0Randy@DRM

Can some of you older wiser men tell me what happened to all the free love of the 60's? I think it was the internet.

Rocky times ahead.

Obama was not my pick for prez. He is about 179 degrees from most of my views on things. Which sucks. But doesn't there have to be some good in every bad. I am looking at solar for my house and the shop. Maybe wind at my house. Why, well it's making more and more sence. It's not the grand master plan of the world. Pay now don't pay later seems like a good idea. A little here and a little here adds up to a less oil burned, less coal, and etc. I'm kinda a "green" type of a guy. Hunter, fish, hiker, outdoors type of guy. But then again don't see burning a gallon a lap as a bad thing.

I don't mind change... Smart well thoughtout change is what we need. Fast movement will upset the herd, because it too much too fast isn't a smart thing to do.
We the people are smart enough to make it.

Car companies are broke, how are they going to make huge gains in the MPG game?

Well it's 11:30 and my wife just got home from work. No free love tonight

Randy

Turbooo2u

If you don't like it, quit whining about it an run for office yourself. If it wasn't for the goverment, GM would be out of business. You'll have Z06s (maybe not new) available to the day you die. It's not like they're going to take the cars you own already away from you. Here we go with another boring political thread.

lemobile

The one think I don't want to see here is politics. Vote republican or Obama as nothing to do on the Corvette forum.

I owned Corvette in the late 60s making 6 to 8 MPG, now my ZO6 does 26 MPG plus on highway. Instead let's applaud technology.

I actually drive a SMART car everyday as I want to make sure I can drive a Corvette for many years to come

Hatdude

No, they probably will not take the cars you already own away.. but believe you me if they can get a law passed to keep them from being registered, they will. It *has* been discussed but I don't think anyone thinks they can get away with it just yet. 505HP just cannot be enjoyed on your driveway alone.

1%r

FWIW our current President who I didn't vote for made many campaign promises of which he won't be able to keep many. If Bevis and Butt head ran against Mc Cain they would have won. It was just a matter of being in the right time and the right place. I put Bush in office twice, the second time was because I didn't want to switch horses in the middle of a stream.

If you feel that our current president is going to cut our deficit in half by the end of his term as he promised your asleep behind the wheel. Washington itself has become a monster which needs to be reeled back in. This isn't going to happen until "We The People" stand up for our rights and take back our country. Is that ever going to happen, highly unlikely has America The Great has become very complacent.

All of these alleged requirements have to be voted on and passed. The current president can't wave his magic wand and make it happen.

Now back on topic.

I can for see the 70's and 80's coming back with low HP vetches and even higher emission standards. In order to preserve the Eco system we need to head in this direction so the kids of the future have a healthy environment to reside in. We also need to cut the cord on our foreign dependence for crude. If we don't break away from the Arab nations suppling us with oil their just going to continue to knock us down every time we get up.

Do I feel that in the near future we're going to see large displacement engines in our beloved Corvettes, no! IMO I can see performance cars still being performance cars. There are still ways to be green along with getting higher MPG.

Six cylinder, twin turbo, multiple cam shafts with VVTI IMO is what I see in our future.

Keep in mind that currently the oil companies along with the pharma's run this country as they are the biggest contributors to all of our elected politicians.

America is a great country and there's no other place I want to live. It can be a better country if and when we decide to take it back!

dbsears

EXACTLY...change is what has made our advancements. Trials and tribulations is what this country is built upon and what makes it stronger. When we have to overcome something it makes us smarter and it makes us stronger.

You know every time a new model comes out people whine and cringe and think the world is crashing. I bet when they ditch the LS7 and put in something different people are going to speculate things from the moon. Technology changes daily and I hope the Z does change. I have faith it will change for the better. This car is their bread and butter...if it doesn't well then we can complain. Until then it's just wasting bandwidth.

1%r

What you have said is very true, however there are other issues we have to address in order to move forward, read my post.

805Z06

Change should be based on supply and demand for the technology/resources. Not based on a socialism/regulated politics. I support/ed Obama on a lot of issues but not in this one or at least not in this way.

Long live the V8

dbsears

You know what's funny is I had typed almost the exact same thing but decided to delete it. Then I read yours and it mirrored my thoughts exactly.

I would love to see a smaller displacement engine, DOHC with variable valve technology, direct injection, and maybe a different intake design. Something along the lines of the new M3 engine but with a tad bit more displacement. I think GM has the technology to achieve this. Replace displacement with efficiency.

Another alternative would be to take a design approach similiar to what Audi has done to the new S4. Although smaller engine its faster and gets much better fuel economy. I know many don't particularly embrace that fact but say a 3.8-4.0l supercharged engine. Could easily produce 500hp and still get probably close to 30mpg with the right gearing and aerodynamics.

As far as touching on the other political topics I sill stray from those. I am impressed it has stayed rather peaceful in here. I know if this conversation were to take place with my family people would probably start throwing things

VetteVinnie

The fastest way to do so is to get it ourselves. The U.S. is sitting on more oil than all the Arab nations combined. We're just not allowed to go after it thanks to government restrictions and environmentalist agendas. Cuba and China are going after the Intercontinental Shelf whether we like it or not. They said they will drill sideways to get to it. So we can either go get it ourselves, or buy it from them.

And let's not forget that our entire modern lifestyle is 100% dependent on petroleum products from the plastics you use everyday to the Asprin you take for your headaches. To think we will get rid of our dependency on foreign oil simply by increasing vehicle mileage is just naive. Yes, we're getting better at synthesizing them, but we're not there yet and won't be for a very long time.

What do you suppose will happen to all of the toxic waste that the non-recycleable batteries in these Hybrid vehicles produce?

How is trading gasoline for coal energy (plug in electric cars) going to make any difference other than make you think that you're helping the environment based on all of the leftist propoganda? The clean electric infrastructure is nowhere near ready. Are we supposed to blanket the entire countryside with windmills that not only require maintenence, but also require materials that can only be found through petroleum refining?

Don't be so sure.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02...t_translation/

The issue is not climate change, which has occurred on this planet for billions of years. After all, it certainly wasn't man who melted the glaciers 12,000 years ago and formed the Great Lakes. The issue is man's contribution to current Global Warming Theory. Man Made Global Warming is not fact. There is not enough understanding of Earth's natural climate change and influences for either side of the debate to succeed.

Mother nature does a significant amount of damage without our intervention. And she heals herself significantly faster than we ever could. Bikini Island is a good example. What was once used for nuclear testing is now a thriving coral reef.

1946



Today



What would happen if natural fires were left to burn without man's intervention?

Do you realize how much sulfur dioxide is thrust into our atmosphere by the Earth's active volcanos every day? This is not man made.

What happens when Yellowstone (the entire park is one big active volcano on a stationary hot spot), blows its lid again like it has done consistently every 600,000 years or so? It's been well over 600,000 years since the last incident, so it is overdue. And signs indicate it is getting ready to do so again such that I will probably see it in my lifetime. Not a man made phenomenon.

Iceland's volcanic activity is also increasing. Is that man made? No. It has erupted countless times before, long before the industrial revolution and the invention of the automobile. It is another stationary hot spot similar to Hawaii and Yellowstone. Not a man made phenomenon.

The Moon is slowly receding from Earth. It is the Moon's gravitational influence that stabilizes Earth's climate. Not a man made phenomenon.

Earth is on a wobble (precession), and it takes approximately 25,800 years to complete a cycle. This effects climate. Not a man made phenomenon.

I could go on, but you probably already put me on ignore.

Not necessarily. Compared to the 427 in the late 60's, this is one exceptionally fuel efficient Super Car. We have come a very long way since the last time we faced the fuel economy challenge. And we will overcome it again. GM has already indicated that they have no problems with the newly proposed national standard and they can meet the timeline. I am not worried about the future of our Vettes.

Bwright

I recently spoke with one of the Corvette's senior engineers specifically about what the new CAFE laws mean for the Corvette. I thought the response was very interesting. The Corvette team is working closely with the Feds as each model apparently has to present its business case. To the engineering team's surprise there were no calls to reduce the Corvette's prowess in any way, shape or form. Not one person on the Feds' team suggested anything remotely in the vein of downsizing the engine. In fact, the Feds were said to have privately indicated that they are big Vette fans, something they dare not reveal publicly.

In even stranger fact, the engineering team is highly amused that some of the very people on the Hill who ridicule them in public come to them afterward in private to ask how they can be helped in getting a deal on a ZR1. That left me slack jawed and my jaw slacking bar is set fairly high.

Corvette is not going anywhere. Nor is the ZR1 unless it is on the market's schedule. Congress and the Feds have no intention of tampering with the car in any way shape or form.

It seems my earlier post on the subject while technically accurate in noting the mileage and performance gaps does not reflect the support the Corvette line is receiving behind the scenes in Congress and with the Federal group specifically reviewing GM's individual business lines. Still, it will be interesting to see what transpires for the C7.

joe11204

Jay, I could not of said it better...

Sandman93

10SECNZ

Do not re-elect any one!!

GMuffley

GMuffley

Boring is right.

Aerohawk

Good. Let's use up theirs first.

mousecatcher

your reply is over my head -- i'm not sure what you mean.

my comment had plenty of content. brevity is the soul of wit.

vettesmith02

I spoke with Tom Wallace at Funfest last September.

He could not go into details, but told me in no uncertain terms that the Corvette would make the gas mileage.

He convinced me.

However, in less than two months he was gone.

Now, I am not so sure, but it was a great conversation with the man.

Tom, wherever you are, we miss ya!

jschindler

Why do you think DOHCs=efficiency? I challenge you to point to a DOHC engine that is as efficient as the Corvette engines in terms of horsepower versus fuel economy.

Yes, there are technologies like Direct Injection that should and will come along for the Corvette - but they can only do so much at a time.

As far as supercharges and turbocharges - the jury is out on whether they add to the overall efficiency or not. We went through that cycle in the 80's and 90's only to have them mostly go away in favor of more efficient naturally aspirated engines that didn't have the draw backs of forced induction.

My point is, features don't always equal benefits.