News: Valet crashes Corvette during joy ride

[Rob]

Valet crashes Corvette during joy ride

Related Video: http://vettetube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=70acaceed13bc82dfedf

VAN NUYS, CA (KABC) -- A valet at a Van Nuys Chevrolet dealership crashed a high performance Z06 Corvette Friday night.

The driver apparently went for a joy ride in the vehicle. He crashed into several parked cars on Oxnard Street near Van Nuys Boulevard around 9:30 p.m., but walked away from the wreckage unharmed.

The accident happened just a short distance from Rydell Chevrolet, according to Los Angeles police.

The driver declined being taken to a hospital despite some minor injuries.

(Copyright ©2008 KABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

 

[jrose7004]

Perhaps Rydell Chevrolet will have new ownership soon!

 

[Vette_Dreaming]

Was it someone's personal car or was it still owned by the dealership? If it was someone's personal car, I would have to agreed with jrose7004. If it was still owned by the dealship the owners of the parked cars that he hit are going to have something to say about the financial situation for the dealership.

 

[Scottsredvette]

Kinda goes along with an argument I've been having with some of our local club members out here. I personally think that Chevy should include a driving school as part of the package for either the Z06 or the new ZR1. This just strikes me as too much car/power for someone that has never experienced a true performance vehicle before. I'll lay you odds that the driver punched it not knowing what he was unleashing.

Scott

 

[minifridge1138]

I semi-agree. I think it would be awesome if Chevrolet offered driving school to Corvette buyers. But I do not think it should be required.

I don't remember the details, but there was a Ford SVT Mustang that the dealers would only sell to drivers that could prove they were an experienced race car driver.

 

[carter200]

I'll lay you odds that the driver punched it not knowing what he was unleashing.

Scott

Yep, one big can of Whoop Azz

 

[Patrick]

Kinda goes along with an argument I've been having with some of our local club members out here. I personally think that Chevy should include a driving school as part of the package for either the Z06 or the new ZR1. This just strikes me as too much car/power for someone that has never experienced a true performance vehicle before. I'll lay you odds that the driver punched it not knowing what he was unleashing.

Scott

Has there been an argument about this, Scott? I'm not sure I've heard anyone who's disagreed with you about this. This strikes me as a missed marketing opportunity for Chevy to build a relationship with a performance driving school like Spring Mountain.

As to the specifics of this joyride incident, even if Chevrolet had such a driving school requirement for new owners before taking possession of a Z06 or ZR-1 program in place, would such a requirement extend to the lot staff who routinely move vehicles around a dealership lot? I'm guessing probably not. Ultimately, I think it becomes the dealership's responsibility to oversee employees in situations like this, and what we have here is a clever lot person who found some holes in the dealership's security provisions.

-Patrick

 

[Scottsredvette]

Has there been an argument about this, Scott? I'm not sure I've heard anyone who's disagreed with you about this.
-Patrick

Ahhh, one of the last events I attended turned into a discussion on the so called "Viper Syndrome" and I made the mistake of saying that I personally wasn't ready for a car with that kinda power without some serious training and that a lot of other people wouldn't know how to handle one either. Man, talk about opening a can of worms,,,,, we do have a few people that can drive anything on the road, they don't need any sort of training to handle a performance vehicle.

And, my last real experience in road racing was in the late 60's early 70's driving in SCCA H production with a 62 horsepower MG Midget. If I could afford it, I'd like to learn how to "drive" my 240 hp 89 Vert with a real instructor!

 

[XLR8]

..... I'll lay you odds that the driver punched it not knowing what he was unleashing.

Scott

Yep, one big can of Whoop Azz

My sentiments EXACTLY. :bash

 

[rrosen]

And, my last real experience in road racing was in the late 60's early 70's driving in SCCA H production with a 62 horsepower MG Midget. If I could afford it, I'd like to learn how to "drive" my 240 hp 89 Vert with a real instructor!

Well mine was in SCCA G production so obviously I could deal with more power.

Seriously, that background puts you ahead of probably 90% of the Corvette drivers. I took my C4 to an event at Summit Point and I had a big jump on the others in terms of knowing what to do and how to do it. Could I drive the vette at its limit. Not without more seat time at the track. But all those old skills came back pretty quickly.

 

[Dad]

90%, wow, got a reason you think there are that few Corvette drivers that probably can't handle what they drive? Or was that just a SWAG because of your driving ability being exceptional?

It might be interesting to see a poll on how many CAC members have actually competed in sanctioned race events. Of course that would only give a percent of CAC drivers, not all Corvette drivers.

 

[rrosen]

90%, wow, got a reason you think there are that few Corvette drivers that probably can't handle what they drive? Or was that just a SWAG because of your driving ability being exceptional?

It might be interesting to see a poll on how many CAC members have actually competed in sanctioned race events. Of course that would only give a percent of CAC drivers, not all Corvette drivers.

Well it was a SWAG but not totally. Given the number of Corvettes sold versus the number actually driven in anger reduces the percentage significantly. Then the difference between people who think they know how to drive fast versus those who do drops it even more. When I taught at SCCA race driving schools, it was always interesting to see the folks come in at the beginning of the day with the "I know how to do this -- just here to get the license" attitude and by the end of the day they realize how little they know (Hey, I was one of those too when I went to driver's school after years of autocrossing).

So while I don't know if 90% is the right number, it's probably not too far off I would guess.

And as for the poll, you identified the problem. I suspect CAC members are not a good representative sample of the total Corvette driving population.

PS: While I like to think I'm in that 10%, I know within that 10% I'm nowhere near the top. If you've ever driven with a good pro racer you realize how much better they are then you'll probably ever be.

 

[Evolution1980]

It might be interesting to see a poll on how many CAC members have actually competed in sanctioned race events. Of course that would only give a percent of CAC drivers, not all Corvette drivers.

While I haven't in all honesty participated in any sanctioned races other than racing at the dragstrip, my father is (was) a licensed SCCA driving instructor. He and my grandfather raced showroom stock and a couple other classes in the NEOhio region (Mid-Ohio, Nelson Ledges, et al). So while I don't have actual 'sanctioned' seat time, I had a solid upbringing and a racing instructor & car builder riding shotgun with me for many years.

Where do I fall in the list of 'qualified drivers'??

 

[59-62USNVET]

Crash/Accident?

Looks like the result of a demo derby loser.
I don't drive the the car to its full potential because I can't handle it. I've had my head bashed a few times against the upper window area when I felt a little daring. But I normally just cruise and enjoy the feeling of just carrying the BIG GUN!!! My wife is afraid to drive it and wont let me get on it with her in the car. I loaned it out to my son in law for a few hundred mile trip from Jersey to Long Island. He did bring it back with no scratches and cleaner than when he got it. God only knows how he drove it!!!
59-62USNVET

 

[Vette2k7]

I semi-agree. I think it would be awesome if Chevrolet offered driving school to Corvette buyers. But I do not think it should be required.

I don't remember the details, but there was a Ford SVT Mustang that the dealers would only sell to drivers that could prove they were an experienced race car driver.

It was the 2000 Cobra R. You had to have some sort of professional race car license to even purchase it. The car was sold brand new WITHOUT a warrantee!

 

[minifridge1138]

The 2000 Cobra R came new without a lot of things: Air Conditioning, Back seat, CD Player, Radio.... The 5.4L V7 they put in there was such a tight fit they couldn't fit the AC parts. The decided without that, there was no point in putting anything in the car that didn't add to speed.

Car and Driver did a comparison in 2000: Cobra R, Viper, Z06.
I think the Viper had the best acceleration (it does have 2 extra cylinders), the Cobra R had the best sounding exhaust note, but the Z06 was the best handling. Overall, they decided the Z06 was the better car because it was the most comfortable to drive and a the cheapest.

 

[rrosen]

Cobra R

My recollection is the Cobra R was basically a race car sold for racers to compete with in a couple of series. Hence the requirement for the racing license. Might not have even been street legal (can't remember).

 

[Vette2k7]

My recollection is the Cobra R was basically a race car sold for racers to compete with in a couple of series. Hence the requirement for the racing license. Might not have even been street legal (can't remember).

It was street legal, however the funny thing was that when the 03 Cobra came out, it was actually faster for 20k less and a warrantee! A local dealer had one on their showroom floor for over 4 years and sold it for sticker (54K) Rumor has it that the owner turned down an offer of more than 100k when it was new.

 

[minifridge1138]

I'm pretty sure that all cobras after 02 came with a computer governor that shuts off fuel at 150 mph. They were having problems with the cars flipping at speeds higher than that.

 

[Vette2k7]

I'm pretty sure that all cobras after 02 came with a computer governor that shuts off fuel at 150 mph. They were having problems with the cars flipping at speeds higher than that.

Thats true, but it was actually 155. Flip overs was not the real reason, it was the tire ratings. My 01 Cobra shut off at 155.