|
Sports Car Review:
If you're looking for, say, a mid-size luxury car, you'll find a
Cadillac CTS, BMW 5-Series, Mercedes E-Class and the Lexus ES that are
all basically the same thing. Sure, there will be differences in their
prices, performance and gizmos, but the overall driving experience is
rather predictable. Get behind the wheel of a 'Vette, though, and you'll
soon realize there's absolutely no other car like this on the planet.
It's a blue-collar SuperCar.
Its engine is like a
killer dump truck from hell. Blip the throttle, and it sounds like God
hocking a loogie. It's the raw, raucous, nasty, wonderful sound of 430
horsepower belching out the exhaust pipes, emitting one of the most
frightening melodies in the automotive world.
Combine all that power
with a featherweight body, skateboard suspension, go-kart steering and
jumbo-jet tires, and you've got a vehicle like absolutely no other on
the road.
That's the mystique of
the Corvette. You can find faster cars than this $47,000 Chevy, but they
usually cost twice as much. You can also find cars that are more
refined, and certainly more comfortable. But really, why would you want
to?
Few sports cars test
the limits of your driving skills like this one. Normally I enjoy
turning off the traction control on cars I test to see what the
limitations of the vehicle are. But when I turned off the traction
control on the Vette, I quickly realized the car's limits are far higher
than my own as a driver. In fact, I bet there are only a handful of
drivers on the planet, all of them highly paid professionals, who can
really, truly discover the limits of this great car.
That means giving a
Corvette to an ordinary driver is akin to giving a Stradivarius to a
beginning violin student. It's impossible to appreciate how much better
the tool is than the performer.
And really, it only has
one downside. This car, the Stradivarius of American sports cars, has an
interior splattered with the same plastic you'd find on a cheap Chinese
stereo in the clearance aisle at Wal-Mart.
It's a shame, really.
The soft, beautifully stitched panels on the dash are placed right next
to a center console that has the same plastic texture as a bargain-bin
trash can. It's kinda disgusting.
To prove my point: When
you're at the Chevy dealer, sit inside the awesome new Malibu before
checking out the Corvette. Then watch the salesman squirm when you ask
him why the $47,000 'Vette doesn't have nearly as nice an interior as
the $20,000 Malibu.
Of course, you'll end
up buying the Corvette anyway because it's an automotive Icon. And you
can look over pretty much any fault when you hear the way it rumbles,
shakes and snarls from the very instant you turn the key. And from
there, it only gets better.
What was tested?
The 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible 3LT with a base price of
$60,525. Options on the test car: Magnetic selective ride control
$1,995, automatic transmission $1,250, navigation system $1,750,
polished 18-inch wheels $1,295. Total MSRP Price as tested: $66,815.
Why avoid it?
General Motors knows how to make a much, much better interior than this.
Cheap plastics in the interior are the only downside to this classic
American sports car.
Why buy it?
There's no other car like the Chevrolet Corvette, a raucous sports car
with 430 horsepower and a lightweight, fiberglass body. It's a
blue-collar SuperCar, offering exotic performance at a relatively
attainable price.
By Derek Price ©
AutoWire.Net - San Francisco
Byline: Sports Car
Review provided by Tony Leopardo © AutoWire.Net
Chevy Home Page
Column Name: Corvette
is always in a class of it’s own
Topic: The 2008
Chevrolet Corvette
Word Count: 659
Photo Caption: The 2008
Chevrolet Corvette
Photo Credits:
Chevrolet Corvette Internet Media
Series #: 2008 - 53
Download
the Microsoft Word version here:
2008 Corvette
Download the Original Image File here:
2008 Corvette
|
