[shady28]

Early 90s vettes get about 10-15% higher MPG than the US national average MPG.

Ain't that sick?

Think I'm gonna go buy a vette now. I always wanted one, probably be my last chance.

[The_Toecutter]

C4 and later Corvettes have a lower coefficient of drag than most cars. This is responsible for their reduced fuel consumption, although the V8 helps degrade it some.

[Vexed]

Mid-life crisis?

[gg3]

At least the Corvette is an honest sports car with a real history to it, in the same league as any of the archetypal sports cars from around the world.

The virtual opposite of SUVs which are oxymorons-on-wheels, that are neither sporty nor utilitarian.

If the fuel efficiency is good, go for it.

And here's to hoping Chevy brings out a hybrid version that'll beat everything else on the road from a standing stop to 70 mph. *That* would stimulate demand for hybrids.

[gnm]

Yeah no kidding on the SUV's - I actually had one... once... a '96 nissan pathfinder. What a POS! Or maybe it was me. I can be rather hard on vehicles. But after blowing out all the suspension 3 times in 50,000 miles it was time to scrap it. A freind of mine said my bio could be titled "things that shouldn't be done in a (insert vehicle here)"

Did you know those things can barely even carry 500lbs of cement block in back?

Oh, and defintely don't try to carry a 15' x 12" log on the roof rack. It bends the hell out of it.



So I replaced it with a 1/2 ton dodge pickup.
Who knew a 1/2 ton pickup could carry 3,200lbs of gravel....

-G

[Caoimhan]

Hehehe... I love the people who get luxury SUVs. As if they'd ever take it off-road.

[Daculling]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Caoimhan', 'H')ehehe... I love the people who get luxury SUVs. As if they'd ever take it off-road.

[The_Toecutter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')t least the Corvette is an honest sports car with a real history to it, in the same league as any of the archetypal sports cars from around the world.

[shady28]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('The_Toecutter', '
')It's a little too overweight to be a real sportscar. Anything over 2,500 pounds on a Canyon road will get creamed by anything under 2,500 pounds.

[Chaparral]

Old carbureted Ferrari 308s are fun. I'd love to convert mine to some sort of biofuel some day. I live near an oil refinery. Perhaps one day we'll grow switchgrass and corn in whats left of the parking lot and algae in the old storage tanks and use solar to generate the heat for depolymerization and the cracking towers for fractionating. You think we could produce enough AVgas to run a WWI Fokker Triplane?

BTW, some of the new cars can corner quite well. I agree that there's too much of that luxury crap though.

[Chris_B]

Now a Datsun 240Z, now THAT'S a sports car.

[Chaparral]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Chris_B', 'N')ow a Datsun 240Z, now THAT'S a sports car.

[gg3]

Toecutter, you know your stuff well; but I'm still of the opinion that the Corvette has a decent pedigree and performance going for it. From what I see on the freeways, they do stick to the road like electromagnets to steel. Understood, those are freeways, but even so.

In an optimistic scenario, we'll still have racing, and it'll be with new-tech powertrains that are efficient as hell and also faster than anything on the road today. The racing industry is where automotive engineers get to do the wild creative thing; something like that is necessary in any field of engineering to stimulate the juices and produce practical results the rest of us can use in everyday life.

The Z: Yeah that counts too.

[JudoCow09]

You know, if everyone was the size of an ant, the only problem we would have would be those giant predators, and trees. We could all be driving corvettes and be getting 30 miles per mL. Then we'd be good for life.

[Aedo]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('The_Toecutter', 'A') sports car is a Triumph Spitfire, Fiat 850 Spyder, Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite, MGA, MGB, Opel GT, and their ilk.

Sports cars do not have air conditioning. Sports cars do not have 500 pounds of useless trim in their interiors that you could fill 8 trash cans with. Sports cars are not built on the platforms of cheap economy cars, oversized luxury cars, or pickup trucks. Sports cars are not meant to be stared at so idiots walking by can gawk at them simply because of their label. Sports cars aren't supposed to be expensive. Sports cars are race-prepared machines, ready to bury anything that dares challenge them.

Aside from the Lotus Elise and perhaps the Mazda miata(That one's pushing things), no major automaker offers a real sports car as of today in the United States. In Europe, there are quite a few, the Opel Speedster being my favorite.

[sicophiliac]

Well just because a Vettes got a powerfull engine doesnt mean it has to be a gas hog if you drive it easy. Its got a very tall 6th gear ratio meaning at 60 mph the engine is only spinning at around 1500 rpms. Its got a decent amount of lowend torque so it doesnt have to work very hard to push that aerodynamic car down the freeway. A Viper with its massive 8.3 liter motor only needs to buzz along at like 1000 rpms on the freeway to keep it moving though it only gets around 20 mpg. Still not bad for a car with a 500 hp V10 !
If you look at the numbers a Vette or Viper can handle pretty much as well as a Miata or Lotus.. maybe a few tenths behind in the run times around the slalom or in lateral grip but not all that much different. The cars are bigger but they are wider too and have much larger tires for added grip.

[shady28]

Just got a quote on insurance for a 92 vette convertible. It's $100/yr cheaper than my 2001 ranger, same coverage

[Omnitir]

I think there needs to be a distinction between what is a sports car, and what is a race car. A sports car isn’t necessarily about being the fasting thing possible. It’s more about a lifestyle really. You can have all the luxury and trimming and still have a sports car. You can even have a tiny underpowered mass-produced Japanese car, but if it fits that sporty image, then it’s a sports car. The same goes with an oversized dressed up family car – if it fits that sporty image, it’s a sports car.

However if your concerned about beating other cars in races, then guess what? Your not talking about sports cars, you’re talking about racecars. And racing cars is a true waste of money and resources, no matter how exhilarating it is. And racing on the streets is a mugs game.

P.S. - Corvette spyder, now there's a beautiful machine...

[The_Toecutter]

Think of the words "sports" and "car" and examine the definition of each. A 'sporty' look does not make a "sports" car. A "sports" car is made for you guessed it, sport. Ie: racing.

The 'sports cars' like Corvettes as you see them at the dealerships are entirely antithetical to the term 'sports'. In a competition, they will get their asses whipped so hard by anemic 50 horsepower MG Midgets and Bugeye Sprites that whoever payed $50,000 for their brand new 'sports car' at a dealership will be embarassed to have been succoured out of their money like that and beaten by vintage cars actually designed for sport with less than $5,000 in them.

A look or claiming a car fits into a certain archetype doesn't make it a true 'sports car'. A real sports car is competitive, built for motorsport and capable of fairing well in said sport.

I'd take an Elise over a Corvette any day. The Corvette would get its ass whipped on an actual Canyon Road or a racetrack built to reflect the dynamics of hills and curves of a mountain road, despite the Elise having about 1/3 the power under the hood.

Weight, weight, and less weight are the three most important things in any sports car. Then comes tires. Power to weight ratio is only usefull in a straight line.

[shady28]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Omnitir', 'I') think there needs to be a distinction between what is a sports car, and what is a race car. A sports car isn’t necessarily about being the fasting thing possible. It’s more about a lifestyle really. You can have all the luxury and trimming and still have a sports car. You can even have a tiny underpowered mass-produced Japanese car, but if it fits that sporty image, then it’s a sports car. The same goes with an oversized dressed up family car – if it fits that sporty image, it’s a sports car.