[NEWS] Corvette is a real ticket magnet

[Dakota kid]

Corvette is a real ticket magnet
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/news/driving/story.html?id=2743da5b-db06-4682-8be7-7688a8017496&page=1
You don't even have to be moving to end up in hot water

Keith Morgan
The Province

Chevy Corvettes always look to me like a traffic ticket just waiting to be written.

Much my to my chagrin, I discovered a 2005 version of the classic muscle car that I tested last week truly fulfilled that expectation.

Scored a ticket within just a few hours of getting behind the wheel of the $70,000 beast. Excessive speed? Running a light? Nah, nothing as deadly as either of those heinous transgressions.

Eagle-eyed PC 1446 of Vancouver's Finest spotted that the test coupe was devoid of a front licence plate. Ka-ching. That's $109 for government coffers, thank you very much. Actually, it's only $84 if you cough up in 30 days. Such a deal.

When I collected the Vette it was raining, but to be honest, I doubt I would have noticed the plate's absence even if it had been sunny.

Admittedly, (your honour) I did clue in when I found it behind the driver seat a few hours before my Davie Street rendezvous with the bike cop. I looked at the car's sharp nose and found no place for it to reside.

"Well, sir, it is your responsibility to make sure, when you pick up a car, that it has both plates," said 1446 politely, but firmly, as he handed me the blue ticket.

What really ticked me off was that I've written before about the trend among owners of hot cars to dump the front plate in violation of the Motor Vehicle Act regulations.

Safety Equipment:

Safety features include dual air bags, anti-lock brakes, electronic traction control, an Active Handling System and a low tire-pressure warning system.

The keyless entry system is the same as that launched by Cadillac a couple of years ago. No need for keys -- except for the glove box. Just hit the fob and then stow them in your pocket. Once you are inside, a microchip signals to the ignition that you are a good guy and it's push button start and stop from there on.

The Looks:

As you can see from the picture above, there is no really good place to affix a plate though I'm now assured General Motors is shipping a bracket PDQ so that none of my hapless colleagues suffer the same indignity.

My buddy Bob McHugh figures the plate will disfigure the beauty of the sixth-generation version of the sleek machine and he even has an environmental argument for his argument that it's time to remove the regulation from the books.

He explained to me: "B.C. would no doubt exceed the "One-tonne emissions challenge" [the federal initiative to reduce pollution] over and over again, by simply removing that legal requirement to have a front licence plate on cars -- and conserve fuel.

"Not only is the front L-plate an ugly addition, it's an aerodynamic disaster on a streamlined car."

Does look pretty cool without the plate, doesn't it?

The Inside:

The cool look doesn't really extend to the inside of this machine. It seems the redesign energy was expended on developing a new shape externally.

There's nothing actually wrong with the interior looks, but I was hoping for something more aeronautical. The seats are firm and supportive, but it takes a lot of fiddling to adjust them to suit.



Continued

The coupe offers a large "back shelf" for want of a better description for the rear storage.

When the roof is in place, available space is considerably compromised, but there is some limited room behind the seats, maybe enough to squeeze in a stray front licence plate if your seat is pushed back.

The Drive:

The 6.0-litre V8 is the most powerful small-block engine offered to date in the Corvette. The six-speed manual transmission in the tester ensured freeway driving was a lot of fun.

The move up through the gears from third onwards was exhilarating in the passing mode, which is most of the time with this baby.

In the few days I had it, I found the transmission in the lower gears less than friendly in the city. It may be a beauty on the open road, but it's a beast in urban congestion and a horror in the wet.

But then who built a Corvette for the commute?

The Score:

Can't wait to get a spin in the convertible version, but I will be checking the front for a plate before getting behind the wheel.

kmorgan@png.canwest.com

- - -

THE SPECS: 2005 CHEVROLET CORVETTE

Trim levels: Coupe and convertible.

Sticker price: $67,395 - $79,495.

Power: 6.0-litre, 400-h.p. LS2 V8.

Transmission: Hydra-Matic 4L65-E four-speed automatic.

Tremec T56 six-speed manual.

Fuel consumption (Manual): 13.2/7.6 L/100 km (city/highway).

Basic warranty: Three years, 60,000 km.

Powertrain warranty: Three years, 60,000 km.

On the web: gmcanada.com

The Province: www.driving.ca

B.C. Automobile Association: www.bcaa.com

Eagle-eyed PC 1446 of Vancouver's Finest spotted that the test coupe was devoid of a front licence plate. Ka-ching. That's $109 for government coffers, thank you very much. Actually, it's only $84 if you cough up in 30 days. Such a deal.

 

[OLDGOAT]

Sure would be fun to cruise Stanley Park in a new C6...or Robson and Denman on a summer evening. Vancouver is my favorite city. The front plate is a must here in Oregon where I live. Tickets are pretty much assured for failure to have front plate. It's a deal breaker for me....if GM doesn't fix the present eyesore I won't be buying a C6 in '06. It is UGLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!