Thread: The New C7 Corvette Was Just Released

Whaddaya think?

i'll have an aston martin thanks. or maybe a jaguar or a porsche.

corvettes have never really been great cars, great to look at, well at least for the first 5 minutes until the generic stereotypical fast macho look begins to bore and date.

interior quality is worse than that found inside chinese cars too.

but i suppose americans and arabs that cant afford a porsche like them.

americans forgot how to design cars around 1970, and have never regained their mojo since.

the z-1 is supposed to be a good drive though, unlike the regular corvettes.

^ Indeed. It will be shit like every other US car, especially when introduced to a section of road where it deviates from a straight line. Build quality will be crap; panels will be made from recycled coke bottles. I bet the stereo comes complete with the Team America music "America...Fuck yeah" as the wheels fall off in a plumb of smoke.

Originally Posted by taxexile

Whaddaya think?

i'll have an aston martin thanks. or maybe a jaguar or a porsche.

corvettes have never really been great cars, great to look at, well at least for the first 5 minutes until the generic stereotypical fast macho look begins to bore and date.

interior quality is worse than that found inside chinese cars too.

but i suppose americans and arabs that cant afford a porsche like them.

americans forgot how to design cars around 1970, and have never regained their mojo since.

the z-1 is supposed to be a good drive though, unlike the regular corvettes.

Kind of an ill-informed (though wholly expected) remark. The Vette has out-performed most European offerings for years now (especially in the Z06 and ZR-1 trims)- certainly they're cheaper than a high-end 911 or most Aston Martins, but they also offer more performance, which is the ultimate goal of a sports car. Interior quality isn't fantastic, but you have to make cuts somewhere if you want to charge less than $USD100K for a high-performance car (though the new interior certtainly looks like a step up).

You know who likes them besides Americans and Arabs who can't afford Porsches? Every other person on Earth who enjoys high-performance cars.

Originally Posted by pseudolus

^ Indeed. It will be shit like every other US car, especially when introduced to a section of road where it deviates from a straight line. Build quality will be crap; panels will be made from recycled coke bottles. I bet the stereo comes complete with the Team America music "America...Fuck yeah" as the wheels fall off in a plumb of smoke.

Right- had a look at the top cars re: Nurburgring times lately? Didn't think so...

List of Nürburgring Nordschleife lap times - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As an American I have always shied away from most American cars. I had a '68 mustang that was a lot of fun but all the other American cars I had were shit. The best car I ever owned was not the most expensive. It was an '83 VW Golf GTI (known as the rabbit in America). More fun driving that than any other car I owned.

Not fond of this vette nor any other vette for that matter. Give me a 911 GT3.

That said since the usual limey American haters have shown up I must say that British cars are generally as shitty or worse then American cars when it comes to reliability and build quality. After 1970 of course.

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Originally Posted by pseudolus

^ Indeed. It will be shit like every other US car, especially when introduced to a section of road where it deviates from a straight line. Build quality will be crap; panels will be made from recycled coke bottles. I bet the stereo comes complete with the Team America music "America...Fuck yeah" as the wheels fall off in a plumb of smoke.

Right- had a look at the top cars re: Nurburgring times lately? Didn't think so...

List of Nürburgring Nordschleife lap times - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Well aware that when you take a car with three trucks full of kit and a coach load of mechanics to the NB you can come away with a good time. The Japs do it a lot as well (Lexus spent 4 years their with their offering). However, I assume you will not be able to buy the all singing race tuned version though that has the components changed after every couple of laps, and will have to make do with the production version which will be shit.

I don't like these new 'Vette's, or any of the new 'modern muscle cars' for that matter.

Much prefer the older classics: Mustangs; Chargers; GTO's and all that good stuff. Bring back the 60's and 70's I say!

Does it still have a fixed diff and rear suspension borrowed from a circa 1800's wagon?

And it's looking very much like a Ferrari from the side, they should just go back to the late 60,s stingray shape.

Originally Posted by pseudolus

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Originally Posted by pseudolus

^ Indeed. It will be shit like every other US car, especially when introduced to a section of road where it deviates from a straight line. Build quality will be crap; panels will be made from recycled coke bottles. I bet the stereo comes complete with the Team America music "America...Fuck yeah" as the wheels fall off in a plumb of smoke.

Right- had a look at the top cars re: Nurburgring times lately? Didn't think so...

List of Nürburgring Nordschleife lap times - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Well aware that when you take a car with three trucks full of kit and a coach load of mechanics to the NB you can come away with a good time. The Japs do it a lot as well (Lexus spent 4 years their with their offering). However, I assume you will not be able to buy the all singing race tuned version though that has the components changed after every couple of laps, and will have to make do with the production version which will be shit.

Wrong again- the times are for cars were run stock- keep trying, though.

Originally Posted by bsnub

That said since the usual limey American haters have shown up I must say that British cars are generally as shitty or worse then American cars when it comes to reliability and build quality. After 1970 of course.

Ahh but we have no British cars now so we are not invested emotionally into this kind of thread.

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

I don't like these new 'Vette's, or any of the new 'modern muscle cars' for that matter.

Much prefer the older classics: Mustangs; Chargers; GTO's and all that good stuff. Bring back the 60's and 70's I say!

They already essentially brought them back (in a form that actually performs)- have you see the Mustang, Charger, Camaro, GTO, etc from the last few years?

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Originally Posted by pseudolus

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Originally Posted by pseudolus

^ Indeed. It will be shit like every other US car, especially when introduced to a section of road where it deviates from a straight line. Build quality will be crap; panels will be made from recycled coke bottles. I bet the stereo comes complete with the Team America music "America...Fuck yeah" as the wheels fall off in a plumb of smoke.

Right- had a look at the top cars re: Nurburgring times lately? Didn't think so...

List of Nürburgring Nordschleife lap times - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Well aware that when you take a car with three trucks full of kit and a coach load of mechanics to the NB you can come away with a good time. The Japs do it a lot as well (Lexus spent 4 years their with their offering). However, I assume you will not be able to buy the all singing race tuned version though that has the components changed after every couple of laps, and will have to make do with the production version which will be shit.

Wrong again- the times are for cars were run stock- keep trying, though.

So just to be clear about what you are saying; The car company takes 1 car to the track, goes round it and publicises the time. Are you sure? You'll be the type who believes Philip Morris when they say smoking is healthy then.....

Originally Posted by FailSafe

have you see the Mustang, Charger, Camaro, GTO, etc from the last few years?

Yep, of those the new Charger would be my favourite. The Mustang's okish, but the GTO makes me want to cry - just a re-badged Holden Commodore!

None are a patch on the look and feel of the originals though in my opinion. Sure they out-perform/handle anything from those days but if I had the choice I'd always go with the classics.

Originally Posted by pseudolus

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Originally Posted by pseudolus

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Originally Posted by pseudolus

^ Indeed. It will be shit like every other US car, especially when introduced to a section of road where it deviates from a straight line. Build quality will be crap; panels will be made from recycled coke bottles. I bet the stereo comes complete with the Team America music "America...Fuck yeah" as the wheels fall off in a plumb of smoke.

Right- had a look at the top cars re: Nurburgring times lately? Didn't think so...

List of Nürburgring Nordschleife lap times - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Well aware that when you take a car with three trucks full of kit and a coach load of mechanics to the NB you can come away with a good time. The Japs do it a lot as well (Lexus spent 4 years their with their offering). However, I assume you will not be able to buy the all singing race tuned version though that has the components changed after every couple of laps, and will have to make do with the production version which will be shit.

Wrong again- the times are for cars were run stock- keep trying, though.

So just to be clear about what you are saying; The car company takes 1 car to the track, goes round it and publicises the time. Are you sure? You'll be the type who believes Philip Morris when they say smoking is healthy then.....

Well, there's video of the runs...

It's in your interest to call 'bullshit' on it, though, so enjoy yourself. Is there a team of techs who make sure it's running perfectly? Of course- there's also a roll cage installed- it's the same thing that every manufacturer does at the ring- check out other tracks like the best Laguna Seca times, where the same driver does most of the testing for all makes and models and see what the results are- anyone who says nthe Vette doesn't handle just doesn't know what they're talking about- it's the same with the new Viper- they're fantastic cars at somewhat affordable prices- I can't see bashing that.

The fastest lap there is a british car though.
Radical SR8 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So what is your point?

All the fast US car times have been when the car company runs the tests. The other are way off the time.

Yeah, and you see a Radical SR8 at every stoplight...- what do they make, 50 per year? They will make thousands of Corvettes- it's a common car that can beat the high-dollar European exotics, and that's pretty special.

My point is that it's a fast car that also handles extremely well- even American car bashers like Jeremy Clarkson love the Vette- in the pure performance realm, it best most exotic cars- are there other more desireable cars? Of course- I'd rather have a 458 than a Vette- however, for what will probably be the equivalent of 2mil baht or less in the States, it's a winner.

The 'American cars don't handle' line hasn't been true for years, and anyone who spouts it is fairly ignorant of the 21st century car market.

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Yeah, and you see a Radical SR8 at every stoplight...- what do they make, 50 per year? They will make thousands of Corvettes- it's a common car that can beat the high-dollar European exotics, and that's pretty special.

My point is that it's a fast car that also handles extremely well- even American car bashers like Jeremy Clarkson love the Vette- in the pure performance realm, it best most exotic cars- are there other more desireable cars? Of course- I'd rather have a 458 than a Vette- however, for what will probably be the equivalent of 2mil baht or less in the States, it's a winner.

The 'American cars don't handle' line hasn't been true for years, and anyone who spouts it is fairly ignorant of the 21st century car market.

An American doesn't know the difference between a well handling car and a dustbin with a few wheels on it. The poster above hit the nail on the head; in the "bigger is best" attitude that is so prevalent in the US, as long as the numbers are really big, the exhaust loud, the tires wide, then Americans think the car handles well. But it doesn't. They take a battleship of engineers to the NB, replace more or less the whole car (especially the chassis), get a European dynamics engineer working on it, and post a good time. Then they sell you a coke bottle with 4 wheels on and a loud sound track.

Enjoy if you are daft enough to buy one. Check the JD power survey out first though; Vettes average 2/5 for build and reliability....

Did a Camaro and R35 GTR have sex and this is the bastard child of the union ?

Originally Posted by pseudolus

^ Indeed. It will be shit like every other US car, especially when introduced to a section of road where it deviates from a straight line. Build quality will be crap; panels will be made from recycled coke bottles. I bet the stereo comes complete with the Team America music "America...Fuck yeah" as the wheels fall off in a plumb of smoke.

Rightly composed sir.
Its, rubbish

Originally Posted by pseudolus

. They take a battleship of engineers to the NB, replace more or less the whole car (especially the chassis)

Yeah gunna call bullshit on replacing the chassis, got any proof that they did this ?

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by pseudolus

. They take a battleship of engineers to the NB, replace more or less the whole car (especially the chassis)

Yeah gunna call bullshit on replacing the chassis, got any proof that they did this ?

He just proved he knows fuck all.

Like I said I am not fan of the vette but some ill informed morons on this thread have pushed out to much nonsense. So here are some facts;

Racing has played a key role in defining Corvette as America ’s performance icon. America ’s favorite sports car stands at the pinnacle of international endurance racing for 2005, propelled by an historical undefeated season in 2004 that saw the team return to the top step of the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . When the C6-R debuts at Sebring in March 2005, it will carry the heritage of 50-plus years of Corvette victories on the race track, but no chapter in Corvette history has been as successful as the recent C5-R era, from 1999 to 2004.

The C5-R will be remembered like no other Corvette in history because it was the first ever official factory Corvette race car,” said Doug Duchardt, director of GM Racing. “We’ve not only improved the breed for the production car, but the racing program has proved tremendously valuable for what it has done to energize the corporation from the inside. From the moment of the car’s first test at Grattan Raceway in 1997, it was destined to do great things.”

A chronicle of Corvette’s success in motorsports could fill a book - several record books, in fact. What the Corvette C5-R has achieved in six years of sports car racing is on par with the great ones, including an overall victory in the Daytona 24-hour race, three 1-2 finishes in the GTS class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the past four years, three straight class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and four consecutive manufacturers’ championships in the American Le Mans Series. The Corvette C5-R was, simply, the best.

In 2004 the Corvette Racing team won every single race it entered, captured every pole position in each ALMS event, broke countless track records and did not suffer any unscheduled mechanical failures: over 10 races, no engine changes were required, no tires ran flat, no gearboxes needed swapping and no electrical problems surfaced. The same qualities that made the civilian Corvette J.D. Power’s #1 Premium Sports Car in Initial Quality seemed to be found in the racing variant as well.

Corvette drivers Ron Fellows and Johnny O’Connell, co-pilots of the #3 Corvette C5-R, captured the drivers’ title in 2004 over their Corvette teammates Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta. Corvette Racing won the team championship, while Dan Binks, car chief for the #3 Corvette C5-R, won the Mechanic of the Year award for the second straight year, following in the footsteps of his predecessor Bill DeLong, who won the award for Corvette in 2001 and 2002. In special awards given out at the ALMS season-ending banquet, Ron Fellows won the “Most Popular Driver” award while Program Manager Doug Fehan won the “From the Fans” award for his dedication to sports car racing and the ALMS.

Corvette Racing History: The Making of a Performance Icon