Darren -

I took delivery of an F55 6-speed C6 convertible about two and a half
months ago. It's one of the most completely satisfying cars I've ever
owned. The C6 is so good it's difficult to convey the car's real quality.

The car has a fabulous overall driving dynamic. The combination of RIGHT
NOW responses, pavement-ripping power, bountiful traction, comfortable
ride, high mechanical and tactile feedback to the driver, fine control
balance and harmony, nice sounds, and fine seating and control placement
deliver a wonderful driving experience. The car feels right in a way
very few cars do. Yet you can use the thing in day-to-day trundling
around and it doesn't beat you up or make you mad.

When I was shopping, this spring, C6's could be had from stock for $500
to $2000 under MSRP from the major players, although the locals here in
Wichita KS were asking for (and apparently getting, judging by their
arrogance) $5k to $10K premiums. Special orders were not being
discounted that much. I eventually got mine built to order for $2500
under MSRP.

I have very few problems with mine. Fit and finish are the best I've
ever seen in an American car. You could fall into the paint job. The
only cars I've owned that are comparable in build quality are a 1967 VW
Beetle and a Lexus LS430.

There have been a couple of first-year issues with the C6, now mostly
resolved. There was a service campaign early on for rear brake lines
getting overheated by the nearby exhaust pipes under the car, fixed by a
slight design change. A few percent of the earliest cars had some
failures around the bolts that secured the vibration damper, also now
redesigned. And there's a software bug in the radio control head that
does not always trim the antenna correctly for FM reception, sometimes
resulting in very poor FM reception until you retrim the antenna by
switching to AM, then back to FM. I understand there's a fix and service
campaign in the works. This is all little stuff.

Driving dynamics are what make the car. The C6 has been to finishing
school and graduated with straight A's, but the car still has a heart of
rock and roll and the way to her heart is through the throttle. The LS2
engine is a BEAST, the power is just boggling. This is the resurrection
of the classic American "Brylcreem throttle" - a little dab'll do ya.

I've heard a lot of criticism of the Tremec 6-speed tranny. Mine was a
little notchy to shift when new but as the car has broken in it's
smoothed out nicely and at 4000 miles the car is a slick shifter once
it's warmed up.

Ride (mine's an F55) is excellent for what the car is. It's completely
livable around town and on city streets, very firm but almost never
harsh. At highway speeds the ride is excellent. The active handling and
roll control work well. Setting the ride selector to 'Sport' has little
effect on the ride at cruise, mostly it causes the suspension to react
to sporty driving and maneuvering much more aggressively. Fling the C6
into a sweeper in Sport mode and you can really feel the suspension change.

Handling is excellent, of course. Immediate response, high limits,
plenty of feedback, intuitive responses, neutral character. The C6 is
the most stable car I've ever driven. Well, there was a '65 Wildcat that
was pretty stable, too.

Sound levels are reasonable. With the top up and at speed it's much
quieter and better sealed than any other convertible I've owned (and
I've driven ragtops since 1965). There's no wind noise around the top up
to about 65 mph, where you begin to get a little wind rumble around the
aft corners of the top. At 80 mph the cockpit sound level is still very
reasonable. There's quite a bit of tire rumble at speed on highly
textured surfaces and concrete, but little on smooth blacktop. The
exhaust makes a low burble at idle, is silent at cruise and around town,
and sounds like a Grand National stocker accelerating out of the pits
when pulling hard. Music!

Seating and control ergonomics are excellent. And I'm 5'5", if the car
fits me it'll fit just about anyone. My only issue is with the length of
the clutch stroke - if I'm the right distance from the pedals and wheel,
it's a stretch to fully depress the clutch. But this is more an issue
with my size than with the car.

I've been astonished by the C6's fuel consumption. Mine delivers 30-31
mpg at a steady 70 mph and clocked 28.3 mpg on a 70-mile run at 75 mph.
A 3-mile level run at 60 mph showed an astonishing 35 mpg. (The car
delivered 24 mpg at 60 mph before breakin, the numbers climbed steadily
as the car settled in.)

Whines? The dash light dimmer knob design makes me wonder what its
designer was thinking. Cockpit stowage space is at a premium. The
console storage compartment gets hot inside (never put a candy bar in
there!). I've had my boot slip on the metal clutch pedal a few times
when damp on rainy days. It's hard to reach the shoulder harness buckle
when the seat has automatically moved back to help entry/exit. I keep
brushing the temperature control reaching for the stereo volume knob and
accidentally changing the cockpit temperature setting.

But this is little stuff.

The real measure of the car is in the drive. You'll know me if you see
mine of the road - I'm the dumpy old engineer with the huge grin.

- Vandervecken
"Happiness is four hunnert horsepower an' a stick shift"





wrote:
> Hey everyone,
> I currently own a Nissan 350z and thinking about selling it to get a
> 2005 Vette. I have some questions for y'all vette owners. Has anyone
> here bought a 2005 Vette? Any personal reviews? Any major issues
> already with the 1st year's model?
>
> Pricing: Has anyone been able to get the Vette for under MSRP? I've
> been hearing about how hot this Vette is , so wondering if one could
> buy under MSRP. Wish i had the money to get the Z6 coming in September
> ,i believe. Also, the GM discount doesn't apply to this vehicle. Now,
> does the GM Employee discount have any hidden costs or tricks that we
> don't know about or is it really an honest price. Anything to be weary
> or careful about this GM discount?
>
> I've never been fond of American cars since my previous experience back
> in the early 90s have been horrible. This would be my first American
> car since my old Buick Skylark a while back. Any other good sites or
> forums on the new Vette?
>
> Thanks everyone.
> Darren
>