That much wasnt at you. Just many others. Frankley, american redneck I am, the more agressive the better. At least the vents all serve a purpose(for once). The tailights are breathtaking imho. Same up front. Eh. Opinions do vary
Much as I love the Elise (and I do love it), why is their this focus on it being the solution to all people? A plastic, 4-pot-powered bathtub with a sparse interior, no luggage space and an undignified proposition as a daily car. Out there in the real world, the 'vette will probably get similar economy to the TT-RS, even before you get into tuning and comparing performance - Corvette are quoting 30mpg (UK) highway economy for it, compared with 35 on the NEDC cycle for the TTRS. In fact, over sensible miles, even the difference between 8l/km and 12l/km is about £1500, a small price compared to the ownership cost of either car! As a long-term ownership prospect the big shouty V8 will also be better - because the engine is utterly unstressed it will quite happily survive on oil+filter changes without much chance of further problems, not something VAG products can say these days! Not only that but depreciation in our market for a 'vette will be pretty small, being such a rare car... The GT86 is nowhere near comparable - not only is it barely 100kg lighter, it's also 250hp down on this. As an ownership proposition it is completely different, even before you compare their handling. It's like asking if you should buy a Nissan GT-R or a GT86. The usual anti-US rhetoric and stubborn fanboyism of European products has already ruined any chance of this being a sales success if it's offered over here. Either you get the appeal of a Corvette, or you don't. I'm just going to go away and imagine we live in a world where we can buy cars based on anything but fuel economy these days.
To sum this up into a nutshell; I can perfectly understand the appeal of a big, shouty V8 car. I want something that sounds like God gargling a mouthful of hammers when I mash my foot into the luxurious carpet, followed by being mashed into the seat by the power and torque, but they just aren't viable over here. I don't doubt that they're very nimble cars, but they're still rather large, heavy, and rather petrol-hungry, even if they'll produce more power on UK fuel. The other issue is our roads, I don't doubt that something like the Modern Stingray could belt it round a back road, but I highly doubt that's what the car is made for, nor would it cope with me shaving the odd hedge all that well. I'm aware that Corvette have turned around and claimed it's built for the track, and I don't doubt it's very good at it, considering the absolutely crazy time it posted around the 'Ring, but I'm concerned as to how much fuel it'd need to perform a single lap. Personally; I'd rather have something a bit wimpier and a bit more fun, but that's partially because I know that, as I am at the moment; I'm not skilled enough to be able to take something like a 'Vette out without killing myself. I'd die smiling and go through the gates in a burning Fireball of glory, but it'd be a waste of a good car.
Good luck with that. That and build quality are pretty much the only things I would look at if I was actually to buy a car.
Heavy and fuel hungry? Compared to what? Find me another £60k GT/sports car with similar performance that is lighter and more economical. Really? It doesn't matter how it drives, how it looks and whether it can put a smile on your face? You have my pity.
Most cars have gotten to the point where they don't handle like a hearse and look like the backside of a baboon. Economic pressure > everything else. I also don't like driving, I'd much rather be messing with the parts inside than actually driving the thing.
That wasn't the point I was getting at. I won't deny that in that price-range; it's certainly one of the best cars going, but I don't think it would be entirely useful over here, where anything more than about a 1.3 hatchback is all you really need to get from A to B, and there are a fair few other cars for less that still let you have a riot of a time at a track or country road. I'm not trying to say that the 'Vette is a bad car, I don't doubt that it's an absolute riot of a time to drive, I'm saying I wouldn't personally own one, Horses for Courses. Part of me just isn't all that reassured with nearly three tons of car, 500+ BHP or not. ( I say with my '86 Fanboyism. I really need to sort my head out. ) Then again; I'm used to crappy underpowered hatchbacks, I've never been in anything truly fast to understand the joy behind it, outside of games, so it might just be I don't understand because I've not experienced anything with that kind of power.
That 1963 model is a true work of art. Nothing any car maker can turn out these days could ever hope to match the beauty of cars from that era sadly.
Three tons? It's about the same weight as the last gen car (expected to be slightly lighter, but that's yet to be confirmed), which means around 1400kg. i.e. The weight of a Focus, give or take. Most cars are pointless if you want to run it right down to logic - all you need is a blobby hatchback/estate/mpv (choose your space config) with enough power to get up to the speed limit and maintain reasonably economical progress.
1400KG? I was waaaay off. Sorry. But I do agree with the points you're making; It looks like a fantastic car, the technology that's been crammed into it to make it better than the previous generation is a small testament in and of itself, but I feel mostly apathetic towards it. Might just be the peer pressure of being surrounded by hatred for big American V8s. I wouldn't want to own one, not personally, but I'd leap at the chance to throw it around in controlled conditions, just for the experience of what that kind of power being pressed through only the back wheels would be like.
I can confirm it is lighter. The press release states 99lbs were shaved off the weight of the C6. *sigh* It's not a muscle car.
A practical everyday-car like a Subaru Forester with only 7liter/100km for example, and then a small fun car like a 2nd hand Elise (you can get these for under €15k allready) with season-plates during the summer. This is the only reasonable way for me to combine economics with "the smile on your face". GT-sportscars aren't anywhere reasonable these days, especially when looking at taxes based on CO2/km and gas-prices north of €1.70/liter.
They aren't ever intended to be economical. They are a performance luxury. That said, the C7 has a new V8 that combines a variety of technologies to bring the MPG down to that of a sedan when driven in the proper way (Eco mode, steady pace and in high gear). Yes, there is an Eco mode, with cylinder de activation and a matched gearbox programming.
That all stinks of stuff that they were forced to add in, as if they came up with the engine and the design, then went "Now how can we make this economical?" - That isn't the point of a big, shouty V8, the point is to munch back tyres, sound like the apocalypse is occurring every time you mash your foot and leave you with a huge grin, not be some big, shiny econobox that gets twenty miles to the Gallon.
Point? It makes you grin when you mash your foot to the floor, but no longer brutally maimes your wallet. It only slashes it up a bit
Dat front. Is gorgeous. To this generation. Honestly theres a reason they call it the new stingray. Its the stingray made for us. The kids. You know. The kind who spent there early years pinning pictures from car magazines on their bedroom walls Spoiler along with, well.... other kinds of things . It was made as a complete reinterpretation of an icon, for a new crowd. It was never really intended for the folks who were around for the last one. The economy, the styling, the power, shoutiness. All twenty-first century ideals. It is a sort of symbol of the "new"GM. To show that they can flex with society.
