this stuff, for the most part, is just marketing. ever since 1950 or so car makers haven't went out of their way to make the public think that the new model makes the old one obsolete.

let's look at another car besides corvette since there is a strong bias there

how about honda?

in 1994 an integra gsr was 18-20k out the door with nice options like a power sunroof, AC, cd player etc

it had 170hp and weighed 2650lbs allowing it to get roughly 28-30mpg no matter how you drove it and were rated at 25/31mpg. they also had a hatchback and fold down rear seat giving them as much storage space as a small SUV

in 2014 a civic si is 22,500-25,000 gets 22/31 mpg, has 201hp but weighs 2900lbs and has considerably less storage space

what are you really gaining 20 years later besides modern gizmos? you get worse mpg, less storage space and similar performance with less handling ability

 

alot of these cars now a days almost drive themselves. cameras on every corner "Accident-predictors" cars havent changed much in the last 10 years. putting hundreds of horsepower in little cars and modern materials is all thats really changed

 

that's exactly it. more gadgets and more "modernized crap"

could you imagine how SOL car companies would be if they engineered a car like the 1994 integra which really was a nice point A to point B car, then designed it to be easily rebuildable and have a 40-50 year service life?

modern business has us all programmed to think we should work our lives away for the latest and greatest gadget they have to sell us

 

speaking of easy. the old ?capris? if i remember you had to drop the engine/transmission to get to the back spark plugs

 

That was my point, I was getting a more powerful, lighter car, yet 350z owners were saying I'd miss the power and torque of the 350z. Also, the c5z handles waaaay better than a g35/350z. The vq35 crowd just thinks their cars are godsend.

 

there's worse. dodge made a 318 v8 small truck in the early 90s that required lifting the engine around 1/2" to change the oil filter

eventually i'm sure the aftermarket made shorter oil filters for it

but, when i was in HS in 1995 working at midas, no fun

 

Who..... me ?

 

This is because they are all publicly owned and need to grow sales AND profits to keep the stock price going up. This makes corporate bonuses bigger, especially for the executive positions. I spent 13 years as an account exec at The Hershey Company and saw it year after year. The pressure to grow your sales profitably was incredible. My best bonus ever was about $21k on an $81k salary my last year there, but my team leader's was probably around $45k on an estimated $140k salary. He had been there a long time so his salary was above avg. Take a VP making $250k a year and multiply that by a 25% bonus plus even more if we pounded the numbers...well you get the picture. Those guys are buying cars and boats with their bonuses and that doesn't even include their stock options.

 

Allow me to also get this thread back on track. For those FRC haters, have you ever compared a FRC Vette to a C5 vert side by side?

 

Why are you still fighting for your car's honor? Who cares. You like your FRC, some folks don't. There are bigger problems in life.

 

I owned and recently sold a '00 Magnetic Red vert. Loved the car, and I got numerous compliments over the years. Recently though, I upgraded to an '04 Z. I've received more compliments in the last two months than I had for the vert which I owned for five years. Ha. Side by side, their silhouette is nearly identical, but gotta love the matching paint and larger rear window. FRC forever.

 

Dude I am not fighting for anything. I am just getting the OP's thread back on track. It had diverged...

 

I posted in that linked thread in OP's post.

The C5Z06 may have started as the FRC, but then GM did the following:

thinner glass
less sound deadening
balsa-composite floor
lightweight seats
no spare
no run flats or TPMS
extra brake cooling
upgraded brake pads
new LS6 motor with different heads and cam
unique to Z06 suspension settings/components and tires

And I am probably leaving a few things out, and a star was born weighing only 3100 pounds or so. And unlike the early C6Z's, the C5Z's fixed roof did not fly off....

Now we all know the C5Z was a great street/road course rat out of the box, but a lot more could be done if you chose.

But to me, what set it apart was GM's sincere effort to lower weight and increase handling, power and responsiveness. And, this car was one of the first Corvettes in many years to which foreign sports cars owners paid any attention. It was not just another loud, proud and flashy Corvette, but rather was a substantive sports car. As one well-known suspension mechanic said, "It was the cat's azz", and everyone knew it, too.

The C6Z06 and this new C7Z06 are/will be quicker and faster and have more imposing specs, but as a car with a focused purpose (and some subtlety) rather than a car as a Swiss Army knife, the C5Z06 may be better than them all....

 

...I have no delusions that my car is the greatest, but I take pride in the fact that everytime I start the car I have the best sports car that GM produced in 2004. It was the lightest, loudest, fastest, and stiffest at the time. This is not to say that, if it had roll up windows, I would be defending it. The car was advertised as loud, edgey, twitchy, and uncompromised...and it delivers as advertised. (I am reminded of this everytime I pull out of a parking spot with cold tires and have the front end hopping at full lock). The C6Z is bad *** too.

I was pretty disppointed when the C7 Z06 debuted...and got flamed in the C7 forum.. (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c7-z...l-link-10.html). Not only is it F/I, it will weigh at least 100 lbs MORE THAN A STANDARD C7. To me, the new C7Z is bastardizing the Z06 name. I was flamed for my opinons 2 weeks ago for my "unrealistic expectations." But really? So, you're telling me that Chevy can't make say 575 HP with Direct Injection and VVT? You're telling me that Chevy can't drop the weight down to 3200 lbs? If they can't, then they're worse off now than they were in 2008.

 

110% in agreement, which is why I bought one. Was my favorite car growing up (debuted when I graduated highschool in 2000) and having basically a "new" example of one w/ the more powerful LS6 50th anniversary 2003 year couldn't be happier. They refined the interior and sound deadening and such a bit w/ the C6 Z, and it seems like they went full exotic heavy FI vert etc etc opposite of what the Z06 was meant to be, which was a nofrills, ***** to the wall, track machine out of the box. Super light weight, no compromises, raw N/A power (the LS7 got that part right). Instead they made an Aston Martin or Mercedes, which is great, just don't call it a Z06

 

I thought the FRC was used because of weight and cost. I didn't think it was necessarily stiffer than the coupe and actually had worse aero.

 

I think the C5Z was stiffer, but its aero drag from not having the sloping rear glass did cut top speed somewhat. I always wondered why GM parts or some aftermarket guys didn't offer a removable Lexan panel to cut drag for the C5Z.