jsaylor

And you still don't get it. Frankly I'm not sure you ever will if you don't by now. I don't like the Vette, but I do understand why some people would. I also think it would be obvious why many people wouldn't and don't like the car. The notion that people who love high performance shouldn't or wouldn't care about anything else is silly.

Knight

what are you aorried about...no one is telling you not to buy or like the boxter. If you are fine with paying extra for a nicer feeling dash its fine with me.

if you want the vette performance along with nice interior you can have that too. the 911 is there for you.

07 HOSS Mustang

I sense NERDISM...........

clockworks

The model year updates to the 2008 Vette are awsome... except for the "enhanced" interior.

36 hp increase
louder performance axle backs
TR 6060 transmission
improved steering feel
lightweight forged wheels
and a slew of other things that I don't care about

Then comes the "upgraded" interior option. Yall are right, it is almost inexcusable for a car that costs that much (realistically equipped Vettes are like $55 grand or more).

What really chaps my *** about it is the **** buttons, ***** and face plates found on the AC and radio. I mean, god ****it... even if the rest of the console looks "decent", those stand out like a sore thumb.

I agree about the headlights. I like the fact that they are HID and not flip up, but when you look at the car head on, it's face looks like a retard smiling.

Oh well. I can't really afford any of the alternatives. The Vette is the best performance car that I can comfortably afford. That's why I have a deposit on a 2008 Z51...

Knight

what? the buttons look perfect. they don't stand out, they match the interior nicely.

rhumb

While the Vette's interior is certainly workable and not horrible by any means, neither is it commensurate with the overall level of the car or its price. Sure, you might say you can excuse its interior given its performance and price, but in the end, you're arguing for an excuse for a mediocre interior, not justifying a good one.

Beyond cheapish materials and surfaces more befitting a Cobalt, the design itself is somewhat dated, generic and certainly lacks any real overall artistry or sophistication. Swathing the Rubbermaid dash in leather might help, but that more a cover-up of blandness than an accentuation of great design. What about an evocative interior design on par with the '63-'67 Vettes.

It's a perennial shame that GM just can't seem to grasp the importance of overall excellence in execution because in most other aspects, the Vette is truly a world-class performance car offering incredible bang for the buck. But in the interior, GM still can't fathom the difference between low cost vs. high value and this one area may be the last main one that's holding the Vette back from being seen as fully world class.

TJ4Cam

The C5 is still a way better looker..the C6 looks like an insect from the front...never cared for the direction GM took the Corvette. Oh well.

jacjetlag

It's ok...some people like cheesy cars. Most people think Corvettes are cheesy. A very strange thing out in the retirement communities here in California is the number of Corvettes. Every other geezer in Sun City has a Corvette. The local Chevy dealer has 45 of them lined up for when the old guys need a car to go get their Viagra.

Every_Mn

Wow, I live right by Sun City, go through once a week, and the fastest car I've ever seen there is probably a V6 Mustang.

Are you sure you're talking about Sun City, CA and not Sun City, somewhere else?

titanjc

I wonder if putting the LS3 in the '08 Corvettes has anything to do with the release of the new Camaro. It's always been speculated that the Camaro will come with the LS2, and you can't have your halo car and a mid-range muscle car with the same HP rating. The 436 rating puts the Vette safely ahead of the Camaro if they decide to rate it around 400 or so. I'm kind of surprised that GM didn't go for at least a 450 rating on the LS3 to put it a little farther ahead of the LS2, but maybe they thought it would be encroaching on the 505HP Z06.

Slims00ls1z28

Camaro will get the same LS3. The vette is their flagship car not halo car so far that belongs to the Z06 and upcomming ubervette (Whatever they eventually name it). The Camaro has always enjoyed the Corvette engine one year after the Corvette had it. L98, LT1, LT4, LS1 all debuted in the vette and next year were available in the Fbodies. On top of that Settlemeyer assured us that semantics about the Vette/Camaro are not going to come into play this time. Even if the 2 were offered with the exact motor with same HP ratings (we know this won't happen look at the exact same LS1 with a 315/350 hp disparity) the vettes lighter weight will keep it ahead of the Camaro. But supposedly that will not be an issue the Camaro's return "has to be right on so many levels" so they are pulling no punches and I'm sure they will get it right.

I personally have no use for a vette. Would never buy one. I would rather have a Camaro. It's called preference. People who buy vettes 9 times out of 10 never even look at a Porshe Mercedes or Audi and vice versa. GM knows this Porshe knows this. They always hope to broaden their appeal but they will please their core first and the Corvettes core purchasers care less about the interior quality of a Porshe. Porshe core owners care less about the straight line performance of a Vette. They want a Vette, or Porshe, or Benz, or Audi. Personally I think most vette owners (especially on forums) are more worried about resale value and could care less about anything else hence why I don't really care for them. I like seeing stuff on the vette because I know it makes its way to the Camaro.

Hollywood_North GT

Mercedes interiors are crap.

Caymans are crap.

Where can I get a plywood interior.

Hollywood_North GT

I guess it takes one to know one...?

jsaylor

Hmmm, if I recall the Korean's have given up on that demographic so....China?

Slims00ls1z28

Well the Z06 does have a reinforced balsa/composite floor does that count?

bob

lol, tru'dat - was something they liked to point out when the C5 came out.

If I had the bucks and was shoping vette or a cayman, it'd be a tough call, although I'd probably go with the vette in the end, sure the Porsche might be able to make it through the turns maginally better, but on the straights the vette would mop it up, for a good example of this, look up that old Sports Car article which pitted the lowly Mustang GT against the superaltive Integra Type-R, when the dust had settled, the authors were left scratching thier heads trying to figure out why the GT had whipped the Type-R's ***.

Slims00ls1z28

The Cayman my ride smoother than a Z06 and take turns "easier" than a Z06 yet in a road course say a recently tested one one with a professional driver each driving it at Laguna Seca The Z06 bested the Caymans time by 7 seconds. And I always hate reviews by tea sipping autorags like Motortrend Automobile etc. They would probably say a rusty 81 Fiat is better than any American product based on some hypothetical situation.

Hollywood_North GT

I like tea.

Moosetang

Considering how much more the Z06 costs than the Cayman S, let alone the base Cayman, I'd be severly dissappointed if it didn't outperform the Porsche. And yet, I'm still dissapointed because the Z06 still has the the interior and ride quality of a $35K car at north of $70k. And while we're on the subject of using Pro racing drivers in road tests, I'd point out that at least 9/10ths of the market would be faster in the Porsche than the 'Vette thanks to its superior dynamics and traction control.

jsaylor

Agreed. There is a market for the current Z06, and the Vette in general, as they sit to be sure. But, one has to wonder which of the two following scenarios would work better for Chevrolet.

Current Vette Lineup

Base Coupe with current cheap interior and sometimes unwelcome dynamic issues: 45,000.00 and up

Z06 still with current cheap interior and a more livable dynamic/NVH package than the initial C6 Z06 offering but still a bit overboard for anything but a competition model: 70,000 and up

Theoretical Improved Lineup

Base Coupe with TT/Cayman level interior execution and slight dynamic improvements: 48,000-50,000 and up

Z06 with above listed improvements and better NVH than current Z06 (slightly more compliant ride and lower noise levels): 73,000-75,000 and up

Z06SS, effectively the 'R model' Z06 for people who don't care about NVH and ride quality, much like the current Z06 model: 80,000

......I can't imagine that a 3-5k dollar jump in base msrp would turn away the Vette faithful., particularly if they got a better sorted car and a far better interior for their trouble. (and the entire interior needs attention, from materials to fit and finish to the surprisingly sub-par seats) However, I can imagine some folks who would otherwise be looking at a Cayman, 911, M3, etc at least taking a look at a Vette if the interior didn't make them feel as though they were slumming and the Z06's ride didn't make you question wether or not the car actually has shocks....or springs. And the above improvements are easily doable for a 3-5k jump in msrp, with the reality likely being closer to the bottom end of that price range.

If I were Chevy I wouldn't even have wasted my time on the upcoming blown Vette model since the time and effort involved would have proven far more benificial if directed at the above mentioned issues instead.