Autocar - 2008 C6 First Drive
Discussion
This week's Autocar has a first drive of the '08 (it appeared on their web-site a week or two ago as well). They're very complimentary, basically saying that "a great car gets better".
It's just a shame they couldn't be bothered to send a photographer along as well! Of the 4 photos, none are of an '08. They praise the new interior, then show a photo of an '05 (droopy wheel, old console, plain knobs). They love the new engine, then show an engine bay shot of an LS2. And the exterior shots show non-polished 5-spokes so must be '07 or earlier. Of course, the dead giveaway is that the driver is a man-who-looks-like-Kenny-Rogers in a baseball cap so they're obviously shots from the original launch of the C6 in the US
Still, they've generally been pretty complimentary about 'Vettes in the past and it's good to see the trend continuing.
It's just a shame they couldn't be bothered to send a photographer along as well! Of the 4 photos, none are of an '08. They praise the new interior, then show a photo of an '05 (droopy wheel, old console, plain knobs). They love the new engine, then show an engine bay shot of an LS2. And the exterior shots show non-polished 5-spokes so must be '07 or earlier. Of course, the dead giveaway is that the driver is a man-who-looks-like-Kenny-Rogers in a baseball cap so they're obviously shots from the original launch of the C6 in the US
Still, they've generally been pretty complimentary about 'Vettes in the past and it's good to see the trend continuing.
Compare the performance figures with the magazine selling Aston and Ferrari a few pages on and it would appear to be in the middle of the two.
Interestingly they give the Vette an astounding 31 mpg but skip publishing the fuel figures for the other two cars in a much more comprehensive 8 page test..funny that!
Aston & Ferrari marketing....(an imagined phone call to Autocar)
"Only publish the good bits or our test cars will be much harder to come by....and don't forget to harp on about the Corvettes transverse leaf(composite) spring, theres a good chap, now run along!!"
Interestingly they give the Vette an astounding 31 mpg but skip publishing the fuel figures for the other two cars in a much more comprehensive 8 page test..funny that!
Aston & Ferrari marketing....(an imagined phone call to Autocar)
"Only publish the good bits or our test cars will be much harder to come by....and don't forget to harp on about the Corvettes transverse leaf(composite) spring, theres a good chap, now run along!!"
I think you guys have been watching too much Hammond road tests on Top Gear - what exaclty is wrong with the steering wheel?! Its a tad big I agree but it's very comfortable and looks a damn site better made than the later effort.....
I agree with the comments on the images, very lazy reporting. How difficult would it have been to find the correct images to print? Still makes me pleased to own a C6!
I agree with the comments on the images, very lazy reporting. How difficult would it have been to find the correct images to print? Still makes me pleased to own a C6!
Edited by G4HKS on Thursday 28th February 13:02
Another review of latest Corvette here,
http://cars.uk.msn.com/Reviews/article.aspx?cp-doc...
or a shorter link to the same place
http://tinyurl.com/3yt25v
Comes out very well for performance handling and price, yet only scores 3 out of 5 at the end.........
....... mainly because the steering wheel's on the "other" side!!
http://cars.uk.msn.com/Reviews/article.aspx?cp-doc...
or a shorter link to the same place
http://tinyurl.com/3yt25v
Comes out very well for performance handling and price, yet only scores 3 out of 5 at the end.........
....... mainly because the steering wheel's on the "other" side!!
5 USA said:
....... mainly because the steering wheel's on the "other" side!!
.....and of the MPG.....running costs........tack interior.......Ian Dickson you are officially an idiot......the MPG is because you don't know your US gallon compared with your Imperial gallon......and you are comparing it with a Porsche Cayman S / Porsche 911 / Ferrari 430Corvette C6 21.2 (combined cycle) / 3.79 (US G) * 4.54 (UK G) = 25.39 MPG
Porsche 911 Carrera S 24.6 MPG
Porsche Cayman S 24.3 MPG
Ferrari 430 15.4 MPG
.....I so wish journalists would get their facts right......
When the seven hundred journalists from around Europe had finished playing with the Corvettes last week, eighty dealer staff from the European dealer network were allowed to play. We were at the Goodyear test track at Mireval close to Montpellier to sample the improvements for 2008 using a fleet of 30 Corvettes.
In England, you can imagine the rules and health & safety scheme that this would entail. The French have a more sanguine approach and allowed us to give the cars the beans...
For starters we were let loose on the 1.6km wet track, first with, and then without chassis aids.
Some spinning did occur!
There then followed a free for all where the professional drivers played hare to us hounds.
I've been lucky enough to drive on loads of tracks, loads of times, but, never in a 'vette before.
Any reservations disappeared almost straight away because, quite simply, the car has more grip than my ex wife's lawyer.
Mireval is superbly consistent and as smooth a track as I've ever seen, but, the track manners of the Corvette are absolutely faultless.
I never imagined how good this car would be, and this after sixteen very fortunate years when I played with everything from Formula Fords through to F40s around the UK and Europe.
If you want a world class sportscar, look no further.
What's more, dont waste time reading about them in the comics, get an appointment with your local Corvette dealer and find out why you should have one.
In England, you can imagine the rules and health & safety scheme that this would entail. The French have a more sanguine approach and allowed us to give the cars the beans...
For starters we were let loose on the 1.6km wet track, first with, and then without chassis aids.
Some spinning did occur!
There then followed a free for all where the professional drivers played hare to us hounds.
I've been lucky enough to drive on loads of tracks, loads of times, but, never in a 'vette before.
Any reservations disappeared almost straight away because, quite simply, the car has more grip than my ex wife's lawyer.
Mireval is superbly consistent and as smooth a track as I've ever seen, but, the track manners of the Corvette are absolutely faultless.
I never imagined how good this car would be, and this after sixteen very fortunate years when I played with everything from Formula Fords through to F40s around the UK and Europe.
If you want a world class sportscar, look no further.
What's more, dont waste time reading about them in the comics, get an appointment with your local Corvette dealer and find out why you should have one.
Edited by Le Man on Tuesday 4th March 14:49
Le Man said:
the car has more grip than my ex wife's lawyer.
classic Also a review of it in this months Evo John Simister loved it too!
Evo also features a Z06 vs new Nissan GT-R on a 0-100-0 test....won't spoil the result for those that haven't read the review yet.
Edited by vetteheadracer on Tuesday 4th March 14:45
10/10 to GARY WALSH (Sorry Gary, I didn't know who Trevor is either!) who wrote in to the editors at Autocar this week. Pointed out the rubbish images used in the previous issue on the new '08 spec Vette. Got two nice CORRECT images showing the car they should have shown in the first place! (See AutoCar, 12 March 2008 issue, page 84)
Btw, totally agree with your "make sure it's RED" comment...
Btw, totally agree with your "make sure it's RED" comment...
Edited by G4HKS on Sunday 16th March 19:30
G4HKS said:
10/10 to Trevor Roberts in Cheadle who wrote in to the editors at Autocar this week. Pointed out the rubbish images used in the previous issue on the new '08 spec Vette. Got two nice CORRECT images showing the car they should have shown in the first place! (See AutoCar, 12 March 2008 issue, page 84)
HELLO AUTOCAR!!!! We just need a proper road test including the much bigger 997 Porsche (tongue in cheek, yes it's a bit bigger, it used to be the other way around if I recall correctly!!)And it would be good to include in the test the AMV8, JagXKR, and the newly updated Puffer Fish Merc SL.
Oh, and for the hell of it why not the Ferrari 430 too?....
Please include a bar graph/chart of Performance against value for money....thankyou!
G4HKS said:
10/10 to Trevor Roberts in Cheadle who wrote in to the editors at Autocar this week. Pointed out the rubbish images used in the previous issue on the new '08 spec Vette. Got two nice CORRECT images showing the car they should have shown in the first place! (See AutoCar, 12 March 2008 issue, page 84)
Ahem, Trevor Roberts (whoever he may be) wrote the preceding letter - I wrote the one about the Vette! (That's why my name's at the end of the letter :-)Bless them for saying they sent the photo-ed to Kentucky, when the car pictured clearly has a French plate!!! Still, at least they came clean. Even better, in the "Take it or leave it" section they recommend buying a C6.
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