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So I got my first Corvette in mid April, and I've been driving this 2007 C6 pain jane stickshift coupe for about two months. Impressions:
• Best sports car I've ever driven, and I've owned a few and driven more, I was in the retail and wholesale car business for ten years. There's nothing like it. A dead cross between a Ferrari and an American muscle car.
• I understand that the year after my 2007 everything got better: more powerful motor, better steering, interior etc. That's amazing that they could make the Corvette better than this. I love the car more every day.
• Sure there are nits you can pick about the C6. The worst one is maybe that the 1999 called and they want their Navigation unit back, but hey, it works, and the audio touch screen beats the other setup on the 1LT cars, so that's fine. The car is super comfortable, reasonably quiet and when you drop the hammer, it offers performance that's one notch below the very best in the world. Certainly higher performance than 99.5% of the cars on the road around you. My point is that the stuff GM got right on this car way surpasses any flaws, the car is astonishingly good.
• I get into so many cool conversations with the car. Everybody wants to tell you how cool the car is. I like LOOKING at the car almost as much as I like driving it. I've wanted a C6 since the first time I saw one 10 years ago, and now I have one in my driveway.
•I can fit my stuff in this car. I ride bicycles a lot and I'm always throwing a bike in the car to head off to some ride or race, and I can fit a road bicycle easily in the very large cargo area of the C6. You can't do that in hardly any other sports car. That makes the Porsche Cayman (the other sports car I had interest in) dead to me.
•The car has so many cool luxury touches. Like the way it silently locks itself and arms the alarm when you walk away. The lighting inside the cabin. The climate control is great. The sound system is pretty good. I find the car so practical in so many ways for such a high zoot sports car.
• I LOVE the Corvette vibe. No other car has a 60+ year contiguous history and is such an integral part of American culture (with apologies to Mustang Sally). And people LOVE the Corvette, they admire the car, they know it's AMERICA's sports car, and what the hey, maybe they can afford one some day, and the beauty of it all is, yes, maybe they can.
• Love the targa top, it makes a great convertible in a minute or less. With none of the convertible issues (weight, road noise, etc.).
• I've wanted a Corvette since I was 17, but back in the day, I'd see a C3 rolling by (that was the current Corvette then) and there was always some 57 year old jerk driving the car, and I'd think life is unfair, a young stud like me should have that car, not that old guy. Now I'm the old guy. Life is a circle yo.
I am a very happy Corvette camper. The plan is to drive this car (it only has 22,000 miles on it now) for 3-5 years and then find a later model C6, or who knows, maybe the C7 styling will grow on me. I drove the latter and it struck me as evolutionary, not revolutionary. I'm not a fan of the C7 styling. Looks like they gave the styling over to the Marvel Comics group : ). But that may change, give it time.
Overall, I'd have to say that this Corvette is the best car I have ever driven. Reminds me of my two favorite cars I owned back to back when I was in my 20s: a 1984 Porsche 944 followed by a 1986 Mazda RX-7, two small, great handling and fun to drive coupes. But those cars didn't have 400hp, abs, stability control, airbags, sat radio, bluetooth (I added that to my C6), etc. etc. I am in Corvette heaven boys. I like it.
Oh yeah the thread title comes from this: I pull up to a fast food joint window and the 19 year old girl looks at the car and asks 'Is that a Ferrari? 'It's a Ferrari SS' I reply.
Best. Post. Ever. That is a helluva way to start a Friday, and for that I thank you. Very good read and I think I speak for all of us when I say 99.5% of us agree with everything you said.
There is nothing else like this in sports cars. While the Porsche 911 or Cayman might impart a little more road feel and finesse, but the Corvette is like some wide track laser beam, and that small block V8 is the idea sports car motor. Endless torque when you need it NOW, even way down in the RPMs. You can be loafing around @ 1800 rpm, you drop the hammer and the car still has grunt without downshifting. Try that with a flat six or a turbo 4. Plus the C6 delivers a level of room and comfort you can't get in any other sports car.
The last Corvette I had driven was nearly 30 years ago, a C4. Then I test drove a new C6 4 years ago and was quite impressed, then I drove this used car that I wound up purchasing. The level of refinement the car delivers was so impressive to me. And it's unlike any other car I've ever driven.
An astonishing value, you can find beautiful C6s in mint condition with low miles for $25K-$35K.
It helps that it's one of the most beautiful car designs I've ever seen, regardless of price. Pays homage to Corvette past and brings it up to the present. There are things about the C7 design that I like, but that car pales in a pure esthetic design comparison with the C6 in my view. Frankly I get the impression that they were just trying to shake things up and go in a new direction, and so they did.
The car is such a mind blowing hammer. Just an amazing amount of car for what I paid ($29.5K for the mintiest 07 3LT stick coupe you ever saw, 20,450 miles when I picked it up). Doesn't have the Z51, but that's a GOOD thing for me, I would imagine the car rides softer with the stock suspension, and I'm not a take to to the track guy. I just want fun driving it around, and this car is funner than any car I've had before.
I could not agree more with all your points. I've owned so many different sports cars in my 40+ years of car ownership and none has scratched that itch more than my C6. Even the C5 did not give me this much enjoyment and every other brand/make was fun for a few months, but I quickly grew tired of it and went looking for the next new one. The C6 is a keeper until I can afford a C7...maybe.
Great write up. I've had my 03 Zo6 for just three months now and love the car, with articles like this makes me want to go look for C6 Z, that would make wife real happy but on the other hand!!##<<. Thanks again.
Yeah, I agree with the OP. Me and three guys from the same club all were in Porsches and all, over time, bought Corvettes. We didn't conspire. It was like all of us got curious at the same time.
We all prefer our Corvettes to the Porsches and we didn't have low level junky P-cars either. I have a base C6. One of them bought a C6 427 while the other a GS. Both of them now are in C7 Z06's but I'm still happy as can be with my C6 base '11.
All of us are astounded at how our perception of of the Vette as a poor imitation of a sports car was not only wrong, but wrong wrong and wronger.
BTW, we also share disgust at the dealer net. This car is highly let down by bottom feeder sorts of dealers being the contact between potential customers and the car.
BTW, we also share disgust at the dealer net. This car is highly let down by bottom feeder sorts of dealers being the contact between potential customers and the car.
I bought this car from Healey Chevrolet in New Hampton, NY (actually Middletown, Orange County, about 60 miles northwest of NY City) and I've mostly been impressed with them. They didn't detail the car worth a damn when I picked it up (face palm) but when the car died 5 days after delivery they stepped right up, flat bedded the car on a Saturday morning to their shop and by Tuesday they had installed a brand new factory fresh GM alternator (the alternator had died) under the 90 day warranty they gave me. Very satisfied with how I've been treated by that dealer.
Well said, I agree with everything you said! Sometimes I sit in the yard with the garage door open just admiring the beauty of the C6. I could also go the C7 route but just not there yet, maybe someday, maybe not. After 5 years still in lust with my '05 Z51...
Oh yeah, this whole Corvette 'wave' thing, at first I thought it was stupid, but now I kind of like it. One of the charms of the Corvette is that it's a white trash Ferrari. I don't say that in a pejorative sense, that's one of the things I most admire about the car. A world class sports car that people can actually AFFORD. Hell, you can buy nice C5s for well under $20K, and THAT's a great sports car too.
So there's this kind of campy mom and pop aspect to the Corvette fan base, and that is actually way cool. I was even thinking about getting a vanity plate 'WTFERRARI' for White Trash Ferrari, but I don't want to upset the other Corvette owners who might not have the same sense of humor that I do. What appears to be a vanity plate in the photo above is just Photoshop. But I am thinking about a NY vanity plate like that. I've never been big on vanity plates, but it might look cool on the Corvette.
Super cool. I just recently moved up to a C6 and I agree with everything you say about it. What a fantastic car. You just cant help but smile while driving even if you are by yourself and people are looking at you like you are nuts!
Super cool. I just recently moved up to a C6 and I agree with everything you say about it. What a fantastic car. You just cant help but smile while driving even if you are by yourself and people are looking at you like you are nuts!
Yeah, this car delivers more automotive joy than I've ever experienced before, and like I said I've owned and driven a TON of high zoot cars from BMW to MB, Volvo, Saab, Porsche, Lexus, etc. All of those cars offered engaging driving experiences, but none of them like this, and none of them as this much fun or as cool.
Hey, I'm happy I fell in love with Corvettes. Quite frankly Porsche is a bit above my pay grade. I could buy one I suppose, but I'm trying to hang on to as much of my money as I possibly can. I can comfortably swing a used Corvette.
06-12-2015, 07:39 AM
60 Days with my Ferrari SS
