What do the Forum members think of the Z06

[rsilverman]

GT vs. Z06

Well, the GT was a 'rebirth' of sorts, based on a car that was essentially extinct. The Z06 is more just an evolution of a present model, as the Blue Devil will be.
Regarding the unfortunate mark ups, I agree with you - Chevrolet will likely allow it's dealers to do as they please.

 

[Johnny Speed]

The 2004 Z16-optioned Z06 ran the 'Ring in sub 8 seconds. Only a handful of production cars of any marque or price have accomplished this feat. The technology in C5 and C6 Corvettes are among the world's best as it gets incrementally better every year.

Limited production, full carbon fiber bodied "Super Corvettes" (>$100,000) based on today's C6Rs (as it continues to best the Astons, Porsches, and Ferraris in the LeMans Series) are just around the corner, and it will borrow heavily from the C6R's appearance and performance. The current Z06 LS7 possesses many of the C5R engine components from a couple seasons ago.

The only reason Corvettes are a so called "dime a dozen" is due to the amortization of the Corvette's substantial annual R&D and manufacturing costs over 32K units vs. an exotic's 2-3K units, and what's wrong with that? If you see a Z06 in your GT mirrors, you shouldn't take it lightly...

 

[dbk]

The 2004 Z16-optioned Z06 ran the 'Ring in sub 8 seconds.

That's one fast ass car! :eek :wink

The only reason Corvettes are a so called "dime a dozen" is due to the amortization of the Corvette's substantial annual R&D and manufacturing costs over 32K units vs. an exotic's 2-3K units, and what's wrong with that?

Nothing's wrong with it, and it is cool that everyone from average joe to the uber-rich and famous owns them. But there is something to be said for rarity/exclusivity. Whether it be cars, art, a good scotch, women...

It's only natural to appreciate that which is rare and become non-plussed by the familiar. They built 37,000 C6 Corvettes last year. They haven't built nearly that many Vipers in 14 years, and it shows in the way people still react to 14 year old RT/10s. Doesn't mean the C6 isn't a great car, but it will rarely elicit the same raw emotional response.

*I should of course mention that there are factions of us who get excited by virtually every good sports car, because we're mentally ill*

 

[FORDGT001]

Didn't Ford do a similar type of scenario with the GT?

Dave

Ford wasn't losing 12 Billion a year like GM is when it decided to build the GT, In fact when the GT went into production ford was Profitable.

 

[Johnny Speed]

Rarity and exclusivity has as much to do with market force economics and elitism as it does performance. Rarity or exclusivity does not necessarily translate into performance. Read any current car mag's comparison of the Z06 and Viper and the Z06 is clearly, the across-the-board hands down winner. Less money, more units built. Chrysler better get busy. Also, the Z06 elicit's a lot of emotional response, especially from the driver's seat, which IMHO is where it matters.

 

[californiacuda]

In few months we will be talking about the new Shelby Mustang and comparing it to the Gt and the z06. I hope that after that there will something new and exciting from the big 3 for us to pontificate about.

If not, we may need to look to the east or across the pond for fun.

 

[todd]

I got the new 07 shelby cut sheet at the dealer last week it is a good looking car with 475 hp.

 

[SuperB]

Everyone knows my opinion of Corvettes, and if you don't, here it is.

GM makes crappy cars, and the dealers wont fix them. Dealers treat you like shit and until you PROVE, beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a REAL problem, they ignore you.

On the other hand, some people don't have trouble and love GM stuff, so, what do I know.

 

[dbk]

Rarity or exclusivity does not necessarily translate into performance.

Believe me I'm not saying it does. It's clear the Z06 will mop the SRT-10 up at the track right now and is in within millimeters of the GT. I'm sure it'd make easy work of an F430 and current 911 TT's too. I'm just saying when choosing amongst ridiculously fast toys there's nothing wrong or snobbish about wanting something a little more rare or exotic. A Ducati may get waxed in a straight line by any number of pretty good looking, cheaper, Japanese liter bikes, but it'd sure be a shame if there wasn't a market that said "so what?" :cheers

 

[rsilverman]

Z06

I still think that we've strayed a bit.
Bottom line: Z06 great numbers, OK looks and minimal exclusivity.
Anyone can take a Mazda and HKS it up the wazoo and get the numbers, but people who buy GT's, Ferrari... are equally interested in the rarity as the numbers. Numbers are only part of the story. I guess I missed the crowds admiring the C6.

 

[Fast Freddy]

the GT is the car to have. it looks way better than a C6 Z06 vette. the GT can be modified to smoke the crap out of a C6 Z06 vette too. they are only going to make 4,000 GT's. GT's are very rare and corvettes are a dime a dozen. GT's will hold their resale value way better than vette ever will. and 30 years from now when you take your GT to barrett-jackson the GT will bring way more $$$$$$ than the C6 Z06 ever will. even though the GT costs 2X more than the C6 Z06 does when purchased new......... 30 years from now at barrett-jackson i bet the difference in price swells to at least 4X more.

the vette is a very good daily driver street car though and that is what i use mine for. also the vette is a very good car on a short track road course or a track like nurburgring that has lots of turns and changes in elevation. its tough to beat a car that weighs 400 lbs less than the GT, but on long track road course with lots of straights like lemans the GT owns.

neither one of these cars are in their element on a drag strip in my opinion as they have manual transmissions and independent rear ends. i will take a fully modified camaro drag car that does wheelies out of the hole and runs 8's for that endeavor. when it comes to drag racing i want an automatic transmission and a solid axle rear end and so does the the nhra tech dept.

now if we can just get a roll cage installed in a GT or somebody to make a 4 point roll bar then we could pass tech with a GT and go road racing. as of this writing nobody as of yet has installed a roll bar in a GT or even the new C6 Z06. this is a major problem in my opinion. if you want to do any serious racing in either one of these cars it is required by the racing organizations. not sure what the hold up here is with the R&D on this front but its time that this needs to be addressed

 

[rsilverman]

Z06

I guess if we go back to the original thread: This isn't meant to be a comparison, then I'll have to say that for the money, the Z06 is the 'bomb' and is a great performer.
Blue Devil? I can't believe that GM will go crazy developing this car with their present financial state. If and when it arrives, we can discuss it's merits and detractions.

 

[BlackICE]

I can't believe that GM will go crazy developing this car with their present financial state. If and when it arrives, we can discuss it's merits and detractions.

Yes, indeed. I don't see Mr. York letting Wagner build a blue devil. GM has to fix the company and the Blue Devil won't do it. Look at Toyota, they don't have any cars I lust for. You buy them for utility. Toyota will be the mkt share leader soon and have been the profit leader for some time. They don't even have a sports car!

I give Wagner less than 6 months before he is gone. New mgt no blue devil.

BlackICE

 

[bondmid003]

the GT is the car to have. it looks way better than a C6 Z06 vette. the GT can be modified to smoke the crap out of a C6 Z06 vette too. they are only going to make 4,000 GT's. GT's are very rare and corvettes are a dime a dozen. GT's will hold their resale value way better than vette ever will. and 30 years from now when you take your GT to barrett-jackson the GT will bring way more $$$$$$ than the C6 Z06 ever will. even though the GT costs 2X more than the C6 Z06 does when purchased new......... 30 years from now at barrett-jackson i bet the difference in price swells to at least 4X more.

the vette is a very good daily driver street car though and that is what i use mine for. also the vette is a very good car on a short track road course or a track like nurburgring that has lots of turns and changes in elevation. its tough to beat a car that weighs 400 lbs less than the GT, but on long track road course with lots of straights like lemans the GT owns.

neither one of these cars are in their element on a drag strip in my opinion as they have manual transmissions and independent rear ends. i will take a fully modified camaro drag car that does wheelies out of the hole and runs 8's for that endeavor. when it comes to drag racing i want an automatic transmission and a solid axle rear end and so does the the nhra tech dept.

now if we can just get a roll cage installed in a GT or somebody to make a 4 point roll bar then we could pass tech with a GT and go road racing. as of this writing nobody as of yet has installed a roll bar in a GT or even the new C6 Z06. this is a major problem in my opinion. if you want to do any serious racing in either one of these cars it is required by the racing organizations. not sure what the hold up here is with the R&D on this front but its time that this needs to be addressed

dear Lord does a snobbish attitude come with every GT? Z's are a dime a dozen and belong in the rain??? Seriously some of the snobby attitudes on this forum make the folks over at rennteam.com look like rednecks. On a serious note respect the car for what it is because you won't find an ounce of negativity concerning the GT over at corvetteforum.com That said any GT owners in the Quantico VA area that want to go motoring with a me and my dime a dozen 06 Z, send a PM.

 

[dbk]

dear Lord does a snobbish attitude come with every GT? Z's are a dime a dozen and belong in the rain??? Seriously some of the snobby attitudes on this forum make the folks over at rennteam.com look like rednecks. On a serious note respect the car for what it is because you won't find an ounce of negativity concerning the GT over at corvetteforum.com That said any GT owners in the Quantico VA area that want to go motoring with a me and my dime a dozen 06 Z, send a PM.

Fast Freddy doesn't own a GT so you'll have to ask him about his opinion.

The bottom line is the Z06 in all its iterations is a great car. Like I've said before, world class performance. But having an opinion that something is a dime a dozen because it is, at least if you are being objective, is NOT snobby or negative. I have an Electron Blue C5 Z06. There are literally millions of Corvettes now. There were 37,372 C6's built in 2005. To some people that matters, to some it doesn't. Just like some Ferrari owners will want a Ferrari instead of a GT simply because it's a Ford. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[bondmid003]

Fast Freddy doesn't own a GT so you'll have to ask him about his opinion.

The bottom line is the Z06 in all its iterations is a great car. Like I've said before, world class performance. But having an opinion that something is a dime a dozen because it is, at least if you are being objective, is NOT snobby or negative. I have an Electron Blue C5 Z06. There are literally millions of Corvettes now. There were 37,372 C6's built in 2005. To some people that matters, to some it doesn't. Just like some Ferrari owners will want a Ferrari instead of a GT simply because it's a Ford. Nothing wrong with that.

There were 37K C6s built in 05 but only <5K in 06 will be Z's I agree that the Z is not 'exotic' but dime a dozen doesn't seem a correct label for a supercar and neither does comparing it to a suped up ricer.

 

[rsilverman]

Z06

I agree with DBK. It's all relative. It does sound a little elitest, but I think people with GT's are just justifying their purchases. Again, I don't think you can make a real comparison between the GT and Z06, and I find it hard to believe that the person who's considering a GT would also consider the Z06.
The person considering the GT will look at the Ferrari, Lambo's and maybe a Porsche TT and +/- an Aston.
We're not snobs, just love our cars and will defend our purchase to our last breath, (euphemistically, of course). I like the Z06 too, though.
Rob

 

[SuperB]

But if all you want are the numbers, you can buy one of those rice rockets the kids drive and put some upgrades on it.

Or, put a bus engine in old clunker (what movie was that from?)

Even with a Z06 you're looking exclusivivity to some degree.

 

[bondmid003]

I agree with DBK. It's all relative. It does sound a little elitest, but I think people with GT's are just justifying their purchases. Again, I don't think you can make a real comparison between the GT and Z06, and I find it hard to believe that the person who's considering a GT would also consider the Z06.
The person considering the GT will look at the Ferrari, Lambo's and maybe a Porsche TT and +/- an Aston.
We're not snobs, just love our cars and will defend our purchase to our last breath, (euphemistically, of course). I like the Z06 too, though.
Rob

But why bash someone else's choice? I love the GT but the prices are just astronomical with all the dealer gouging still. I'm sorry but no car is worth 60K and up OVER sticker. The GT is amazing but it ain't the Enzo.

 

[dbk]

There were 37K C6s built in 05 but only <5K in 06 will be Z's I agree that the Z is not 'exotic' but dime a dozen doesn't seem a correct label for a supercar and neither does comparing it to a suped up ricer.

I know the Z is a small percentage of the total build (even smaller than intended apparently), but the deal breaker for me on C6 Z was all the Dave Hill talk about "grandma being able to tell the difference". Well Grandma better be a pretty big car nut :lol But then again, my mom thinks the GT looks just like the Vette, so who knows.

I agree dime-a-dozen seems harsh, but there's really no other term for it. And there's definitely nothing wrong with a dime-a-dozen supercar. I'd argue it's part of the allure :cheers