Don LT-1

I live in Jersey. The c6 is not a winter car. Too low and
no traction. I also don't see it as an everyday driver. I
know most of the people on this forum will not agree, but
I've tried to drive in cold weather here. Lots of luck.

Vette5.5

A friend of mine had an LS2 A6 GTO, and was a pretty nice car. As mentioned, it's over 3800 lbs, but seemed to move pretty good. The trunk space problem is a weird thing. Seems the way the Aussies designed the gas tank didn't meet US crash standards, so they moved it into the trunk for export. He had a Tire Rack Blizzak set up for the winter, which is a difficult thing to get for Vette's. If you can believe it, he recently traded it in on a used Chevy HHR. Still has his 79' & 01' Vettes though.

beerbarrel

I agree...I sold my 06 vette to buy a 5.0. I the missed the Vette so I got another. We have 2 5.0's and the Vette. Love them all but really love the vette.

bklyn vette

I love my vette...but the gto is the only car i regret ever getting rid of it was very comfortable drove really nice and the interior was so nice...but insurance and storage on my gto and trans am was redicilous so traded them both for the vette....here are some pics of the goat it was a great car for everday but comparing it to the corvette is like apples to oranges each car is unique good luck on your choice

Vette5.5

Yup, agree as also have a ZO6, and cant think of any other car I'd rather own. The new Mustang GT 5.0's are sweet too, with one heck of an awesome engine design, but really a different market. Curious how you like the 5.0 Mustang, as a buddy's wanting one pretty bad, trying to talk his wife into it.

KBow_Photo

I had a GTO for 2 years and everytime i went into the garage I looked at it and thought, thats not a Corvette. you're kinda in a bad spot because the GTO and Corvette wouldnt make great winter cars at all.

Bill Dearborn

Living where you do and planning on driving in the winter I would go for the GTO. With 4 narrow Blizzaks on it you should be able to anywhere you want at any time you want during the winter. I daily drove Big Block C3 Vettes in harder winters than you see down there for about 10 years and never got stuck but I was able to get good snow tires for them. However, the newer cars are a little lower with wider tires and there just aren't any acceptable snow tires available. Downsizing the rims and going with much narrower tires just isn't in the cards as it will be with the Goat. So even though Vettes are nicely balanced for winter driving you just won't be able to get enough traction.

Winter will be harder on the GTO than on the Vette since the Vette just sort of shrugs off the kind of crap that gets on the roads. It might get sand blasted in the wheel wells and rockers but the same will happen on the metal cars and they rust when that happens. Salt, water and bare sheet steel don't play well together.

The Vette will have a larger cargo carrying capacity in the trunk but it won't have a back seat where you can throw things when you are in a hurry. A little further south and I would flip the choice the other way. The Z3 is a neat car but I wouldn't consider it a daily driver type of car.

Bill

njvetteguy1

When you guys talk about winter driving, you've gotta understand I live in a suburban area where the roads are always passable within 24 hours, and clear within 48. I can see bothering with snow tires, chains, etc in areas with either more snowfall or no plows, but I can honestly say there are less than 5 days a year on which I would expect a real problem.

My current car is a RWD Monte Carlo, and I can understand what you mean about traction issues. The only time I have been genuinely stuck though was in college trying to go up a mountain road in the snow. May as well have been in reverse! Other than that I have never felt that I was in significant danger of losing control or getting stuck. Is a GTO or Corvette going to be significantly worse than the Monte?

TMyers

My vette is a daily driver. It goes to work in all kinds of weather. As long as the snow is not deeper than 3 inches it even goes in to work. It has never left me stranded or needing a push.

BigNY

Honestly I think you'll be happier with the vette. I had a GTO and I'm in the market for a C6 now. I'm 6'5 and 250, both cars fit me reasonably well. The vette has three times the storage space, gets better gas mileage, and isn't plagued by the same problems the goat is, such as wheel hop, weight, bad shifter.

journeyc6

2007 C6, daily driver in S. Florida. Never in a garage, paint looks like new, great H. way mileage. Why buy a car that you are not going to drive?

CTx-V

it is a lot of money...but the 9" IRS is almost bullet proof.

the Gen 4 Diff i believe is $2000 or so.

V2s have a completely new diff. there is a guy in Florida that is running 9.8x on his 09 V on stock diff.

yow

Get both!


Just kidding. From the sound of it, you need a GTO til you get your house and other stuff in order, especially if you are financing much (or all?!) of the purchase. Get the goat. Pay it off. Then the house.

ohmy

is this a Ronald McDonald theme?

Leprkon

I've only driven a GTO once, and it was a while back. It had a ton of body roll, and it seemed really short on shoulder room. I'm not as big as some of the guys who discuss it being a comfortable, so maybe my memory is not what it was, or the car was set up funny. It just seemed the tranny tunnel took up all the space and the window was right there when I turned my head. It wasn't what I would want to drive every day. This was at "The Drive" in Las Vegas in 05 or 06, which was a 3/4 mile cone course behind the Sahara where you could try out any two of the GM products for $10. My next go was with a white C6 vert, and I was braking to not hit the same GTO in front of me, even though I started half a lap later.

Would be really cool if they put that back in operation !!

simplegto

The GTO is a great daily driver. Holden makes a great car and if you need more room the G8 GT was also a nice car. We have 2 05 GTOs as daily drivers and a C6 for the weekends. This will help also,
http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/

JerriVette

You said..you dreamed of owning a corvette...so buy the corvette...your 25years old.....getting in and out of the vette will be nothing for you. Check this forum for sale pricing for a 2006 C6...Great car..and priced lower than you are suggesting...

I'd prefer a C5 actually..I had two of them and they were great cars....I'd recommend the c5 without question....tons of low mileage waxer editions out there to choose..but if you don't like the interior..then get the C6...

I'm 52....I live in Northern NJ and I daily drive my black C6 M6 Z51...Blacks ridiculous so I'd suggest another color if the cars staying out doors.. You nailed it...the day of the storm the vette stays home as do I...but the day after? Hell the car drives just fine and thats with summer tires.. We just had the worst winter in 100 years this past winter and I never got stuck..never had a problem. I just didn't go out driving on the day of the blizzard. If your driving to work etc...just get another set of old wheels for a hundred or two hundred bucks...and a set of snow tires. I had snow tires and rims in my garage that I never bothered to put on and I just sold them for a hundred dollars...5 snow tires...4 rims.. 100 bucks..Taking up space basically an unbelievable deal for someone else......I didn't need them. ....You should shop the used parts section and figure 700 bucks for snow tires and older c6 rims mounted...

IMO the vette drives great in the winter...Just don't hot dog it when its too cold....and don't go out in deep snow without the roads being plowed......and be respectful of your car ..you don't want to have an accident..they plow great up here in 24 hours...so no worries and I even got caught in a few storms 30 miles away...No biggie...just go slow and steady...

No question in my mind...GET THE CAR YOU WANT AND CAN AFFORD..

Btw..I bought my first vette at 39 and a day and my wife just had the baby..

Life doesn't have to end because you get married and have kids.. (as long as your wife has a vehicle that carries 5 people...)

Buying a house now...in this depressed market...might be a good idea though....Over the next twelve months I see housing prices continue to drop another 4 percent...

Might make more sense to forgo any new car purchase and buy a distress sale home. Rent out a few rooms to your buddies or girlfriend...and invest in your future..

If you don't want to do that...then buy a new car...Otherwise just lease whatever is out there..Fourth quarter incentives will be insane on new vehicles and new vehicle leases should you need a new car and buy a house..

If housing prices go back up in the next 5 years...the increase in equity should be equvelant to paying for your vette...easy...

Anyways....if your buying a car...Live the dream...get the vette....Just check insurance prices first for a 25 year old...Make sure the insurance isn't insane.

I have amica...and at 52 I'm paying 750 a year..State farm...wanted 2500 for the same coverage and they have my home...

Needless to say i went with Amica..

21st century was around 800 too which is pretty good...but like I mentioned...check out the insurance for you as a 25 year old in a vette...It may be nuts and in that case hold off..

APSGTO

Funny I got my vette 3 weeks after becoming a dad. It is true my wife does have a 7 seater (3rd row option 09 Rav4). The key is to make sure that her car is reliable because the first time it breaks down on her with child, she will zero in on that vette as the first thing to go. I'd make sure to upgrade her car before you upgrade yours.

Insurance was cheaper on my Vette than the GTO. Had those cars consecutively and with the same insurance co..

snyder

This is not true. I drove both my 04 and 06 GTO's in MN winters with Dunlop M2 Winter Sport tires. I didn't have any problems. As with any car, I was just limited by ground clearance. For the most part I was able to go to and from work in 2-4 inch snowfalls, anything beyond that and I would borrow my parents SUV or work from home. Anything over 4" that is on the roads is typically going to rule in a snow day, because that would mean it is snowing heavily enough that the plows can't keep up.

Saying you can't drive a GTO in the snow, is about the same as saying you can't drive a G8 GT in the snow, I did that as well. As for the Vette in the snow, it can be done, but ground clearance is the issue again.

P0234

Get the GTO and a Cavalier of the same color. On bad days, drive the Cavalier, 99 out of 100 won't know the difference.