this article is off of Gateway. the critic is way off, when the c6 is really not too far off in styling from the c5. he obviously does not have his "ear to the street"



new car review: 2005 Chevy Corvette convertible
By Eric Peters
for immediate release

Third gear is good for 120-plus -- and you've still got three more to go. One-forty, one-fifty...

No problem.

The roadster's insulated mult-layered softop holds tight in the triple digit slipstream; all that incredible air pressure building up outside never pushes its way into the snug little pod that cocoons the lucky driver -- even at silly illegal speeds few civilians interested in preserving their DMV records will ever attempt.

How ironic that the best-ever Corvette has been produced by GM at its lowest ebb ever -- amid ugly rumors of an imminent "legs up" rigor mortis situation openly being discussed within spitting distance of the Renaissance Center, the teetering automaker's world headquarters in downtown Detroit.

Back when GM was making money hand over fist, it was building disco wagon Corvettes with 200 horsepower (if you were lucky, a few had as little as 165-hp), **** rugs, Delco CB radios and badly orange peeled paint jobs. These 'Vettes had 125-mph top ends -- and barely handled better than well-driven Caprice Classics. They were notorious for their cheap interiors and depressing laundry list of quality control problems -- from leaking t-roofs and badly-fitted convertible tops to door handle pulls that came apart in your hands.

Now GM has produced a stone cold Ferrari-killer at an everyman price (just $43,710 for the hatchback coupe; $51,495 for the roadster) armed with perhaps the finest pushrod V-8 engine ever designed (the 6 liter LS-2, making an incredible 400 horses), boasting world class ft and finish, a brilliant suspension system featuring a state-of-the-art Magnetic Ride Control system that will outhandle just about anything on four wheels without beating up your backside -- all of it snugged into the nicest-looking composite/fiberglass shell a Corvette has worn since 1967.

And the company is close to taking a dirt bath.

Sometimes, the best efforts come when it's already too late -- for example, the last-gasp offensive of the Wermacht through the Ardennes in the winter of '44. Superior equipment -- such as the new Me262 jet fighter, which was 100-mph faster than the best piston-engined fighters the allies had -- was available, but in numbers too low to make much difference to the eventual outcome.

The "C6" Corvette (Chevy-speak for the current model) may represent something similar for GM. Like the German Me262, no one ca deny its excellence. For the money -- even two times the money -- nothing can touch it. A near-190 mph top speed; 0-60 in about 4 seconds. Incredible technology -- such as the MRC suspension system, which uses a computer to "charge" electromagnetic particles held in suspension (rather than old-timey shock absorbers) and adjust damping/rebound forces in fractions of a second, continuously altering ride characteristics to conform to the road surface and the way the car is being driven. A frame produced by extruding it using water under extreme pressure (hydroforming) rather than clunky welding rigs -- which inevitably deviate just slightly from ideal tolerances and specifications, leading to less-than-perfect body panel fit, sqeuaks and rattles. The first Corvette with a usable trunk -- 22 cubic feet -- and the best use of space design to date. Keyless ignition; an available removeable transparent roof section for coupes. An Active Handling system (AHS) designed for enthusiasts who know what they're doing -- allowing generous wheel slip before activating and is completely non-intrusive compared to the idiot-proofing electronics used in so many modern "perfomance" cars.

There is, in sum, nothing not to rave about the when it comes to the Corvette. It is among the quickest and fastest production cars available today, yet it unlike a Ferrari 460, most of us can seriously think about buying one. It delivers one of the most satisfying driving experiences an enthusiast could want -- and will test your abilities as a driver long before you come close to testing its limits. It is a 400-hp supercar that can be driven comfortably anytime, anywhere -- and given its straightforward, 2-valve pushrod V-8, will probably never require more in the way of routine service and maintenance than you typical grocery-getter -- as opposed to the mechanical hand-holding you can expect as part of the natural order of things when you hold the keys to an "exotic" from Italy or Germany.

It is also the first beatiful Corvette since 1972 -- after 30 years of compromised efforts, so-so redesigns and "***** mobile" over-reaches. There isn't a single unattractive line or out-of-place proportion anywhere. The return to exposed (but clear-lense-covered) headlights works insync with the tapered bodywork that conveys shark-like ferocity without hyer-macho posing. Dipped in colors such as the burnt sienna shade of my test car, the 'Vette is aggressive, but composed. Classy and tasteful -- things one couldn't really say about some of the low-water-mark Corvettes of the past.

If the worst happens, memories of this Corvette will linger -- and GM will have ensured its place in the pantheon of automotive greatness.

END

i dont get it. the remarks about the c6 may or may not be accurate,but the insulting tone of the " first beautiful Corvette since 1972" threw me me off a bit

 

Matter of opinion and like a--holes, everybody has one. IMHO, the C5 will be a classic design like the C1 & 2.

 

That article is for a 2005, and this forum is for 1997-2004.

 

His point was that the author was basically slamming the styling of the rubber-baby bumper C3's, C4's and C5's, making it C5 forum appropriate IMO, as stated above this is the opinion of the writer. I bought my C5 for reasons of styling, I like the C5 better than the C6, availability and pricing, Z06 was a year away and going to be $30K more.

 

few civilians interested in preserving their DMV records will ever attempt.