MustangDan

Not a very good review by the Brits for the new vette...

http://www.sleepy-fish.com/sleepy/To...orvette_lo.wmv

99C5JA

I generally like Top Gear, but that review was not well done. They showed their lack of knowledge by comparing the composite transverse leaf spring setup on the Vette to old and archaic setups. The Vette's leaf setup is very different than a traditional leaf spring setup. That is not to say that the leaf spring setup isn't controversial even with Vette fanatics, but the fact is that its proven itself to be a very reliable setup with excellent handling characteristics. Anyone who has driven a Z51 equipped car or a Z06 will likely agree. If you watch the video the C6 is in the top 1/3-1/4 in their lap time charts with a less than smooth lap. The 2 cars under it are a Lotus and a Porsche GT3. Hardly weak competitors and both significantly more expensive than the C6.

The harshness of the ride is likely very over exaggerated. I have not ridden in a Z51 C6, but will make an assumption that it is about as harsh as its C5 counterpart. My car is lowered with Z51 springs, bigger sway bars than a Z06, and Bilsteins stiffest shocks. I have had several riders comment that car rides nicely and I know it rides rougher than a C5 with the Z51 package.

As for the shifter effort I'm just shaking my head here. I suppose if you like the limp and vague feel of a Porsche shifter, then a heavy and precise shifter would be a bad thing. I hated the vague and limp feel of the stock C5 shifter, so I replaced it. The B&M I have now has very short throws, positively centers the shifter in the 3-4 gate, and you know without doubt that you have put it into gear. Personally I applaud the move. Others may be 5'3" with tiny arms and hate it.

And the drag race segment was a joke. How a C6 that weighs basically the same as a C5, but with more power, can loose to an NSX is a complete mystery to me. Sure there are modded NSX's out there that aren't slow, but a stock one? Give me a break. A bone stock C5 will keep up with an NSX with no problem. They were either granny shifting or short shifting the C6 (or both), I can think of no other explanation.

Interior plastics are a valid criticism when comparing it to cars costing $30k more I guess. The C5 interior is comfortable and very functional. The "look and feel" of it is far less important to how it actually performs. The C6 appears to be an improvement. My suggestion to them would be to take the 20K pounds they'd save over a 911 and buy a used Jag if they want cushy. I will grant them that the C6 is probably still a bit below par in this area.

And last but not least, the rear bumper push in segment. My C5 does this. I'm sure that it is there partially to meet our crash standards. Honestly all I can think of is woopty-frickin'-doo the panel has give in it. So if something hits it, it doesn't dent. To some this may mean that it lacks quality in some way. To me it means it won't dent and I don't have an ugly bumper protruding from the back of the vehicle.

In conclusion I believe that the Top Gear staff did not want to like this car from the get go. Most of the segement was focused on anything they felt the car did poorly in. There was no mention of the cars top speed, excellent fuel economy, or the fact it beat out several cars that cost multiples of its sticker price in their road course. In essence I don't think they want the Vette over there and painted as bad of a picture as they possibly could of the vehicle.

My C5 is my first Vette. I'm not a hater of any make of car. I still feel that it is/was the best sports car value to be had for the $35k I spent for it in 2001. The C6 looks to be an even better evolution of the car.

MustangDan

I definitely agree that they had preconceived notions and had some sort of agenda here. I'm a Ford guy, but I'll be the first to say that if I had a bit extra in the bank, I'd be driving a Vette. I love vettes... but I think that it boils down to a culture difference. Brits would trade 100hp for leather trimming any day. To them, fit and trim is a big part of the overall package. I don't that Americans pay as much (we do care about it) attention to that stuff. I think price is a stronger leverage to the America consumer... so Detroit sacrifices the little nice trimmings for a bit cheaper price and make up with more horses.

That show is definitely biased... if you watch a lot of those shows you know that they don't like American sports cars. All they can talk about is how we don't know how to turn. BLAH BLAH BLAH...

But...

Watch the Ford GT review... this guy about has an orgasm over it. Watch the first one (earlier down on the list). He drove the test mule about a year ago and now they got it in their own turn and tested it on their own track. Impressive! But those two younger Brits are still idiots like they were on the Corvette review. Such an amazing car and they choose to focus on the only two negative traits of the car. WHO CARES, that the GT is hard to get into (no one is taking that car to the supermarket to buy groceries)... WHO CARES that it doesn't get 30mpg. If you are dishing out over $100g's for an ALL OUT, "***** to the wall" sports car, I don't think that mileage is a big concern for you.

Anyways... check it out. I do love that show though. They really put their cars through the mill!


http://www.sleepy-fish.com/other_veh.htm

Dean-o

Those guys are ASSwipes, enough said. They try to make a joke out of what the US offers instead of looking at facts. Get someone with enough arm strength to lift a glass and they can slam gears fast enough to get respectable times in the quarter.

StoleIt

iTrader: (3)

my stock C5 can wipe the walls with an NSX, which costs like 40k more by the way. And I have no idea wtf that TVR runs or is so I can't compair that, but by far the Vette was the cheapest car out of those 4.

Ling_650vette

iTrader: (1)

If you've ever seen the movie Swordfish, the car John Travolta drove around (the one w/ the funky headlights) was a TVR. Their cars are fairly impressive in the performance category, but to get one over here is rather pricey (I want to say $120k).

I liked Top Gear's review of the Carrera GT and the Ford GT, but they seem to be more over supercar like status vehicles than "average" sports cars, which is BS but oh well. Let 'em have their opinion, and show their ignorance cause we know what we got

GMoney

Typical arrogant European attitude. They think they are God's gift to human intellect. Anything American is crass, ininspiring, and less than acceptable. Their bias is obviously displayed on their shirtsleeves. The sad thing is they have no idea that when it comes down to it we really don't give a crap what they think.

Besides, if the British are such geniuses about cars why is the auto industry there in the toilet?

StoleIt

iTrader: (3)

lol ya ford bought jaguar...and that improved their reliability!!!! that speaks volumes!

Amerkin

I own a BMW seven series (my fourth BMW), a Toureg,and a Z06 so my following comments should be viewed with that information. F the Europeans! That CS comment about our government getting under other's noses was just lame. I think what this video shows is the typical viewpoint of many uninformed drivers who think drag racing takes no talent. Their representation of it is proof of their lacking in the required talent. An obvious predisposition against anything American unfortunately seems to be what's "in" in Europe. I can't stand elitist as..oles.

Ling_650vette

iTrader: (1)

All they have to do is get the GMHTP article where they drove the Z06 to an 11.97 if they think drag racing takes no talent. Or, watch ALMS and watch the Ferrari and Lambo get destroyed by the C5-R .

And im suprised no one has done it yet, but All the way!

f-bodman

Are they still pissed that we told them to get the hell out over 200 years ago, did you hear them refer to the US as the colonies at one time?
Let's see, maybe if they compared it to something in the same price range instead of the same horsepower range they'd understand, was there another car that they were comparing it to that was within $30K of the C6? Brits>

APeteSS

Oh those prissy bastards, couldn't drive that car to save their lives. That car's a front-engined 400 horsepower rwd beast-- steer the damn thing with the throttle and be SMOOTH! What are they doing locking up the brakes and pushing into corners-- drive it like a 911 or a fwd and you'll be sloppy and scrub speed. Notice how the thing still smoked most of those other jerk-off cars that they usually have on the show.

APeteSS

Oh, and, you gotta break in shifters. If you do it nicely, it ends up nice and accurate.

MustangDan

Bitter, inferiorarity complex, losers! Reminder: These colonies stuck it to you Brits a long time ago. And if you didn't notice, we now are 100X more powerful than you'll ever be! I mean, thanks for helping out in Iraq and all, but always remember... your troops fought for US!

Dean-o

Yeah, and while they are making fun of leaf springs, they should remember that it is connected to a dual wishbone setup with shocks. And that same combination on the Z06 allowed it to set the track record at Nerumbergring in Germany, besting anything a Porsche has ever done with a sub 8 minute lap on a track that is 14 miles and over 100 turns! That is averaging over 105 mph!

Ling_650vette

iTrader: (1)

I still prefer the article Sport Rider did (who I believe is apart of the same publication company as Vette) where they took Kevin Schwantz out on a GSX-R1000 and a Z06 and ran up some lap times. He had some obligatory # on the Z06 but turned amazing times on the GSX-R (Go figure...he's a bike racer). So Vette was rather un-impressed w/ their results, so they gave a bone stock Z06 to Andy Pilgrim who took I believe a 9 sec difference, down to 5 seconds! 0-60 #s were all of a half, to full second different. Roughly 500lb bike w/ rider and full fluids vs lets say ~3200lbs car w/ full fluids and driver. Not to bad for some "american" sports car.

DrBlueSS

I've watched Top Gear for the last 15 years or so. I can tell you that it's fairly normal practice for Clarkson & Co (Jeremy Clarkson is the tall, goofy looking bloke with the curly hair and is the main presenter) to simply refuse to objectively assess a car if they've already decided they don't like it. Remember, Top Gear is produced by the BBC and the BBC is just about the most left-wing, anti-American television network in the Western world. The American Corvette never stood a chance with those guys. The only reason why they had that limp-wristed, girly-man little turd driving the Corvette is because they wanted to make the Corvette look bad - plain and simple. I've got the July issue of Top Gear magazine in my hand and according to their numbers for that particular TVR, the NSX , and the 911, the C6 should be the fastest of the bunch. So that pathetic drag race was just a staged farce. By the way, the reason Clarkson liked the Ford GT is because he has said he wants to buy one, so if he'd criticized it then he'd look like a prize hypocrite. One last thing. Quick history lesson - the British Empire covered one third the land surface of this planet for over one hundred years. Also, the British did not get whipped in Vietnam.

Ling_650vette

iTrader: (1)

So what? At one time, the Spanish covered quite a large majority, as did the Romans. Empires rise and fall, and it took a couple of colonies to stand up for their beliefs to turn the world around (Why do you think the French revolution happend after the American Revolution? It wasnt coincidence...)

And Vietnam is a moot point. We didnt lose it, nor did we win it. Yes we withdrew, but the Vietnamese didnt quite send us packing all on their own w/ their military superiority. A better example of British superiority would've been the Battle of Britian in which less-advanced Supermarine Spitfire's held off the Lutwaffe, but then again you can counter that the Brits also got reamed by a bunch of "lowly" Scotts way far back too...but hey, who's keeping track

f-bodman

No the british didn't get whipped in Vietnam, but they did get their *** handed to them by a bunch of farmers a couple hundred years ago, and by the way how big is the british empire now? If the U.S. did things now like the british did when they were an empire they'd own everything, including England. We'd clean the place up and make them brush their teeth

Ken G

iTrader: (1)

That is just too funny!