Frisky Dingo

You should put the Z06 grille in your Stingray.

Just goes to show those things are so limited by aero, that even substantial power gains don't do much for their acceleration far past triple digit territory.

I just thought it'd still pull on that 1,300hp GT-R.

1LE IS under 35K for me......Employee Pricing....

Out of cars that are out right now- a 1SS 1LE. Including upcoming models- a base 6MT Camaro SS.

That's a nasty bike. I honestly expected more out of it, though. That GT-R was too much from a roll.

Yeah, before I got rid of my BMW, when I was out on my favorite B roads, as the Brits call them, Linkin Park, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Rage Against the Machine, The Used, Flux Pavilion, Tiesto, Van Buren, Above & Beyond, and Swedish House Mafia could always get the job done. Makes my pulse quicken just thinking about it.

beef jerky

So another member suggested I post some of the many reviews I did over at MT Forums here. Here's the first of them, with more to come- My dealer got a 2014 Z in with 1,300 miles. Unfortunately, I didn't get to do my usual spirited run for several obvious reasons, but I did take a quick little spin in it. It's really amazing the transformation from the standard car. It's buy far the biggest difference I've ever experienced between a base model and a higher variant. It doesn't even feel like the same car. It seems smaller, and lighter than the regular SS, and much smaller and lighter than it is. It's a worn out cliche, but with it's wide stance and huge meats, it truly does hug the road. The impact those tires made on the driving dynamics are quite unlike any other car, and hard to explain. The steering immediacy was really eye-opening. You can just tell there's a level of grip that most cars and driver's aren't even aware exists, let alone experienced. Power was kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it's really quick. On the other, it didn't really feel much stronger than my car. The sound and feel of the LS7 ripping through it's powerband is very much something to behold, however. It is a truly great engine- torquey, free-revving, linear, and sonorous. The brakes, what I used of them, felt very strong. Truth is, the relatively worn Pirellis and 40 degree temps meant I couldn't exploit much of the car's performance potential, but that that I did was enough to see how enjoyable the car is, and how great of a job GM did with it. And Pt 2- I drove the car again yesterday for about 30 mins on some back roads and I just can't say enough about how enjoyable this car is to drive. The temps were up some- upper-40's, so I was able to push a little harder than before. And even though I still didn't come close to pushing it to it's potential- the tires are pretty worn, as I said earlier, and I value my job- I got a little taste of just how this car performs and feels. The steering is really just sublime. I would have a very difficult time trying to find anything negative about the steering. The weight is perfect. It's super direct and quick. The worst I could say is the feel could be a little better. It's not bad by any means, but it's not the best I've experienced either. The car takes a set through turns that even much smaller and lighter cars couldn't hope to match. It really is nuts how small and manageable the car feels when you're pushing it. It's quite easy to feel comfortable and build confidence in. The brakes are just immense. They're strong enough that pretty much every braking point is far after where you actually start applying them. And, of course, the sound and feel of that LS7 is just fantastic. I took it through a parking garage nearby and scared a bunch of people. It was great. I also did a WOT blast through 1st gear past a truckful of cheering high-school aged kids. It was great. The car is just a riot. If anyone here has driven a Boss, this is the best way I can describe it- take everything the Boss does- steer, turn, ride, stop, accelerate- and just turn it up a notch-and-a-half. The few areas the Boss is better is the shifter/clutch department, and outward visibility. Balance is very similar, as is ride quality and steering feel. But the Z28 grips much harder, brakes much harder, and is much more composed. The power feels a little stronger, but not by as much as you'd think. I really encourage any of you to drive one if you get the opportunity, even if you have to beg. It's probably the most fun to drive car I've ever been in.

The Cruze has definitely been a cut above others in the class from a refinement and quality-feel perspective for the last several years. I almost just bought my wife a Cruze LTZ, but bought a 4Runner instead.

cure

With the exception of a few years at the beginning of the decade, the 70's were pretty bleak for Americana metal. The Europeans and Japanese were building some fantastic machinery, however-

I think I like the current model's styling better.

Would never happen. It would take far too much investment for the car to use that kind of power effectively. It couldn't be sold for that price point. You have to stop and think- the current STi is already priced close to this with an exclusively AWD platform, 3/4 the power, and old hardware. Furthermore, it'd just step on the SS's toes.

*Ed's Note- This may be in the wrong section, but given the multi-make nature of the test, I didn't really know where to put it. So here is one I thought was bound to stir up some conversation- http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1119503 Thoughts, feels, expressings?

Ok. I'll dig around and see if I can find some of my old ones. I know I did several.

Crazy how that works sometimes. My BMW was more reliable on the way to 87K miles than my Camry was that I bought new and kept only 18K miles. And I even had an N54 powered 335i.

I like a little bit of everything. From hard rock- Linkin Park, Deftones, Nine Inch Nails- to reggae/reggae rock- Matisyahu, Dirty Heads, Trevor Hall- to alt/indie rock- Phantogram, Muse, Bloc Party- to hip hop- Kendrick Lamar, TI, Danny Brown- to electronic- Aviici, Flux Pavilion, Armin Van Buren. Pretty much all I really dislike is bro country and whiny pop.

I haven't driven a new one, but I've always summarized the GTI thusly- it's a 911 in a FWD, hatchback package. That may sound crazy at first, but the philosophies behind both cars overlay quite well- fun to drive, but not at the expense of practicality or refinement and understated. They're both built to a time honored, tried-and-true formula that is just incremental evolution. That typically speaks volumes about how good a car is. I've read reviews that say the new GTI is nothing short of the perfect DD. That's pretty substantial praise. Reliability is admittedly a concern on a VAG product, but if you're buying new, who cares. Just get an extended service contract if you're keeping it past factory warranty.

If I'm attacking my favorite backroad- I like hard rock or electronic music. For highway driving- reggae or mellow alt rock. For in-town, windows-down crusing- hip-hop or indie punk/alt. I'm a man of many tastes.

Fiesta/Focus ST, Civic Si, Golf GTI. In that order.

I'm going to go the opposite route and say pay more like you have been doing. For a few reasons. One, you never know when your driving needs may change. With a 22K payoff, you have little to no equity currently. If you can afford it, the higher payment will help you get into a position of equity quicker, should you need to trade your current car in or sell it for any reason. Two, the more used to making a higher payment you are, the easier it is to swallow when you upgrade and get a vehicle that may have a higher payment than your current one. It's kind of a nice primer to getting something more expensive in the future. Three, that little extra money won't affect your monthly budget hardly any, while over time, it will have a considerable affect on your payoff. Just my .02

Hey everyone, count me among the number of MT posters who are fed up with the software and trolling. I work in the auto industry (have for 8 years) and have pretty much loved cars (and bikes, planes, pretty much anything that you go fast in or on) since before kindergarten. I'm a really big GM, BMW, and Porsche fan, but I'm open-minded and just love cars in general. I've owned Audi, VW, Honda, Pontiac, Jeep, Nissan, Dodge, Chrysler, Chevy, Hyundai, and currently own a 1994 BMW 318i, a 2005 Scion xB, and just traded my 2009 335i for a 2014 4Runner Trail Edition. I've tracked and/or driven hard virtually every sports car I've owned, and even some that weren't sports cars. I look forward to becoming a part of the community here and sharing in mine and others' car knowledge. Cheers!