Vader_1

Hello fellow Corvette Fanatics! I'm a long-time Forum member - I don't post that much, but I appreciate all those who do as I've learned a ton from everyone here. Here's my new C7 Corvette story…

It's interesting how many of us car-guys (and gals) gravitate to a certain model or brand of vehicle early on as our favorite and then faithfully stick to that our whole life... I've been a Vette fanatic since I first saw a new metallic sliver C4 on the road as a teenager. To me it looked like a space ship just landed on the street and was like nothing else on the road! (…remember, this was the mid-80's) I knew I had to have one…it was the one car my teenage car-guy buddies dreamed about and talked about all the time. Given the long run of the C4 model, as a young engineer a few years out of college I was fortunate enough to purchase my first Corvette. My '95 Bright Aqua Blue Metallic coupe had been improved in the 10+ years in the C4 debuted, but it wasn't very fast (compared to today’s cars), didn't handle that great, had a subpar fit and finish, and had that low-tech digital dash – but to me it was the coolest car on the road!! After owning and enjoying two more Vettes (a yellow C5 Z06 and a black C6 coupe), I was eagerly anticipating the unveiling of the C7 last January. I was glued to my computer and watched the live-stream introduction from the Detroit Auto Show. Like many of you, I was blown away and salivating over the seductive, edgy, powerful design statement the new Corvette made. Sure there are polarizing design elements, but that’s what makes it exciting - the Corvette isn’t some middle-of-the-road, vanilla car that’s meant to appeal to everyone.

So I just brought home my Torch Red coupe with Adrenaline Red interior, Z51, 2LT, M7, Mag Ride, NPP and red calipers. I ordered it through Les Stanford in Michigan just the way I wanted it and had it courtesy delivered to my local dealer in South Florida. I was fortunate to be able to use the GM "Friends" discount (same as Supplier), provided by my buddy at GM and got this awesome ride at ~$7000 off MSRP.










I've had it two weeks and I absolutely love it!! It’s not my daily-driver commuter car (that's a Volt), so I can decide when to take it out of the garage and hit the road. And I've gotta' tell you, my perspective is that you don't just drive a Corvette, your "wear" your Corvette! Some of you may have read in Bob Lutz's book "Guts" he said something to the effect that for some, a car is like a "personal exoskeleton" that makes a statement about its driver and provides him with enhanced powers. That’s what this new C7 feels like to me. Kind of like Tony Stark in Ironman, a "Corvette suit"” gives you performance capabilities far beyond those of mere mortal cars!

So here’s my take on first impressions after ~300 miles:

LIKES:

• Power – I was one of those who were disappointed that the C7 launched with 'only' 455 HP. It just didn't seem like that was a sufficient power bump over the outgoing car, plus I wanted to see the Stingray hit that magical "500 HP" number. After driving my Stingray, I can say that the power is quite sufficient for the car. The powerband is wide and flat enough and the acceleration of the car through the lower gears is just awesome! As some have stated already, it's not the power numbers but how well the car accesses its available power that makes it impressive. It's a very different ride than the 2009 BMW M3 I had a few years ago – that small 4.4L V8 revved like a sports bike to a close to 9000 RPM redline, but the max torque was only 320 lb-ft, so it never pulled the way this new Vette does. I'm still in the break-in period with my Stingray, so I haven't stomped on it yet, but the feeling I get revving through 1st gear, then hitting 2nd and powering into 3rd gear is like this:
  
  (Millennium Falcon making the jump to light-speed)
  
  
• 7 Speed Manual with Rev Matching – it's just a blast to row the gears myself and the shifter feel and way the ratios engage are way ahead of prior gen Vettes. I also like the design and feel of the shifter **** in my hand. Also, I'm a fan of the rev-match feature and the ability to turn it on and off on the fly through the steering wheel paddles. I was never very good at heel-toeing on my previous sports cars, and I have no problem with the Stingray taking care of this for me.
  
  
• Overall Appearance – I've never owned a red car, and was all over the map when it came to the color I wanted, but I decided had to order mine in red after seeing a picture of the Stingray in red from the Detroit Auto Show. To me, in red and yellow the C7 looks very "Ferrari-ish"….but no, it's better looking than a Ferrari! Also the attention this Vette draws is crazy! I had just picked up the car from the dealer and I was driving it home for the first time…I'm stopped at the light on the highway off ramp, and a guy next to me in a BMW 5-series snaps a pic of the car. Then I'm stopped at another light and a guys rolls down his window and says, "...beautiful car! How long have you had it?" To which I answered with a laugh "15 minutes!" He gave me the thumbs up as the light turned and we drove off.
  
  
• Seats – I went with the standard sports seats as I felt they would be fine for my typical driving use. Yes, I will track the car two to three times a year, but I also wanted the right level of comfort for all the miles of driving when I’m not on the track. The sports seats feel great and I like the level of adjustability of all they key seating position parameters. Cooled seats are a major plus as well in the South Florida heat. Also, in Adrenaline Red the seats look awesome! Everyone that’s taken a close look at the car comments on them and how “high-end sports car” they look.
  
  
• Fit / Finish & Attention to Detail – considering this is my 4th Vette, I’d say this one breaks the 'linear' improvement curve of the interior from one gen to the next. The C7 is way ahead of the C6 in this department and sitting in the driver-oriented cockpit-inspired interior a just a great experience. On the days I don't drive it, I sometimes will just sit in it for a while at night while I take care of work emails, because I enjoy it that much (...I know - psycho!)

WOULD IMPROVE:

Everything that I would hope GM would improve is all pretty minor overall…your may or may not agree with these, but no car is perfect, so here's my worthless $0.00000002!

• Roll down the windows from the key fob. My Volt has this, why not the Vette?! I definitely agree with others that makes ingress / egress much easier in tight quarters, like my garage.
  
  
• Hatch closing force – GM touts that fancy new shape-forming-alloy in the pressure relief vent, but it doesn't make closing much easier than a C6.
  
  
• Side mirror shape – I know GM did crazy amounts of wind tunnel testing on this, but the generic shape of the side mirrors just doesn't fit the angular design of the rest of the car. Even the Camaro’s side mirrors better fit the design language of the overall car.
  
  
• HUD is good, not great – considering the display technology advances since GM first put a HUD in the C5 15+ years ago (corrected, thanks travisnd), I was hoping to be blown away by a highly-configurable, graphically-rich HUD. OK, so maybe this is just to satisfy my fantasy of being an F22 fighter pilot!
  
  
• Backup camera is weak – my Explorer has much better clarity and resolution. The one on the Vette looks like it's 1990's video-game resolution to me… Along those lines, back-up sensors would be nice.

Overall it's a phenomenal car and I am proud to own this fine automotive icon from General Motors that is taking on the sports car world – and winning!

So congrats to all that own this great American sports car; to all those that are waiting for theirs - it's worth the wait; and to those that have been on the fence…get off your @$$ and order one!

travisnd

Excellent write-up. However, I'm pretty sure you can roll-down the windows with the FOB. As for the HUD... FWIW the C5 had HUD in 1997. I was 16 at the time and blown away by the C5 at introduction... the HUD was just so "fighter jet". Apparently the hatch closing gets much easier as the weather strip breaks in some.

arcticblast

Great looking car at an awesome price. Congrats.

MikeC4C5C6...C7

Love that color! Thanks for an excellent writeup. You will LOVE this car.

Hatch closing is still marginal on mine--sometimes it works, mostly not. While I miss the grabby thingy from the C6, weight loss was important. I don't really mind pushing it closed when necessary.

Which top did you get for your car?

Zymurgy

No, you can't. Hopefully soon the C7 Window Valet will be released and this will allow you to lower the windows with the fob (and a bunch of other stuff as well).

teejake

Congratulations!

Zymurgy

OP,

millers1

Congratulations--you picked the best color!

VETJAZZ

Racerdj

Congratulations on a very stunning C-7 and a great deal.

PARANORMAL

Congratulations. Nice write up, nicer car!!!
Good color choice, enjoy .

travisnd

So the C7 vert top will go down with the FOB, but the coupe won't do the windows.. interesting.

droideka

great looking car, GREAT write up! enjoy the bejeezus out of it!!! i sure do <3 the stock silver Z51 wheels. wish i had two sets to play with.

LIE2ME

Congrats! I just picked mine up yesterday morning (AW vert) and all I can say is..............WOW!!

AFVETTE

Nice story and review of your new Vette. I see you own a Volt too. We own two, will be trading our 2012 in for my LRG C7.

That's the Yin and Yang of GM.

Are you on GM-VOLT forum and VoltStats.net?

rudolph schenker

Congrats!

rcooper

Nice looking car, good write up. I enjoyed reading your post.op. Nice to read what new owners think of the C7, even better when the post is well written.

mfear

Man I'd love to see that thing in person. I'm in South Florida too and I have a deposit down.. Can't decide on white or red.

Whereabouts are you?

peter pan

Congrats

6spdg37s

that is gorgeous ! good luck with it !