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i still salute your choice. do try to track your new baby once in while though. it is an exhilarating experience.
i guess i should've been more specific when i referenced design and build quality. the corvette platform is proven and that engine is bullet proof. i meant the interior design and interior materials in use when compared to a porsche. the exterior and actual mechanicals are brilliant in the corvette.
it really is the same issue i have with all american cars. maybe it is domestic car culture, i don't really know, but IMO the biggest difference between domestics and imports is in the design, materials used, and build of car interiors.
efficiency, exterior design, mechanical quality, engine power....all these attributes the domestics can compete with foreign makes. but when it comes to all things interior...IMO there's a huge gap.
do enjoy your z06 though. wonderful purchase.
Thanks, I agree completely. Maybe someday I will track...widower with 2 gradeschoolers....I have to consider others before exhilerating myself too much.
The difference might be that the target market for the corvette in general is less affluent than for some of the other "super car" builders. It's a whole cost\benefit thing and in general a lot of corvette owners are older and the extra 10k or so on the interior could make it too much of a budget stretch or not worth it. (Corvette owners are probably already used to a lower level of interior quality and overall vehicle cost than say Porsche affecionado's)
i'm wondering if some of the long held thought processes here in the US are based on what each manu did in the 60's: gobs of HP to go as fast as they could for 1320 ft. None of the cars I had back then, while quick and powerful; could get out of their own shadow if a turn came too quickly.
Meanwhile the Euro cars are ( and were ) developed with different roads in mind.
So the US has made some great strides in the sports world, and that doesn't have to include just the new vettes either. But it may have taken awhile to play catch up to the rest. So now that the suspensions and drivetrains are there; one would think fit/finish would be next.....
Drover: i don't disagree, but the difference is whether you can max out a Miata (hard to do unless you are very skilled) versus a Porsche or a Vette. Most drivers, IMO, can't do anywhere near the performance limits of the typical high end sports car. So what you have are folks posing as Jackie Stewart in their Vette or Porsche, but in reality can't drive the car anywhere near it's capability. They are not real sports car drivers, just pretenders. JMHO.
Drover: i don't disagree, but the difference is whether you can max out a Miata (hard to do unless you are very skilled) versus a Porsche or a Vette. Most drivers, IMO, can't do anywhere near the performance limits of the typical high end sports car. So what you have are folks posing as Jackie Stewart in their Vette or Porsche, but in reality can't drive the car anywhere near it's capability. They are not real sports car drivers, just pretenders. JMHO.
So wait, you think anyone who buys a car whose potential they can't max out is a "pretender?" That only Jackie Stewarts should buy Corvettes and Porsches? That strikes me as pretentious and silly. Then there should be virtually zero Corvettes and Porsches on the road. There's a lot of fun to be had in high-end performance cars well before you reach their limits that most lesser cars can't even touch at their limits. I don't see why anyone should have to prove they're Jackie Stewart to have access to that degree of fun, nor do I subscribe to the silly belief that they think they're Jackie Stewart because they have a high-end sports car. They probably just think, "this car is fun to drive and it looks great too" not "I'm ready for the Formula 1 circuit."
Drover: i don't disagree, but the difference is whether you can max out a Miata (hard to do unless you are very skilled) versus a Porsche or a Vette. Most drivers, IMO, can't do anywhere near the performance limits of the typical high end sports car. So what you have are folks posing as Jackie Stewart in their Vette or Porsche, but in reality can't drive the car anywhere near it's capability. They are not real sports car drivers, just pretenders. JMHO.
LMAO. Basically, there are few if any places in the US where I could max out my car in any remotely sane manner without taking it to a dedicated racing facility.
That being said, I didn't buy my car for performance, I loved it's looks and that it was fairly unique and there weren't tons of them on the road. I have barely cracked 120mph in it and that's 75mph below top speed.
Heck, I know I'm not a sportscar driver...never wanted to be one.
I think anyone who owns a sports car, or a high-performance coupe, sedan or whatever, should take a driver education course. Many are conducted in conjunction with car clubs, police departments. Some are full bore race instruction, but if you can afford to buy a fast car, you can afford the training.
Insurance companies often won't cover race damage, but if you tell them in advance you're putting the car on the track for driver education, you can find out if they will cover it. Some trainers have a small fleet of cars for their students if you don't want to risk scuffing up your baby.
I think you need to know the limits of your beast. When's it going to break out? What does 1G on a skid pad feel like? (if your car can pull that). Will it break loose on a spirited 1-2 or 2-3 shift if the road is wet? or cold?
Finding those limits on the track, and finding your limits, even if you never reach the limit of the car, is pretty important, IMHO. If you don't agree, view the carnage over at wrecked exotics.
Drover: I don't disagree with your comment, but my comment was directed to choices in sports cars, e.g.; specifically what car is best suited for a particular driver. My experience has been that Vettes, Porsches, etc. are way beyond my driving capabilities and I prefer to drive sports cars that I don't feel like I'm pretending to be Jackie Stewart when I am not. The Mazda Miata or Toyota MR2 are about the highest level of performance I can handle. Driving a vehicle that is beyond my capability is not something I care to do, it's like pretending to be 6'5" tall and handsome, neither of which I will ever be. Most, IMHO, drivers of higher end sports cars are posers - they can't drive anywhere near the vehicle's performance limits. It might be good for attracting the ladies, but the truth is they can't drive the car anywhere near the vehicle's capability. It's kind of like a teenybopper carrying around a 460 Wheatherby rifle and if they pull the trigger it will knock them on their butt. JMHO.
Listen, your preference is yours and I don't care one way or the other. But I don't get your comment about "pretending to be Jackie Stewart" at all. It's great that you prefer a Miata, but I don't understand why you can't share that preference without trashing those who might prefer something more potent. I have never seen a guy in an F430 and thought to myself, "I bet he thinks he could take on Michael Schumacher." What I think to myself is "he has money and likes fast cars." I simply don't understand why someone should be capable of driving a high-end sports car to its limit before, in your eyes, he deserves to drive it. With all due respect for your preference, I'm willing to bet that driving an F430 to within half its limits is still a hell of a lot more fun than driving a Miata right to its limits. Your grievance sounds like little more than petty jealousy to me.
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