Ken
Gone but not forgotten
From CBSMarketwatch:
2005 Corvette C6
Commanding world attention
By Ron Amadon, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 8:09 AM ET Jan. 8, 2005
DARNESTOWN, Md. (CBS.MW) -- Imagine you're an auto designer and finally your boyhood dream comes true. You're assigned to work on the new Corvette.
But that youthful enthusiasm is tempered with the realization that if you miss on this one, you've messed up big time. This is no four-door people hauler. This is the car that people follow with rabid attention because it's as all-American as apple pie, New Orleans jazz, and baseball.
We now call to center stage all of those who've been involved in creating the sixth-generation Corvette. The audience rises as one and applauds wildly, because the folks at GM have hit a long, long home run with this one.
The C6 is five inches shorter than the C5, but the wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer. The overall shape is easily recognizable as a Corvette even with the return of visible headlights. You have your choice of a convertible, with the top now powered, or a lift-off panel hardtop.
But enough of this -- what's it like to drive? Well, few cars deeply stir a true enthusiast's soul; this one tinkers with parts of that soul we didn't know existed. The lone (for now) power plant is a 6.0-liter V8 that cranks out 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. Scoot around in traffic and it's smooth and quiet. Get a space where you can give it some deep breathing exercises and it emits a roar from deep down within that you have to hear to appreciate. Simply put, it's thunderous and magical as you approach the 6,500 rpm red line.
Okay, we've in a very safe place -- let's see what this baby will really do. To the floor, snick, roar, and quickly repeat. (How fast are you going?) The heads-up display shows 101 faster than we've hit it lately. Now, Algebra 101 was one thing. This 101 is actually hard-to-believe because the 'Vette is so firmly planted to the roadway, and there are still gears to go in the slick six-speed box that was also improved this year.
Sixty miles an hour comes up in a scant 4.8 seconds, and 100 in 11.2 seconds. It sounds and feels much faster. Top speed with the C6 is estimated at 186. We've got to believe that the late Zora Arkus-Duntov, the Corvette's main benefactor, would himself have approved.
Handling is as flat and confidence-building as one would expect. We loved GM's Magnetic Selective Ride Control that eased the car over the worst city streets, and firmed things up when we hit the back roads. We would strongly recommend adding the $1,695 it costs. Also helping the cause is the 51/49 front-to-rear weight distribution. Look for skid-pad performance in the high nines -- and folks, that's damn good.
The interior of the C6 is a much nicer place to be. The leather seats are comfortable regardless of your intention -- around town errands or back-road fun. You remain locked in place. Controls are easy to figure out, while the workmanship and materials seem top-notch, and several degrees above the C5. Drivers are faced with a big white-on-black Speedo and tach with auxiliary gauges to either side. And we were a sucker for the Corvette emblem that lights up the navigational system when you fire up the engine.
Some have knocked the C6 for being a bit too luxurious inside, but we disagree. All of the mechanical elements that make a 'Vette a 'Vette are still there. Why not be pampered a bit too?
Two complaints: We did not at all like the Tremec transmission's required one to four shift when a slow takeoff is commanded by heavy traffic. And the driver's seat belt locked up prematurely. That's it.
When you consider all the raw hard numbers, the incredible power and handling, the sound that raging V8 makes that tickles your toenails, and now the refinement, you come to the realization that the C6 is a bargain. Our very-well-optioned test car bottom lined at $53,295. And that's about $1,000 less than last year's base price.
So as we said, congratulations to chief engineer Dave Hill and everyone who had anything to do with the C6. It is -- and there's no argument about this -- the very best Corvette ever.
Next week we will conclude our special swing into 2005 with a very special Super Car! It is red, it has a white stripe and it goes 200-miles an hour. Don't miss it!
Comments? ramadon@markewatch.com.
Ron Amadon is a morning news anchor on the CBS MarketWatch.com Radio Network
2005 Corvette C6
Commanding world attention
By Ron Amadon, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 8:09 AM ET Jan. 8, 2005
DARNESTOWN, Md. (CBS.MW) -- Imagine you're an auto designer and finally your boyhood dream comes true. You're assigned to work on the new Corvette.
But that youthful enthusiasm is tempered with the realization that if you miss on this one, you've messed up big time. This is no four-door people hauler. This is the car that people follow with rabid attention because it's as all-American as apple pie, New Orleans jazz, and baseball.
We now call to center stage all of those who've been involved in creating the sixth-generation Corvette. The audience rises as one and applauds wildly, because the folks at GM have hit a long, long home run with this one.
The C6 is five inches shorter than the C5, but the wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer. The overall shape is easily recognizable as a Corvette even with the return of visible headlights. You have your choice of a convertible, with the top now powered, or a lift-off panel hardtop.
But enough of this -- what's it like to drive? Well, few cars deeply stir a true enthusiast's soul; this one tinkers with parts of that soul we didn't know existed. The lone (for now) power plant is a 6.0-liter V8 that cranks out 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. Scoot around in traffic and it's smooth and quiet. Get a space where you can give it some deep breathing exercises and it emits a roar from deep down within that you have to hear to appreciate. Simply put, it's thunderous and magical as you approach the 6,500 rpm red line.
Okay, we've in a very safe place -- let's see what this baby will really do. To the floor, snick, roar, and quickly repeat. (How fast are you going?) The heads-up display shows 101 faster than we've hit it lately. Now, Algebra 101 was one thing. This 101 is actually hard-to-believe because the 'Vette is so firmly planted to the roadway, and there are still gears to go in the slick six-speed box that was also improved this year.
Sixty miles an hour comes up in a scant 4.8 seconds, and 100 in 11.2 seconds. It sounds and feels much faster. Top speed with the C6 is estimated at 186. We've got to believe that the late Zora Arkus-Duntov, the Corvette's main benefactor, would himself have approved.
Handling is as flat and confidence-building as one would expect. We loved GM's Magnetic Selective Ride Control that eased the car over the worst city streets, and firmed things up when we hit the back roads. We would strongly recommend adding the $1,695 it costs. Also helping the cause is the 51/49 front-to-rear weight distribution. Look for skid-pad performance in the high nines -- and folks, that's damn good.
The interior of the C6 is a much nicer place to be. The leather seats are comfortable regardless of your intention -- around town errands or back-road fun. You remain locked in place. Controls are easy to figure out, while the workmanship and materials seem top-notch, and several degrees above the C5. Drivers are faced with a big white-on-black Speedo and tach with auxiliary gauges to either side. And we were a sucker for the Corvette emblem that lights up the navigational system when you fire up the engine.
Some have knocked the C6 for being a bit too luxurious inside, but we disagree. All of the mechanical elements that make a 'Vette a 'Vette are still there. Why not be pampered a bit too?
Two complaints: We did not at all like the Tremec transmission's required one to four shift when a slow takeoff is commanded by heavy traffic. And the driver's seat belt locked up prematurely. That's it.
When you consider all the raw hard numbers, the incredible power and handling, the sound that raging V8 makes that tickles your toenails, and now the refinement, you come to the realization that the C6 is a bargain. Our very-well-optioned test car bottom lined at $53,295. And that's about $1,000 less than last year's base price.
So as we said, congratulations to chief engineer Dave Hill and everyone who had anything to do with the C6. It is -- and there's no argument about this -- the very best Corvette ever.
Next week we will conclude our special swing into 2005 with a very special Super Car! It is red, it has a white stripe and it goes 200-miles an hour. Don't miss it!
Comments? ramadon@markewatch.com.
Ron Amadon is a morning news anchor on the CBS MarketWatch.com Radio Network
I have no idea why Darnestown is mentioned (does the author live here? if so, come on by and see my C6!
