habu

Rob,
Glad to hear you're OK. We've met briefly on a couple of the cruises... Irwindale w/Socal stangs... Sorry to hear about the car though. I've always liked your car and yours was one of the first whippled Mustangs I saw up close & personal. Man what a shame. Hope you stay with the Stangs.

Mackitraz

What are the crash test ratings on a C5 vette?

I don't know, with all the tank-dwarfing SUV's on the market, being in a smaller car scares me these days. Good that your stang held up when you needed it to. That kind of weather makes me wish someone did a "bad-weather de-tune" tune. Bring the numbers down for snow and whatever.

Glad you and your friend are safe. Hope the insurance pays without hassles!

Torched05stang

Sorry to hear about your stang............
Vettes........ my opinion.. ................. I bleed FORD BLUE

Good luck with your search.

Billybix76

Justin at VMPtuning.com does an agressive mileage tune that will do wonders for winter driving. very smooth takeoff and holds the horses, the only issue is you will hate driving with it because it holds so much back. Good "snow tune".

Burke0011

DO IT man - just to be sure

I ended up with a lower back problem that most likely resulted from an accident I was in (with no seat belt) back when I was like 16.

Always good to be be sure

lodom

Sorry to hear about your accident, but glad you and your friend are ok.

Before you decide, I'd call your insurance company and give them a VIN off a Vette you're looking at. Given your age, you might be suprised at the insurance. I don't know about a Z06, but a regular C5 is about the same as a GT Mustang. This may be suprising, but it has to do with claims experience. There are so many Mustangs on the road compared to vettes which are involved in proportinately more accidents. Vettes are likely driven as a second car, and by a more mature and experienced driver.

The Corvette has good crash test ratings too. The older C4's were more expensive to insure than the C5's because they were harder to repair and the insurance was higher from what I've heard. The C5/6 has bolt on quarter panels rather than a solid rear clip. Some of the 6 speed cars even get close to 30 mpg on the highway.

They're great cars, but I think the seats suck compared to a Mustang's. I wouldn't worry about image. The Mustang and Corvette both have dedicated following. I love both cars and the decision to drive either one, should be based on a thorough test drive, investigation of the ownership costs, and the pros and cons of owning either of them. I recommend also doing further research on the corvetteforum.com.

Silverback

Glad you made it out OK. This is the most important part.

Get a Mustang. Try to find a GT500 at/around list OR grab a GT and go mod crazy.

Have fun!

Keystone

Hey, sorry to hear about your car, that's tough. Good thing there were no injuries.

I've driven a C5 and C5 Z06. I loved the performance but couldn't get over the looks. I think they've fixed some styling issues with the C6. Personally I'd rather have a 2 seater but a GT40 is way, way out of my price range. If I was in your situation I'd be tempted to look at a Vette too, especially seeing how my financial situation is better now than 3 years ago when I bought the Stang.

BrianB

Hold out until '09 and get the glassback. Looks sharp, although, you can't put stripes on.

mrkabc

Glad to hear you are ok Rob!! Too bad about your pony, that really sucks.

Unless you have gray chest hair and like wearing gold chains I'd steer clear of the Vette.

Have you thought about getting an F150 and giving it the Lightning treatment with your salvaged Whipple? If I was in your shoes that is something I'd consider.

What I would do:

Plan A: GT500 (if I could find one that wasn't TOO ridiculous)
Plan B: "Lightning" enhanced F150.

I don't think I could just replace my Pony with another of the same, I'd want something a bit different. Good luck with what you decide!

Donna

Oh NOOO...I'm so sorry to hear this. I'm glad you weren't hurt and that your family wasn't with you, or worse yet without you now. Good Luck with your decision.

cme82

First of all glad to hear you got away unscathed. In the end that's what really matters.

Okay stepping into my flame suit first, but if I were to add another car to the garage right now. I'd say the new 2008 Challenger is one that has caught my eye. The SRT8 6.1L is gonna MSRP at about 38k. Okay I'm zipped up.

kevinb120

Ditto, glad to hear you're alright, **** happens. I like vettes too, but they are a bit more problematic and if you think our cars rattle, you'll think Mustangs are Maybachs compared to vettes. Materials quality is not as durable on C5s, although C6's are MUCH better. They are also a bit of a handful to drive, with the steamroller tires they dart around and follow grooves, making day to day usage a chore. We just had a C6 with 800 miles on it that was already squeaking and rattling, and the engine has a thump in it that makes you constantly swear its out of tune. If you get the nice wheels with F1 supercar runflats, expect frequent replacement sets at over $1600.

But they look great and they are fast, no doubt. If this is your primary/only car you use, then stay with the Stang, if you want to move up to the next notch on the food chain for cool cars, but only use it occasionally, get the Vette. Driving it daily, the thrill will wear off very quickly, and the old stang you had will feel like a VERY practical car you gave up.

Falchion

I actually test drove the Nissan 350Z before I traded in my 05 V6 Pony for my 08 GT. I had the same opinion about the Z, looks cool, but it's a lot less partical for every day use. You're lucky if you can even fit in a couple of suitcases!

I have a couple of guys that I have lunch with at work that have Vettes and they're even worse then the Mustang in the rain. At least that's according to them, I haven't driven one.

Rebel73

Well, there are a few factors that are making me lean towards getting another Stang.

1. My 4yo son who loved to ride in the back of daddy's "cool Mustang". In a Vette I could never go on a cruise with my son AND his mom. It's one or the other. That kinda sucks.

2. It's nice to be able to actually have some room for stuff in the back and in the trunk.

3. Aftermarket support is second to none.

4. Regardless of cost, the new Stangs are still amongst the best looking cars on the road. My car had no shortage of "neck-snappers".

Getting a Vette would be a purely emotional decision. I still think they are bad ***, but probably the most impractical choice I could make. I think I will stick to a Stang as my daily driver, and look into a Vette, or an AC Cobra, in the future, as a purely fun toy.

thanks everyone for your input.

lodom

If you're intrested in an AC Cobra as a toy, a superformance model is second to none in quality, unless you can afford a real one. A real head turner and a fun ride indeed I've ridden in one with about 750+ Hp and it was truly amazing. A couple of guys had them at a car dealer when Steve Saleen showed up with his car trailer signing autographs. The superformance cars were getting almost as much attention as Steve's cars were.

TacoBill

Hey Rob, sorry to hear about the accidient. Good luck in finding a replacement.

S197 V6

First off, Glad you are ok! As far as a pratical car, youd probably be surprised with the vette. My dad has a C5 that he bought brand new in 1998. He drives it everyday, rain or shine, and he even drives it in the winter snow here in PA. It does fine in all these conditions. People think vettes cant be everyday drivers, but they can and they do fine. Hes had little to no problems at all with his. The only problem I know of would be with his radio lights fading but the dealer fixed that last year, otherwise its been fine. Personally Id say test drive a ZO6 and see if what you think and then decide. Any questions you may have about the Corvette as an everyday driver or just in general let me know and Ill ask my dad and let you know from some first hand experience.

97svtgoin05gt

Dude, glad you're okay. The 'Stang did it's job to protect you and your buddy. That is a big reason to consider a replacement. Depending on your $ situation, I'd be trying to weasel my way into either a GT500 or a H281. The "H" is my fav right now and with the blower option it has the bite to back up the looks.

Oh, one more thing, F Chevy.

Mark S.

It's better if you're able to own both...I enjoy both of my "babies" equally. (Tried to upload pic of them both...but it wouldn't take).
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To Dave (FLAstangx3)...I am also a Navy Veteran (but no snob)...hehehehehehehe