by IceDragon » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:45 pm Just thought I would post about the C6 since I saw the Z06 info. I recently purchased a C6 (love it), and after owning it nearly year there's still this almost child like awe when I walk out into my garage and see it each morning. I'm sure if you have a car you like that you can relate to that feeling.
Now I could go into the technical details and all that jazz, but you can find that at three dozen sites... so what I thought I would do is talk about actually owning the car and not just "testing it".
The first thing you should know is that the C6 is based on the Ferrari 360 and the best of a few previous models in a lot of ways. I think our American makers finally took notes from the company that's been kicking our butts and fixed a lot of what they have wrong. I can honestly say that since I've test driven both and have several acquaintances who own Ferrari. If you've had the experience (pleasure) of driving these types of cars the first thing you'll notice is that there's two very distinct crowds in that genera of car owners; those that want raw performance and those that want speed and comfort and don't mind taking a hit in performance to get the comfort. Personally I'm somewhere in the middle which makes me an oddity in both camps. I'm also 6'8" which makes my love of sports cars some what ironic. All that being said Corvette gave me everything in the C6 / Z06 that I could want no matter which camp I prefer. I can out run the Ferrari I've been around, and keep up with with the Porsche Carrera GT that another acquaintance owns. So speed is not an issue... not getting a ticket is probably more the issue. Now keep in mind I have the C6 and the Z06 is slightly faster then what I have.
The sweet spot for the C6 vettes is around 4000 RPM which seems slightly high when you first get the car and start driving it. It red lines around 6000, the engine though sounds normal running at around 2500 RPM. Once you get used to the higher RPM performance and also get past the 1-4 shifting annoyance you can really make the car do some very impressive things. I've had the front wheels lift up on me more then once by down shifting at 55MPH into 3rd and punching it up to around 80MPH almost instantly. It pretty much handles the same at 60Mph as it does 100Mph. The steering goes into a more aggressive tight feel around 80Mph, and the cars aerodynamics cause the feel to change slightly in a more comfortable way. It's one of those things you really have to experience for yourself to understand it.
One other thing I've come to find about the vette that's made it very appealing to me is that just like the higher end traditional "super cars" the car is actually going up in value. I've been offered 4k more then I paid for it already. So long as you take care of your vette (especially limited colors) the prices and value go up while your tax value goes down. It's a pretty good investment at least as cars go in that price range.
Before I forget here's the package deal on the car that I have so you'll know how it stacks up to other package types:
C6 - Targa Top (cope with removable top that snaps in the trunk)
LS2 400Hp Engine - 6 Speed
Mag-Lev Selectable suspension - Race / Tour
Run Flat High Performance tires - Chrome Rims
7.1 Bose entertainment system
Voice controlled GPS
On Star
Speaker Cell Phone
Heated Seats
Dual environment controls
Hologram HUD with selective info system and GPS info
Solid matching color top / Transparent top
... It was fully loaded with everything they offer.
I can honestly say that I've been around $400,000.00 cars that I wouldn't trade (money value aside) my vette for because they're just not the same kind of fun to drive and don't have half the features (most aren't as fast either). Not to mention if you just really "have to have" the super car speed (faster then 3.3 seconds from 0-60 that Road & Track set with the C6 -- not the Z06) you can always add twin turbos to your LS2 engine and if you have the right group working on it you can get up around 720HP out of it. ... I get into enough trouble with 400hp. So to say it's not in the same class as a Ferrari is a complete denial of what the C6 & Z06 really are -- even if it's made in the US. Keep in mind that previous to the C6 I hated Corvettes and called them "the mid-life crisis car". The C6 is the first one to target the 25 - 30 year old range, and it shows both in speed, gizmos, and technical level for someone interested in sports car vs a status symbol (personally I can't stand "status cars"... male ego enhancement for the truly shallow).
Now as much as I love my car I'm not blind to it's flaws either. So here's a few of those.
1) It's gas mileage goes down slightly after the break in time. Instead of the 18 - 22 Mpg you're supposed to get it's more realistic to say you'll get around 15 - 22 Mpg since around town it tends to get less then advertised.
2) The car has a VERY annoying 1-4 shifting system on it. It basically shifts from 1st gear right to 4th to save on gas mileage. It only does this for a small section of the RPMs while your in first gear, but if you try and shift while in that range you physically can't shift to second gear, it will only allow you to stay in first or shift to forth. They make a $19.00 part that will bypass this "feature" if you intend to drive it in that old man like fashion where you run in low RPM all the time. In all fairness though around the city it does come in handy for hills and stop and go red lights where speedy movement may be necessary in a pinch.
3) And this one really gets on my nerves -- I purchased a limited edition Millennium Yellow C6... I liked the color. After about two weeks my door was scratched by a passenger getting out not being as careful as they should have been. Needless to say it wasn't one of my better moments. After talking with the local dealership they gave me a touch up paint kit. Chevrolet for whatever reason only makes one shade of yellow for all their 2005 cars... despite the fact that all their 2005 cars are NOT the same color yellow. So when I put this stuff on the scratch it looked like I was trying to paint a bright yellow lemon with dull mustard and really looked worse then the scratch. So after a bit more chats with people I finally spoke with the Chevrolet HQ Customer support department (pretty much as high up the chain as possible) and they just basically said "sorry that's our yellow touch up.". You would think for a fully loaded $60k car they would at least scoop out 8oz of paint from their paint sprayers at the factory. ... but oh no.. that might cost them an extra 25cents a car... anyway I digress. Just know that Chevrolet apparently is color blind and if you mess up your car it isn't their personal car so they don't care. I guess the 3M Invisible Shield might actually be worth the $600.00 (including the install -- any price less then that and it's not the good stuff that leaves your paint in tact and offers it protection worth anything) if you want your car to stay in good shape and not have to worry about getting new paint or touch-ups.
Anyway that's bit of info about the car you won't get from Road and Track... for what it's worth.
and thanks again for joining. 
