Why do so many Corvette drivers drive so slowly? (1 Viewer)

[Jimi C]

You didnt follow the SUV you followed some idiot driving one. If you put that person in a vette they would have driven just as poorly.

 

[Zen Butler]

Yup, although I love the new Corvette ZO6.

I've driven just about everything and the BMW 745i is without a doubt, near the top.

 

[Charles J P]

As far as why 'vette drivers drive slow, it depends upon the circumstance you're referring to. In town, I would guess its because there are probably a lot of manual 'vettes. While no speed demon of a car, I can tell you that I drove more "conservitively in my 5spd Mazda Protege because I got tired of dickiing around with the clutch etc. Whats the point in taking off from a stop right on the guy in front of you's bumper when you know you are going to have to upshift if you take off too fast then downshift again, etc. I followed people less closely and drove "slower" in a stick than I do in my current vehicle, a Dodge Ram.

 

[Zen Butler]

I'd say the new Z06 could outhandle even the Z3. (many factors) Although, overall I'd select the BMW for various reasons.



EDITED: to mop up my embarrassing post

 

[Jay Taylor]

Thanks for the input guys. In no way did I start this thread to slam the Corvette but rather out of curiosity as to why my dream car was frequently seen with a line of vehicles stuck behind it. Owning a Corvette has always been a dream of mine and most of my friends but things like a house payment always took priority. Being a teenager when The Beach Boys were popular added to the dream to own a Corvette.

I remember touring the Air Force Academy in the early 70s and virtually every car in the student parking lot was a Corvette. I believe the senior cadets had a special deal with GM to purchase the cars.

As for the reputation of American cars only performing well in a straight line I agree with CharlesD:

 

[Christ Reynolds]

i would hope it could outhandle the 745. the vette is a sportscar, but the 745 is a huge sedan. while i think the 745 is a great car for many reasons, the vette should have no problems outhandling it. the z06 vette is one american car that i can respect for the stats it has. i just wish that chevy could make the interior look a little nicer. the interior looks not too much better than your standard alero. of course it is a little sportier because it has to be (coupe styling, low to the ground), but the general look is the same. i think german made cars usually have the nicest interiors. even my mom's 2000 jetta has a great looking interior, and the car only cost $18k or so.

CJ

 

[Zen Butler]

You think I would have read my own post?
I was speaking in general of the 745i being a favorite in a previous post.

The handling comparison was in regards to the Z3. OOPS :b

 

[MarkHastings]

I say this in every BMW thread, that you get every single penny's worth with that car. In fact, I often think that I got away "cheap" considering the price you pay and the car you get.

BMW is definitely getting "ripped-off" for what they charge

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Actually I should have left BMW out of that statement, but felt that having once posted it I would be chickenshit to go back and edit them out. They still rate near the top of all the JD Power surveys, and their entry level models are still being built to the same quality standards as their high enders.

I think perhaps they are a bit expensive to maintain and repair after the free maintenance and warranty run out, however. My boss has not had the best luck with her 3 series (admittedly a sample of 1) and is desperate to get rid of it now that the warranty is out. Uncharacteristically she's gotten pretty lousy service from our local BMW dealer.

She's the service mgr at the Toyota dealership where I work and some of the stuff they've done to her car would have gotten the person responsible fired instantly at our store.

My apologies to all and sundry for my offensive remarks regarding BMW.





I don't think the same could be said of the new crop of entry level Mercedes and their comparitive plunge in JD Power and the CR frequency of repair charts reflects this.
Maybe they had some bad influence from Chrysler?


As for the "affordable" Europeans like Fiat, Renault, Citroen, Peugeot, they probably are quite good these days but we Americans have long memories and can't forget the problems they had in the 70s and 80s mainly due to their failure to adapt to our market as effectively as the Japanese did.

It should be remembered that when the oil crisis of the 70s hit, the American companies weren't geared to building profitable small cars and their efforts were crap compared to the Japanese, who already knew how to build good small cars and make money off them. The Fiats and such of the time were superior to the Japanese cars in handling, braking, everything to do with driving dynamics but suffered greatly compared to the Japanese as far as reliability. By the late 70s, early 80s, most of the European makes were gone from our market largely due to this poor reliability and our long memories are keeping them out.

Sorta analogous to the way GM ruined the market for Diesel powered autos in the US--introduced a V8 diesel based on an Olds gas engine, engines grenaded, average American equated diesel cars with grenaded engines, rightly or wrongly all diesel car makers suffered. To this day only the cognoscenti will even look at a VW tdi.

I pick up a Brit car magazine in Borders every once in a while and really salivate over some of the neat cars we just ain't gonna see over here. Renault is re-entering via providing the platform (but not the mechanicals) for the next generation Nissan Sentra, would be interesting to see if any other Euro mfgs sneak back in the same way.

 

[Tim Markley]

My whole point in my previous posts is that you can't lump a Corvette in with all of the other American cars. A Corvette is a sportscar and one of the best handling cars made. To say that it's only good in a straight line is ridiculous. I'm not a big supporter of American cars, I just love Corvettes. That's why I drive one. I also like (and used to own) BMW and Audi. I like cars. I don't really care who makes them if they give me the power and handling that I'm looking for.

 

[Ryan Tsang]

In response to the OP, my first instinct is to say that the Vette has nothing to prove. It doesn't need to go fast.
The owner is happily cruising.

However.... Vette owners, or any owner of high-performance cars for that matter, has no right to own such a machine if the cars were not "spanked" every once in a while. These cars should be driven, flexed, and exercised but not abused. How else can you appreciate fully these fine automobiles? It's like a first time golfer buying a $500 driver to play three rounds year.

 

[Matt Gordon]

Last time I drove a Vette, I didn't "spank" the car; it "spanked" me!
(I'll never forget going 85 MPH in my work's parking lot. It cannot, by the way, be conclusively proven that had anything to do with me not working there anymore!)

I agree with Ryan's "nothing to prove" comment. I think I'd get a little tired of some teenie-weenie in a Civic, minivan, or whatever, wanting to "play" every third or fourth stoplight.

 

[Jay H]

Heck I pulled away on a black C5 vette this morning on my bicycle... Ohhhh, I feel fast.

Of course, the vette was sitting at a light and I was approaching it knowing that the light would turn green just as I got there... I smoked his *ss for the first 30ft..

Jay

 

[Keith M.]

JayH: hehehe!!

RyanTsang:
"However.... Vette owners, or any owner of high-performance cars for that matter, has no right to own such a machine if the cars were not "spanked" every once in a while. These cars should be driven, flexed, and exercised but not abused."

As the owner of a Z06, I agree. But there is definetly a time and a place to drive it like you stole it. And local traffic is not one of them. If you can make out the license plate of a z06 vette, then you are either stuck in traffic or in another z06 vette!

Trust me, its very frustrating as a vette driver to be stuck in traffic or worse behind a brake happy minivan/suv on a one lane hwy, or coasting behind 2 people shadowing each other on a two lane hwy w/ no way to pass (safely)! Openroads are the dream of any sportscar owner.

Minivan/SUV traffic SUX!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MarkHastings]

People have to learn that the S in SUV stands for "Sport" - not "Sportscar"

 

[Eric Kahn]

I'm 6'6" and owned an 84 vette, took the drivers seat out and sat on the floor with a pad and a home-made steel seatback
the C5 vettes have much more room in them and I can not wait until I can afford a C5 vette (in 5 more years or so)
untill then, I will keep driving my turbo diesel Passat
as to why they drive so slow, since you already stick out like a sore thumb to the local revenue enhancement officers, you have to drive slow so they don't have an excuse to pull you over

 

[Steve Schaffer]

There are any number of high performance cars that are truly frustrating to drive on a day to day basis on ordinary roads and freeways because there are so few opportunities to exploit their capabilities safely and without getting sentenced to life imprisonment for traffic violations.

We had a customer (an opthalmologist) who owned a nicely modded twin-turbo Supra which I had the opportunity to test drive. While this car was perfectly tractable in town driving my one brief chance to nail the throttle revealed that I'd go crazy driving the thing day to day and not being able to let it out.

I guess owners of these cars probably just putter around during the week in anticipation of a weekend romp, not bothering to disturb the other fish in the school in daily traffic.

I'm not that patient, so would probably not be happy with one of these cars. If I had to have a sports car it'd probably be more along the lines of a basic Miata or Toyota MR-2 Spyder--cars whose potential, though significantly lower than that of the supercars would nevertheless be usable on a daily basis.

Sometimes good handling, braking, and a slick shift in a smallish car with a 0-60 time of 8 seconds or so can be more fun for daily driving than a beast that'll do 0-60 in 4 seconds but can only be let out of the cage on weekends.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

And some times driving a mid-size steel tank with a 0-60 time of roughly 24 seconds or so that starts shakingly violently about 55 and starts dropping parts if you hit a pothole for a quarter-mile afterwards can be it's own fun experience.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

nice, sometimes driving an 84 jetta with a 0-60 time of ∞ tends to put things in perspective, everything seems fast now.

CJ

 

[Scott L]

Ahh was able to restore this POS Maxtor, here's the goody I wanted to link up:

http://s92257917.onlinehome.us/cars/vette2.WMV