Went Z06 window shopping today...

[viperdrummer]

and among other literature read Chevy's marketing overview which says the Vette's competition is the Z3, M Coupe, SLK, 911 and Boxster---so is that a compliment or is it like the Vette owners I see on the road who have lost all peripheral vision? Also , median age is 48, with household income of $125K. As for the ZO6, I have to say it is one helluva lot of car for the $49k sticker---and since it was an 01 I'm sure they would work a deal. I had to laugh, though when the salesman said nothing turns more heads than the Vette--while he's saying it all the other salesman, most of the service techs and nearly all the car shoppers are surrounding my GTS. But, all in all, I was impressed with my shopping trip--Chevy's done a nice job. tmb PS One marketing item I enjoyed was listed unde "Pyschopgraphics"---"Perceive money as a renewable resource"'----AMEN, BROTHER

 

[Scott J]

Amen! The Z06 performs better than cars costing 4 times the price (e.g. 550 Maranello). Check out the latest issue of Car and Driver and see how the Z06 came out ahead of the Porsche 911 Turbo in almost every performance category. I wouldn't trade my Viper for one, but I'd still throw one next to the Viper in the garage for the right price.

 

[Venom Lover]

I had one next to my Viper in the garage for a while. Frankly, I started getting bored with it, and after ruthless taunting by Joe Anderson and SoCal Rebell, I decided to sell it.

Also, GM appears to have pulled a major fast one on all Z06 owners. I dumped mine when the '02s were close to coming out, because I predicted what was going to happen to resale value. Well, after all the hype about the '02 Z06 (modified cam, valve springs, intake, exhaust, springs, etc. etc.), sure enough the '01s have plummeted in value (I hear they are now going for $43K new -- thank God I sold for $42K used just in time!).

But, it turns out that the much touted performance improvements are more fiction than fact. The '01s dyno'd in the 335-345 rwhp range (translating to 395-405 fwhp, 10-20 above Chevy's claim of 385). Now I see dyno results for the '02s in the 335-350 rwhp range. This means Chevy seriously overstated performance in '01, then made a bunch of mods, which apparently did very little for performance, but as usual, their tactic to sell new cars has paid off and the value of the '01s have crashed.

I have a friend in Atlanta who traded his '01 for an '02 and is not pleased with how things are working out (i.e., '02 not living up to expectations).

I'm saving my pennies for the '03 Viper.

 

[Performin Norman]

My ZO6 does get a lot of attention. Nothing compared to my Viper. It is a wonderful daily driver and has a great balance of power. Here is a shot of them sitting together, just for fun.

You must be registered for see images

 

[Afy]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Performin Norman:
My ZO6 does get a lot of attention. Nothing compared to my Viper. It is a wonderful daily driver and has a great balance of power. Here is a shot of them sitting together, just for fun.

You must be registered for see images

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I am jealous..

Those are beautiful cars, and really compliment each other well...

 

[Venom Lover]

Darth,
Perhaps my comments were a little harsh. I did enjoy driving the Z06 daily, and for as comfortable as it is, I love how well it handled at the track. The brakes are great on the street, but at they track they leave a lot to be desired.

That being said, I do think GM managed to screw over both '01 and '02 owners with what they did with the '02. Perhaps I should reserve judgement, and once they're broken in more '02s will be putting down some better dyno numbers. But as of right now, it looks like some '02s are barely struggling to meet Chevy's claim of 405 bhp, which would require 344 rwhp. Witness Jim Hall's now famous 337 rwhp pull (stock) on his test '02.

Maybe I am biased by the fact that I am buying an '03 Viper and needed to cash out on the Z06 eventually, and while I would've liked to hold onto it for another year, the business with the '02 forced me to sell this summer. Believe me, I was tempted to send my car to John Hennessey, but I chose not to for various reasons, including voiding the warranty and the effect on resale.

Anyway, if money and GM's sales tactics weren't an issue, the Z06 was a fine car, and clearly a decent value for the performance it delivers.

 

[Jim Hodel]

I'm another one of those Viper owners (99 GTS) who also bought a Z06. We use the Z06 more for daily driving, and the Viper for fun. The Vipers slowly getting modified for track use, but we'll keep the Z06 stock. Whichever car I'm driving at the time is the one I like 'best'.

The Viper gets 10 or 20 times the attention the Z06 does. Here's another Viper/Vette photo.

You must be registered for see images

Jim

 

[Scott J]

I learned long ago that you can't please every one and there is no shortage of critics around. I like the Viper and the Z06 and despite some of the knocks on the Z06, it is worth double its price. The Viper is worth more than its price too!

There seems to be no perfect car, but considering what the Germans are charging for the so-called "name value" of their cars and what the Japanese are charging for their onslaught of ugly cars, the folks at GM should be applauded for putting a reputable American nameplate on the road.

 

[FikseGTS]

I've also been looking at some new vettes... seems like all of them have this nasty looking body side molding option....

is this easily removed?


Brooks

 

[Mike Brunton]

I believe Kerbeck is selling '01 Z06's for $7,000 below sticker, which brings the price down to the very low 40's. Not a bad deal at all... not much more expensive than a coupe!

As for the '02's, the HP and TQ numbers are not the same, however I have heard that the valvetrain is significantly lighter, and the motor revs a lot quicker. This is a change that would not show on the dyno, only on the track. Of course, a Z06 is no match for a Viper on the track

, but we'll see how the new models stack up.

P.S. Darth... how's the idle on your car? I don't mean to be a wisea$$, but I heard you had a LOT of problems getting that car to run right - true?

 

[FikseGTS]

can you give me more info on "Kerbeck" who may be discounting the 01 z06's 7k?

website, phone, location, etc....

thanks!


Brooks

 

[Mike Brunton]

Fiske,

Kerbeck Corvette... I believe they are in Atlanta. Their website is www.kerbeck.com, I beleive. If that isn't it, do a web search for "Kerbeck AND Corvette" and you will find it. They are the largest dealer. I *might* have the dealership confused with another, Maxie Price (yeah, that is the real name). If it wasn't Kerbeck, it was Maxie Price (do a web search on Maxie Price and Corvette, or ask on the Corvetteforum). It's probably academic, because I've heard from the folks I know that all the '01's are gone now. You can probably get a good deal on a slightly used one.


Darth,

I'm sure you know that the Northeast has some of the faster cars - like my Viper that has now run the 11's 6 times, with a best of 11.76. Also a turbo Z06, and quite a few others. Anyways, what *I* heard was that your car was suffering computer problems as delivered from the tuner, and it took a lot of back-and-forth to get it working right. I heard the tuner had cranked up the idle to get the car to run right, because at any reasonable idle, it was stalling and hard to drive. I also heard that the reason this didn't come out was because you were trying to work it out with the tuner and dragging it out in public would cause the tuner to say "bye bye".

Now, as I said, this is what I *heard*, and may be completely wrong. Or it might be someone else that people were telling me about, but you wouldn't be the first person to have a lot of computer problems from this place (judging by the line of Vipers that was at Lingenfelter to get their computers "fixed").

Talk about opening up a can of worms, huh?