Ya I noticed that on other hot-rod boards they do hate Vette guys, I think a lot of that was our fault I do think that vette guys are a bit snobbish. The non-vette guys refer to chevette owners and us as chevies.

 

This must have been in the days of David E. Davis Jr. as Editor in Chief who went out on his own to be the founder of "Automobile" magazine. I've bought a few copies of "Automobile" mostly for the nice, shiny pictures. As for useful articles and credible commentaries the magazine was a big ZERO. They don't even do their own road tests. They just reprint other magizine's performance numbers or the manufacture's. In my opinion a car mag is about DRIVING cars not the "philosophical zen" associated with them. I don't need to waste my time reading about some author's mental ************* about which car appeals to him more.

Incidentally, my brother-in-law's mid '70's Porsche 930 was leaking oil profusely recently. The leak was from a pushrod guide tube. I told him about a repair that was available for the old Corvair where the leaking tube could be cut out and a field replacement could be installed that was of a telescoping design. This was available to in order to avoid pulling the cylinder heads to replace the seals. He checked with the Porsche dealer for a similar item -- Sure enough, Porsche had basically the same thing available. Just think, Porsche technology ala early '60's Corvair. His car is fast but every bit as tempermental and unreliable as any american muscle car.

 

It seems that a lot of hot-rod guys do not like Vette guys. I remember a survey was done in toronto in a A&W and the servers sait the Mustang guys were the best tippers and the Vette guys were the worst. I also think the Vette guys are to hung-up on numbers matching rather then quality of the over-all car. Latter

 

:seeya What is up Joe

 

Sammy B. I like what you have to offer. It's helpful to have the perspective of someone who has owned both cars. My Porsche experience came in the late 80's after I graduated from high school. The summer before I left for college, I worked at a local Porsche dealership, prepping cars and cleaning up customer cars / used cars. It was a great job, because it gave me the opportunity to drive all the Porsches I could ever imagine, including a RUF930.

And as I said, I love Porsche. I will always love Porsche (not sure if I want a 356 or a 911, I even love the 928 and 944). So I understand the journalists when they give the Porsche it's due. The marque deserves all the respect in the world.

But there is a snobbishness that goes along with the whole Porsche dynamic. I'm sure some of this is brought about by the entrance fee of a Porsche, new or used, and reinforced by the cost of ownership.

Porsche Owner 1 to Porsche Owner2 (pointing at the guy in the Vette): "He'd have bought a Porsche, if he could afford it...

So be it.

My problem is with the flip side of import snobbishness. The downturned journalistic nose that is aimed at our cars, the Corvettes. I don't appreciate the disdain or the qualifiers (Great car, but....), even if the points are valid. Does the Vette have a great interior or build quality? No, not even today. And it's a shame. If Volkswagen can offer finely trimmed interiors, that make some owners blush everytime they open the door, so should GM. But they don't.

Interior quality notwithstanding, the merits of the car are undeniable. The Corvette is a world beater, and has been throughout its history. Even during its lowpoints (coinciding with the low point of the entire industry, Porsche included), the Vette was still a premier sports car/GT. And it's this strenght that deserves the bulk of the attention, not the few weaknesses. But you have to look solely at the car and ignore the baggage it can carry.

What baggage?

To some extent, I can't help but think the stereotypical Vette owner is less attractive to the average automotive journalist than their stereotypical Porsche owner, if for no other reason, than the Porsche owner may have more dough. Align yourself with the Vette, and your reader is apt to visualize you wearing a half buttoned shirt, and a lot of gold chains, sitting next to a girl named Lisa. She's got fake *****, big hair, and likes wine coolers.

Align yourself with the Porsche, and you're suddenly wearing driving gloves and a goofy cap, sitting next to a girl named Buffy. She's got fake *****, tightly cropped hair, and likes champaign (and a kilo of blow under the seat? nah).

As far as Automobile Magazine goes, I love the magazine and the people who create it each month. I have every issue since 1986 (when DED brought the magazine to fruition). It used to be that they didn't test cars, driven by the philosphy that cars are more than their test results. And I applauded this. Besides, I had Car & Driver, Road & Track, et al, to provide all the test results I could ever want. Automobile is the GQ of the automotive world, with excellent writing to boot. And this is more than enough for this enthusiast.

I'm sorry Automobile had to cave, and now tests cars.

So the above was hardly meant to criticize Automobile. I only meant that citation as an example of what I feel runs rampant, regardless of the mainstream car magazine.

Alwyn! Hey! It was good to see you. Hope you had a nice trip back. The next time you're headed up this way, give us a call. :cheers:


[Modified by joeveto, 8:33 PM 9/30/2003]


[Modified by joeveto, 8:36 PM 9/30/2003]

 

Quote:

Any mag article will reflect the bias of it's author. A peculiarly negative slant to a story or reference toward a 30+ year old classic of any brand only reveals more about the narrow mindedness of its creator than it does the vehicle under scrutiny.

You're reading the wrong magazine.





:withstupid: Hit the nail on the head

:yesnod: