I drive a Corvette because I like sports cars and it’s one of the best

 

Bad back won't let me ride motorcycles like I want to anymore. The Vette''s seat helps support my lower back. Even better than my truck.

 

Performance for the dollar is unrivaled with the C5...throw in the looks on top of that and it's a no brainer...

 

As much as I like muscle cars, most can't turn or stop. The Vette does everything well and it's history is unrivaled in the automotive world.

Drove my C5 ragtop to the Blue Ridge Parkway last fall (from MI) and fell in love with the car even more. Totally comfortable, weatherproof and a blast to drive on twisty mountain roads.

It's a keeper for sure.

 

I was raised around cars. And I've always dreamed of owning a Corvette. There are so many reasons to own a Vette if you're a car guy (or gal). First, they are gorgeous. They have always been a sexy ride. Second, they are an amazing value. Third, there is nothing like the sound of an American V8. Ferrari's and Porsche's are cool, but they will never, ever sound as nice a Vette with aftermarket pipes. Fourth, they are reliable and easy to maintain. Fifth, they are an American Icon. I take a great deal of pride in knowing that for the price, there is no car on the road that will touch a Corvette.

My wife had always said that we could get a Corvette when the kids were done with college. Thankfully, she came to her senses, and decided we no longer had to wait. I finally fulfilled that life long dream in March of 2018!

 

I have to add an addendum to my first post. My niece was over tonight with her 5 year old and she said he wants to see my race car. I took him out and pulled the cover off and his response was priceless. " RED, I LOVE RED CORVETTES " 5 years old, I couldn't believe it. Future Corvette owner in the making.

 

Because my wife said no. Because they are FUN to drive. Because it makes me feel good when I drive it. Because I can.

 

One retires from working and the big bucks, then totals his beloved non replaceable beloved 911... heartbroken, and no more big bucks... replaces his Porsche ride with his sisters red C5 vert.....instantly forgets the 911 and the sadness with a smile and a hard-on that doesn't go away. A redeemed car guy!... I love this car!

 

Your supposed to see a dr if that last for more than 4 hours. Better keep your drives under that.

 

Yup, it'll turn black and fall off if you ignore it.

 

Needed a car I could flog at HPDE, drift until the wheels fall off, and daily drive all summer (and the odd dry fall/winter/spring day).

 

I bought a Corvette Parking only sign at a yard sale for 5 dollars many years ago.. but didn't have a corvette... so in order to make my purchase worth while I spent the money to buy a New Corvette, many years ago, so I would not have wasted that 5 dollars.
Bill

 

Growing up in the 80s, I lusted after Ferraris for over thirty years. I finally bought a 360 last year and realized it was just too expensive to maintain and enjoy, so I sold it. I still pined for something similar that looked and performed as well, so I bought a C5 this summer. I've always thought it was the best looking of any past or present generation Corvette, and the price was unbeatable. Believe it or not, when my wife and I first started dating in '97, she was well aware of my love for red sports cars so she bought me a Hallmark C5 Christmas ornament that I still have. I never thought that 22 years later I would actually own one, but now that ornament has an extra-special significance this Christmas!

 

My wife would buy me one of those Hallmark car ornaments each Christmas. I must have 15 cars having from our Christmas tree now. Four of them are Corvettes.

 

That's the way it's done. You dream and make it happen.

 

Because I needed a work car.

 

It was in my DNA before I was even born. I looked down from heaven and thought, yeah, I want to be in that family....the love of cars have been in the family tree, on my dad's side, for a few generations now and I think I'm the first one to own a Corvette. In fact, I've had 2 now and wouldn't change a thing.

 

My son bought a 2001 Z06 eight years ago. No reason for him to have all the fun.
The first time I rode in a Corvette was with a high school buddy in the early sixties. He would get about 4 miles to the gallon while drag racing. Gas was around 25c a gallon.then. I was hooked but life happens.
Bought a 2002 Z06 six years ago. The car is everything and more. Great for travel. Took it to Vermont and the Eastern Shores.

 

Owning a corvette came as a surprise to me, and was probably a mistake.

Although I like the car very much for the fun factor, and it always served me well, it now sits unused in the back of the driveway, and hasn't moved in some time.

Kind of a shame to abuse a good machine in that way, but one of the big attractions for me was a body that wouldn't rust out in my damp overnights. I had once dealt with an old Toyota that loved to bubble up with rust, seemingly every time a heavy dew or fog would hit, a new cancer of rust would grow.

from teenaged cruising in the old (60's) muscle car days, I formed the same opinion as my buddies, unless they had a 427 chrome identifier on the hood, corvettes were so slow they were best ignored, and , they wouldn't race anyway.

In my personal opinion, a product for people who wanted a high profile car they could drop off at the gas station for repairs, when that used to be normal. My brother ran parts for NAPA for a while in the eighties, and knew of a gas station who had a pile of v12 jag engines discarded in the back because, " they can't be fixed", and the guy would install a chevy for the folks. I rest my case. seriously, I once had a guy pitch me on putting a GM v6 into my old jag, as though replacing a well regarded classic engine with a deloran engine was a fine idea.

In my tribe, status is being functional without a car, local bike riding is the goal, but cars are handy, so I decided to get one.

I decided on a used convertible, but was dismayed to find my 6' 2" frame often had me staring right at the windshield header in most cars. I had enough of ducking down to see the stop lights in an old MG,, and found I fit in German cars and corvettes.

I looked at the used boxer Porsches, because in my sports car days,I always thought I would someday go German. They were within my budget, and I liked the rear engined room inside.
But, in talking to a garage owner, a car that was pretty much disposable when worn, , and was not a good long term car.

I couldn't afford a 911, and also didn't want to be tied to an economy where the car parts are always more expensive, so American chevy was the call. I enjoy buying American when possible, but for much of my life, American cars were not as well designed as the imported stuff. I enjoy all that chrome and style without functional need much more today than I did back then, but still favor function over style on most machines..

At the time I was shopping, car money was sparse, and used cars are always somewhat of a gamble, so I figured it would be hard to take an economic beating with a yank tank, having read more than a few stories of guys who bought used performance cars that were money disposers. . Because the home market requires designs that will tolerate abuse that a German mechanic would consider unthinkable, I went with chevy.

Honestly, I met a woman who blew up her new corvette because she never knew about checking the oil. Dealer installed a new engine , no cost, because, I assume, her family bought all her cars in the old American way, and the dealer mark up over the years covered all costs. Also, I had experience with imported cars and the parts situations that come with old cars, so needed a car line with a large fan base.

Besides fitting in the car, costs, and having a strong support network, I have no other reasons.

I lightly considered resale value in my buying decision, and had I thought a bit longer , probably would have gotten a two door jeep, with a higher resale market.

I like that the Vette is fun to drive, but it is not the real sports car I was hoping for, more of a grand tourer, which actually fits my needs better. I kind of figured something was up, as the line usually has the qualifier, American, before sports car when it is written about, The steering in my car is certainly more caddy grand tourer than performance car.

my 03 has a ton of understeer, which probably saved the typical jack *** from spinning out, but which this particular jack *** considers a drag and somewhat unsafe at speed if it washes out, because I detected no warning when exploring the handling limits of the car. However, the fun, and the convertible high style outweigh that concern, I think it prettier than the angled style Gm later decided to settle on, and I am not going to drive beyond my old man reflexes on public roads..

I expect I will be asking some questions here when getting the car back on the road, please be tolerant .

 

I blame the whole Corvette thing on my brother who was much older than me. He had a series of cool cars when I was a kid but the best one was one night when he'd bought a 1957 Corvette. He gave me a ride in it when he brought it home and I was entranced with the little car. Especially compared to the boats my parents and everyone else seemed to be driving back in the late fifties.

I was hooked from that point out and it caused me to own 6 Corvettes at one point or another. I've owned a number of interesting vehicles over the years but I always manage to buy a Corvette every now and then and keep it for a while because of that experience when I was a kid.