Passed a ZR-1 today in my Elise...very cool car

[Chris D.]

What color is the one at Criswell? I'd love to have a ZR-1 just for the hell of it. I could dye my hair grey and wrap a bandana around my head if the situation called for it.

[IsellLotus]

Originally Posted by Chris D.

What color is the one at Criswell? I'd love to have a ZR-1 just for the hell of it. I could dye my hair grey and wrap a bandana around my head if the situation called for it.

I have a Cyber Grey and a Silver Ice. Both with chrome wheels.

[Gimme]

I've been on that track in a Z06 and thought it was overkill. This thing has way too much power for that track so where are you supposed to drive it? I guess I prefer finesse cars like the Cayman, (and Lotus). Wonder why they didn't have a video of the Cayman.

[robains]

I doubt GM will sell many at $145,000 -- I'm not a Vette fan, but I respect their track potential and daily driver abilities - awesome machines.

However, I would prefer the Z06 over the ZR1. The Z06 is 3147 lbs with a base price of $65,800. ZR1 is 3350 lbs with base price at $103,300 (and $12000 in options for fully loaded) + DMA ($30,000 seems high but who knows what dealers will try).

The question of tracking a big V8 with a supercharger leaves me wondering about reliability and how the heck they're extracting the kinda heat this combo generates under track conditions.

Putting that aside, a Lambo LP560-4 for $55,000 more will do 1/4 mi faster (thanks to AWD and launch control), has a higher top speed 205-220 mph, and IMHO looks a heck of alot nicer and sounds evil. And the Lambo retains it's value used ($201,000 base and used ones are being sold for $192,000).

If the ZR1 was being sold for around 80-85K with no dealer markup, then I think it would attract more of a buyer audience that is looking for sub 100K cars. But an audience that buys cars over 100K is a different type of market and my guess is Chevy isn't high on the list in that market (only the diehard fans).

Rob

[Agent ONE]

If I lived on the salt flats, it would be the perfect car.

[Uncle Sam]

Future Motor Trend headline, "Miata more fun to drive than Brawn F1."

[CosmosMpower]

Originally Posted by Uncle Sam

Future Motor Trend headline, "Miata more fun to drive than Brawn F1."

It probably is, for most weekend warrior drivers the Brawn F1 car is probably scary as hell and too much of a handfull to really use all the performance. By lap 3 trying to keep your spaghetti limp neck propped up through the turns would probably suck the fun out of it.

[mopho]

Originally Posted by Uncle Sam

Future Motor Trend headline, "Miata more fun to drive than Brawn F1."

It's quite possibly true
F1 car is designed to do the job of winning races, not to be fun to drive. Exciting yes, but not necessarily pleasurable to drive, violent is probably more like it

[DeanG]

Originally Posted by Uncle Sam

Future Motor Trend headline, "Miata more fun to drive than Brawn F1."

The only pro driver I was ever friendly with bought a Miata as a daily driver. When I asked him why he didn't get something faster he said that the Miata was a good every day car and fun. If he wanted something faster he could drive one of his Lotus.

[geezer]

Originally Posted by evomind

eh.
hillbilly car thats only fast in a straight line. cant stop or turn.
ill keep my miata, thanks.

You're just trying to raise a ruckus, right?

[erics75218]

For what it's worth...which is about nothing. When I was a kid my mother had both a 91' Miata, and a 92' Zr-1. She was nice enough to let me drive them to school. At every opportunity I took the Miata...threw the top down, did handbrake 90' turns into the school parking lot, laughing my ass off.

People would ask me why I drove that girl car instead of that Vette....it's because the Vette is a huge bloated goat..and the Miata is just WAYYYYYYYYY more fun to drive...without question.

[Minnis]

Originally Posted by erics75218

For what it's worth...which is about nothing. When I was a kid my mother had both a 91' Miata, and a 92' Zr-1. She was nice enough to let me drive them to school. At every opportunity I took the Miata...threw the top down, did handbrake 90' turns into the school parking lot, laughing my ass off.

People would ask me why I drove that girl car instead of that Vette....it's because the Vette is a huge bloated goat..and the Miata is just WAYYYYYYYYY more fun to drive...without question.

Well you probably didn't know what to do with a ZR1 if you were a kid driving it to school. My dad flings his ZR1 around like it was his old Lotus or one of race cars. I never had a probblem with it either (when I snuck it out) but I've owned a Viper down to Lotus in size sportscars. Those 315's really grab on the old Zr1, if you wanted them too.

[sleepe]

Originally Posted by TheRedMenace

Yes, but then you've mailed another $130K out of the country and further damaged our troubled economy.

Foreign car sales do not damage an economy, it's the greedy charlatans who duped investors/the public into believing you can get something for nothing.

If American cars are crap, why buy a crap product that perpetuates the crapiness...let the market speak!

[Shorty111R]

I drooled over this car on the showroom floor in Bossier Louisiana. Looks SO good.

It looks killer!

[TheRedMenace]

Originally Posted by jesterbot

Why the hell should someone settle for an inferior product simply because it was "made at home"? We vote with our purchases - meaning if everyone buys vette's but actually want cars like the R8, Chevy thinks they're meeting the needs/wants of the consumer market - that everyone just LOVES their new vette!

So they continue to produce cars very similar to the vette rather than looking at market data (as their sales drop) and realizing they're losing sales to the R8 - which would give them clues to design cars more like the R8.

Furthermore, some of the money from an R8 sale still goes to this economy. The sales tax goes to our government, part of the purchase price goes to the dealership (staffed by our citizens), paying for American salaries, etc.

Cut the dogmatic, traditionalist flag-waving - it reeks of ignorance.

Whatever dude. Just do us all a favor and take the American flag out of the window of your Prius.

[ivan1]

Originally Posted by TheRedMenace

Whatever dude. Just do us all a favor and take the American flag out of the window of your Prius.

and you take it out of your (Canadian built) Camaro
unless you think it is ok to buy a GM or Ford (eg Ford Focus Hybrid) car made outside the US


Back on topic - ZR1 is an awesome car...but 145k? you must be kidding me....

[Tristar Racing]

I think this is a hilarious debate, mainly because the only person in this thread who has driven the ZR-1 is Mopho.

Personally, on paper it looks like an amazing bang for the buck. But I do happen to agree with Mopho this time (yes it happens, haha), the R8 at that price point is much more interesting to me.

[mini63]

Originally Posted by TheRedMenace

Yes, but then you've mailed another $130K out of the country and further damaged our troubled economy.

...said the British built Lotus owner...

Potential "Comment of the Year", anyone?

[Minnis]

All this talk about the R8... aren't there performance numbers similiar to the Elise? I sold them new and it was awesome experience but I wouldn't call it fast. Kind of like a bloated TT. A nice car but I'd rather pay for a ZR1 and get the brakes and power. The R8 uses the Vette's suspension anyway.

Actually its kind of funny how Ferrari, Audi, and others are all using GM's suspension and everybody's using similiar ceramic brakes. Basically it's just the drivetrain and bodies to seperate them and soon who knows. Kind of like an American melting pot this automotive world.

sorry substitute "suspension" for magnetic ride. When I was selling them they told me I had to say that Audi borrowed it from Ferrari not GM. I laughed and refused.

[Tristar Racing]

Originally Posted by Minnis

All this talk about the R8... aren't there performance numbers similiar to the Elise? I sold them new and it was awesome experience but I wouldn't call it fast. Kind of like a bloated TT. A nice car but I'd rather pay for a ZR1 and get the brakes and power. The R8 uses the Vette's suspension anyway.

Actually its kind of funny how Ferrari, Audi, and others are all using GM's suspension and everybody's using similiar ceramic brakes. Basically it's just the drivetrain and bodies to seperate them and soon who knows. Kind of like an American melting pot this automotive world.

Whoa, uses the vettes suspension? They might share a similar technology to change the damping characteristics of the shocks, but they in no way share any other part of the suspension. Do not make that assumption. The differences between the R8s suspension and the ZR-1s (not even trying to deate which is superior) are too numorous to list or discuss, right down to the springs they use. (Vettes use a composite leaf, R8 uses typical steel coils)

I would take the R8 over the ZR-1 because to me numbers are only one part of the equation. I have driven an R8, and I would never call it a slow vehicle. The ZR-1 does indeed trump the R8 in almost every performance catagory, but again thats only part of my car buying equation.