What do we want in a sports car
08-04-2013, 03:26 PM
#1
Racer
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What do we want in a sports car
First let me qualify myself. I'm 72 years old and have owned a fast car all my life. SCCA National License. One car I built had track record in class on 10 Midwest tracks. Got my first Corvette, a C5, after I sold my two Panteras. My current ride is a stock C6, LS3, Z-51, big brakes, Michelins. And I'm going to get a C7.
But now frankly I do not care about ultimate power. I drive it around town, on trips, etc. I rarely use full power. (But there was this Audi thing and we took it up to 130 on the I-15 recently). I basically want SUFFICIENT power, I like the nice broad range torque pull of that LS3 motor. But I very rarely need full power, I don't race every 3.5 liter Datsun up the hill (why bother, I can run them into the ground). Sometimes I blow it up to 100 up a back road hill - fun, but I don't care if a Ferrari could do the hill 0.5 seconds faster. And a Viper can do it a second faster with a crappy ride and I'm doing it with the AC on.
What I want is a lot of power and most important A BALANCED DRIVING AND HANDLING FEEL. I love my C6. It's a little stiff being a Z51, but it handles like it's on rails and it doesn't do anything unpredictable. It generates more G-Force than most people are comfortable with anyway. It stops in 100 feet not 93; but that's a ton better than the 150 feet of most other cars.
And I want a relatively economical car. My brother spends $2000 every time he takes his BMW in the shop, a lady friend does the same with her Jaguar. The vette never breaks and when it does, I can fix it myself and the parts and service guys at GM are knowledgeable and friendly (thanks Jimmy Johnson Chevy in San Diego).
So the Vette is a great car. Very fast, excellent handling, comfortable, ergonomic, great looking, and half the cost of a Porsche.
But now frankly I do not care about ultimate power. I drive it around town, on trips, etc. I rarely use full power. (But there was this Audi thing and we took it up to 130 on the I-15 recently). I basically want SUFFICIENT power, I like the nice broad range torque pull of that LS3 motor. But I very rarely need full power, I don't race every 3.5 liter Datsun up the hill (why bother, I can run them into the ground). Sometimes I blow it up to 100 up a back road hill - fun, but I don't care if a Ferrari could do the hill 0.5 seconds faster. And a Viper can do it a second faster with a crappy ride and I'm doing it with the AC on.
What I want is a lot of power and most important A BALANCED DRIVING AND HANDLING FEEL. I love my C6. It's a little stiff being a Z51, but it handles like it's on rails and it doesn't do anything unpredictable. It generates more G-Force than most people are comfortable with anyway. It stops in 100 feet not 93; but that's a ton better than the 150 feet of most other cars.
And I want a relatively economical car. My brother spends $2000 every time he takes his BMW in the shop, a lady friend does the same with her Jaguar. The vette never breaks and when it does, I can fix it myself and the parts and service guys at GM are knowledgeable and friendly (thanks Jimmy Johnson Chevy in San Diego).
So the Vette is a great car. Very fast, excellent handling, comfortable, ergonomic, great looking, and half the cost of a Porsche.
08-04-2013, 03:31 PM
#2
Burning Brakes
First let me qualify myself. I'm 72 years old and have owned a fast car all my life. SCCA National License. One car I built had track record in class on 10 Midwest tracks. Got my first Corvette, a C5, after I sold my two Panteras. My current ride is a stock C6, LS3, Z-51, big brakes, Michelins. And I'm going to get a C7.
But now frankly I do not care about ultimate power. I drive it around town, on trips, etc. I rarely use full power. (But there was this Audi thing and we took it up to 130 on the I-15 recently). I basically want SUFFICIENT power, I like the nice broad range torque pull of that LS3 motor. But I very rarely need full power, I don't race every 3.5 liter Datsun up the hill (why bother, I can run them into the ground). Sometimes I blow it up to 100 up a back road hill - fun, but I don't care if a Ferrari could do the hill 0.5 seconds faster. And a Viper can do it a second faster with a crappy ride and I'm doing it with the AC on.
What I want is a lot of power and most important A BALANCED DRIVING AND HANDLING FEEL. I love my C6. It's a little stiff being a Z51, but it handles like it's on rails and it doesn't do anything unpredictable. It generates more G-Force than most people are comfortable with anyway. It stops in 100 feet not 93; but that's a ton better than the 150 feet of most other cars.
And I want a relatively economical car. My brother spends $2000 every time he takes his BMW in the shop, a lady friend does the same with her Jaguar. The vette never breaks and when it does, I can fix it myself and the parts and service guys at GM are knowledgeable and friendly (thanks Jimmy Johnson Chevy in San Diego).
So the Vette is a great car. Very fast, excellent handling, comfortable, ergonomic, great looking, and half the cost of a Porsche.
But now frankly I do not care about ultimate power. I drive it around town, on trips, etc. I rarely use full power. (But there was this Audi thing and we took it up to 130 on the I-15 recently). I basically want SUFFICIENT power, I like the nice broad range torque pull of that LS3 motor. But I very rarely need full power, I don't race every 3.5 liter Datsun up the hill (why bother, I can run them into the ground). Sometimes I blow it up to 100 up a back road hill - fun, but I don't care if a Ferrari could do the hill 0.5 seconds faster. And a Viper can do it a second faster with a crappy ride and I'm doing it with the AC on.
What I want is a lot of power and most important A BALANCED DRIVING AND HANDLING FEEL. I love my C6. It's a little stiff being a Z51, but it handles like it's on rails and it doesn't do anything unpredictable. It generates more G-Force than most people are comfortable with anyway. It stops in 100 feet not 93; but that's a ton better than the 150 feet of most other cars.
And I want a relatively economical car. My brother spends $2000 every time he takes his BMW in the shop, a lady friend does the same with her Jaguar. The vette never breaks and when it does, I can fix it myself and the parts and service guys at GM are knowledgeable and friendly (thanks Jimmy Johnson Chevy in San Diego).
So the Vette is a great car. Very fast, excellent handling, comfortable, ergonomic, great looking, and half the cost of a Porsche.
08-04-2013, 04:51 PM
#3
Which I think highlights the great things about Corvettes, regardless of generation. Regarding your prioritization, I would even argue that the C7 has put a higher priority on handling, both objective numbers and very much so on handling "feel". From the sound of things, you'll enjoy the C7 very much!
Last edited by CPhelps; 08-04-2013 at 05:00 PM.
08-04-2013, 10:41 PM
#5
The Consigliere
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Don't know about "we", but I greatly enjoy:
- front engine V8,
- great looks,
- solid handling, braking etc.,
- excellent performance,
- broad, flat torque curve,
- great sound,
- a machine that makes me grin every time I drive it,
- reliability/durability that easily allows owning/driving it well past 100k miles with only minimal maintenance/repairs.
Corvette has delivered these in spades for me, and it appears will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
- front engine V8,
- great looks,
- solid handling, braking etc.,
- excellent performance,
- broad, flat torque curve,
- great sound,
- a machine that makes me grin every time I drive it,
- reliability/durability that easily allows owning/driving it well past 100k miles with only minimal maintenance/repairs.
Corvette has delivered these in spades for me, and it appears will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
08-09-2013, 02:55 AM
#9
Racer
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Thanks guys, and I am waiting for the C7. I will probably get magnetic ride and not Z51. The Z51 rides stiff. Love the write ups on the new Michelins for the C7.
08-09-2013, 03:23 AM
#10
Team Owner
08-09-2013, 03:23 AM
#11
Melting Slicks
Bad news. You can only get magnetic ride with Z51. I've had 6 Corvettes, all but 1 with standard suspension. People underestimate how good it is. I have driven many twisty mountain roads at fast speeds with no problems. My 2003 had magnetic ride and most of the time I didn't think it was working.
08-09-2013, 04:27 AM
#12
Maybe you should consider a motorcycle, it might save some innocent lives when you eventually lose it azzhatting at 130 on I-15.
08-09-2013, 11:57 AM
#13
Team Owner
08-09-2013, 11:58 AM
#14
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '13
First let me qualify myself. I'm 72 years old and have owned a fast car all my life. SCCA National License. One car I built had track record in class on 10 Midwest tracks. Got my first Corvette, a C5, after I sold my two Panteras. My current ride is a stock C6, LS3, Z-51, big brakes, Michelins. And I'm going to get a C7.
But now frankly I do not care about ultimate power. I drive it around town, on trips, etc. I rarely use full power. (But there was this Audi thing and we took it up to 130 on the I-15 recently). I basically want SUFFICIENT power, I like the nice broad range torque pull of that LS3 motor. But I very rarely need full power, I don't race every 3.5 liter Datsun up the hill (why bother, I can run them into the ground). Sometimes I blow it up to 100 up a back road hill - fun, but I don't care if a Ferrari could do the hill 0.5 seconds faster. And a Viper can do it a second faster with a crappy ride and I'm doing it with the AC on.
What I want is a lot of power and most important A BALANCED DRIVING AND HANDLING FEEL. I love my C6. It's a little stiff being a Z51, but it handles like it's on rails and it doesn't do anything unpredictable. It generates more G-Force than most people are comfortable with anyway. It stops in 100 feet not 93; but that's a ton better than the 150 feet of most other cars.
And I want a relatively economical car. My brother spends $2000 every time he takes his BMW in the shop, a lady friend does the same with her Jaguar. The vette never breaks and when it does, I can fix it myself and the parts and service guys at GM are knowledgeable and friendly (thanks Jimmy Johnson Chevy in San Diego).
So the Vette is a great car. Very fast, excellent handling, comfortable, ergonomic, great looking, and half the cost of a Porsche.
But now frankly I do not care about ultimate power. I drive it around town, on trips, etc. I rarely use full power. (But there was this Audi thing and we took it up to 130 on the I-15 recently). I basically want SUFFICIENT power, I like the nice broad range torque pull of that LS3 motor. But I very rarely need full power, I don't race every 3.5 liter Datsun up the hill (why bother, I can run them into the ground). Sometimes I blow it up to 100 up a back road hill - fun, but I don't care if a Ferrari could do the hill 0.5 seconds faster. And a Viper can do it a second faster with a crappy ride and I'm doing it with the AC on.
What I want is a lot of power and most important A BALANCED DRIVING AND HANDLING FEEL. I love my C6. It's a little stiff being a Z51, but it handles like it's on rails and it doesn't do anything unpredictable. It generates more G-Force than most people are comfortable with anyway. It stops in 100 feet not 93; but that's a ton better than the 150 feet of most other cars.
And I want a relatively economical car. My brother spends $2000 every time he takes his BMW in the shop, a lady friend does the same with her Jaguar. The vette never breaks and when it does, I can fix it myself and the parts and service guys at GM are knowledgeable and friendly (thanks Jimmy Johnson Chevy in San Diego).
So the Vette is a great car. Very fast, excellent handling, comfortable, ergonomic, great looking, and half the cost of a Porsche.
And that leaves me in a quandary about the C7. I don't really care about the nice interior or fancy infotainment, and the LS3 is fast enough for me. The larger size and poor rear visibility are steps backward.
But the more predictable handling that the reviewers are talking about, that would be nice. Same thing with a F55 Z51 ride.
Waiting for a test drive...
08-09-2013, 12:57 PM
#16
Don't know about "we", but I greatly enjoy:
- front engine V8,
- great looks,
- solid handling, braking etc.,
- excellent performance,
- broad, flat torque curve,
- great sound,
- a machine that makes me grin every time I drive it,
- reliability/durability that easily allows owning/driving it well past 100k miles with only minimal maintenance/repairs.
Corvette has delivered these in spades for me, and it appears will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
- front engine V8,
- great looks,
- solid handling, braking etc.,
- excellent performance,
- broad, flat torque curve,
- great sound,
- a machine that makes me grin every time I drive it,
- reliability/durability that easily allows owning/driving it well past 100k miles with only minimal maintenance/repairs.
Corvette has delivered these in spades for me, and it appears will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
And first and foremost for me, it has to be an American made automobile..
Corvette.... there's no other choice for me.
08-09-2013, 01:36 PM
#18
Instructor
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I like the model of a domesticated animal / caged beast. You're safe if you know what you're doing and are careful, but things can quickly get out of hand if you push it. That's my main criteria for a sports car. Comfortable daily driver with a performance envelope that can brutally kick my *** if I let it.
Now, assuming a car meets that profile, I don't really care how it does it. Front engine or rear engine, 2 drive wheels or 4, 6 gears or 10, V8 or I6 - the parts don't matter, its how they come together to form the whole package that I care about. One specific thing I do look for in any car is a great audio system, or at least one with well placed speakers that I can upgrade later while keeping a stock appearance.
A big part of the total package has to be how the car makes me feel. I like the styling of the C7 because it looks like an aggressive animal waiting to be let off the leash, and with the exhaust note it sounds like it too. It reminds you every time you get in it that the "beast mode" performance is there waiting all the time if you hit the throttle a little too much. I'm just hoping that the car delivers on that split personality thing I talked about in the first paragraph. it's obviously a leap of faith since I haven't driven one or even been within a mile of one physically. Fingers crossed
Now, assuming a car meets that profile, I don't really care how it does it. Front engine or rear engine, 2 drive wheels or 4, 6 gears or 10, V8 or I6 - the parts don't matter, its how they come together to form the whole package that I care about. One specific thing I do look for in any car is a great audio system, or at least one with well placed speakers that I can upgrade later while keeping a stock appearance.
A big part of the total package has to be how the car makes me feel. I like the styling of the C7 because it looks like an aggressive animal waiting to be let off the leash, and with the exhaust note it sounds like it too. It reminds you every time you get in it that the "beast mode" performance is there waiting all the time if you hit the throttle a little too much. I'm just hoping that the car delivers on that split personality thing I talked about in the first paragraph. it's obviously a leap of faith since I haven't driven one or even been within a mile of one physically. Fingers crossed
08-09-2013, 02:22 PM
#19
Le Mans Master
