMR

Thanks for a great write up and the info. I still have to admit that the interior still looks like typical GM garbage. Nothing special at all. They need to do what cadillac did and just copy a japanese design. The interior plastics leave alot to be desired for the price of the car. I think the interior is on par with the 28000 dollar 370 Z

rdgdawg

See my Corvette, Camaro post... Z06 $78K down to $62k

The ZR1 which I'm seeing today sold for $150K

mmarshall

That's pretty good for a Z06.....less than I expected.

But it also shows you what ZR-1's bring. They typically list for around 120K......so here you've got a 30K mark-up. 150K, BTW, is what the dealership I was at also let their last ZR-1 go for.

mmarshall

I agree the interior doesn't look as good as it feels. It's still not the quality interior of, say, the the Acura RL, but in this case, what you get is at least a little better than what you see.

Ans as far as Nissan Z's go, the original interior in the 2003 350Z, despite the retro gauges, was truly junk....the source of many owner complaints. They have vastly improved it since then....as they have on Corvettes.