When I was around 16 years old the only thing I wanted in life was a red Ferrari convertible -- it didn't matter which one -- whichever one was sold when decades into the future I would hope to be able to afford to buy one would be just fine.
I grew up disliking Corvettes. I always thought that Corvettes were made out of the kind of plastic that gave plastic a bad name.
I thought a Corvette was a cheap way to get high horsepower and a vroom vroom exhaust note. I always thought GM's Corvette "deal" was that you were paying not a lot of money for a great engine and drivetrain, but that there was no margin left to make the rest of the car refined, luxurious or even particularly hospitable.
A weird thing I noticed about Corvettes growing up was that while I often would observe BMWs and Mercedes and Porsches and Ferraris and Lamborghinis zooming along, it was unusual to see a Corvette going fast. Many Corvette drivers, for some reason, did not use their cars. Very odd.
I test drove a C5 along the way. It felt large on the outside, small on the inside (the opposite of the Mercedes SL550), and it felt a bit like I was driving a small, clunky truck that just happened to be able to go fast in a straight line. It was plastic-y on the inside, and it did not look well screwed together. It was not my cup of tea. I continued to long for a Ferrari convertible.
After that test drive I never really paid attention to later generations of Corvettes. I assumed they were still built to a carefully calculated price point which left no room for a great sports car in an absolute sense, but only a "relatively good sports car for the price."
Tinka wanted to upgrade Susie, her 2016 Volkswagen Beetle SEL Convertible. Tinka wanted something with some VROOM VROOM!
During the course of seeing a couple of C7 Convertibles, and test driving a C7 Stingray Convertible and a C7 Z06 Convertible, I learned that my long-standing generally negative view on Corvettes is outdated.
I now think the C7 is a great-looking car! I think that in 3LT trim the interior is very nice, with a lot of leather. It looks pretty well put together! I was very impressed!
We both thought a black Z06 widebody convertible we test drove was very cool-looking -- very much like a Batmobile -- but we were already struggling with the terrible visibility of the standard Stingray convertible. The C7 has the worst visibility I personally have experienced since I drove my friend's Lamborghini Diablo in the 1990s. (That car literally was terrifying to drive. It was wide and long and it got wider the further back you went! The rearview mirror was basically useless. You really could not see anything behind the side mirrors. Of course it didn't really matter since nobody's closing speed was likely to exceed your opening speed.)
Well . . . Tinka is now the very proud owner of a black 2019 C7 3LT Convertible. His name is Frank.
This car is gorgeous!
I drove it back from the dealer in Newport, CA, we purchased it at, which was great because I had almost two hours to familiarize myself with the car. In 3LT configuration the leather interior totally passes muster. Does it match the designo Napa leather interior of Gristoph, my 2019 SL550? No. But it's beautiful and plenty good enough.
The engine in this beast is fantastic! However, to achieve highly-contrived good gas mileage, the automatic transmission upshifts to eighth gear as soon as you're above about 20 miles an hour. So the tall gearing is constantly hiding the power of the engine. But if you step on the gas pedal, the transmission downshifts from 8th to 3rd . . . and you rocket away. You can also just keep the car in manual, as first gear is good from 0 to 75 mph.
This 2019 Corvette has 2019 technology. (My 2019 SL550 has 2015 technology, because Mercedes knew they were killing off my beloved 2 seat, retractable hardtop configuration, and did not bother to update the onboard technology.) I love the C7's heads-up display which shows navigation, speed and gear!
Tinka's car has the base suspension. I cannot believe how unbelievably comfortable is the base suspension, and yet the car still stays completely flat in corners! The C7 base suspension truly is remarkable! (I'm glad we did not get the adjustable Magnetic Ride Control suspension.)
When did Corvettes become genuinely and absolutely great cars?
I grew up disliking Corvettes. I always thought that Corvettes were made out of the kind of plastic that gave plastic a bad name.
I thought a Corvette was a cheap way to get high horsepower and a vroom vroom exhaust note. I always thought GM's Corvette "deal" was that you were paying not a lot of money for a great engine and drivetrain, but that there was no margin left to make the rest of the car refined, luxurious or even particularly hospitable.
A weird thing I noticed about Corvettes growing up was that while I often would observe BMWs and Mercedes and Porsches and Ferraris and Lamborghinis zooming along, it was unusual to see a Corvette going fast. Many Corvette drivers, for some reason, did not use their cars. Very odd.
I test drove a C5 along the way. It felt large on the outside, small on the inside (the opposite of the Mercedes SL550), and it felt a bit like I was driving a small, clunky truck that just happened to be able to go fast in a straight line. It was plastic-y on the inside, and it did not look well screwed together. It was not my cup of tea. I continued to long for a Ferrari convertible.
After that test drive I never really paid attention to later generations of Corvettes. I assumed they were still built to a carefully calculated price point which left no room for a great sports car in an absolute sense, but only a "relatively good sports car for the price."
Tinka wanted to upgrade Susie, her 2016 Volkswagen Beetle SEL Convertible. Tinka wanted something with some VROOM VROOM!
During the course of seeing a couple of C7 Convertibles, and test driving a C7 Stingray Convertible and a C7 Z06 Convertible, I learned that my long-standing generally negative view on Corvettes is outdated.
I now think the C7 is a great-looking car! I think that in 3LT trim the interior is very nice, with a lot of leather. It looks pretty well put together! I was very impressed!
We both thought a black Z06 widebody convertible we test drove was very cool-looking -- very much like a Batmobile -- but we were already struggling with the terrible visibility of the standard Stingray convertible. The C7 has the worst visibility I personally have experienced since I drove my friend's Lamborghini Diablo in the 1990s. (That car literally was terrifying to drive. It was wide and long and it got wider the further back you went! The rearview mirror was basically useless. You really could not see anything behind the side mirrors. Of course it didn't really matter since nobody's closing speed was likely to exceed your opening speed.)
Well . . . Tinka is now the very proud owner of a black 2019 C7 3LT Convertible. His name is Frank.
This car is gorgeous!
I drove it back from the dealer in Newport, CA, we purchased it at, which was great because I had almost two hours to familiarize myself with the car. In 3LT configuration the leather interior totally passes muster. Does it match the designo Napa leather interior of Gristoph, my 2019 SL550? No. But it's beautiful and plenty good enough.
The engine in this beast is fantastic! However, to achieve highly-contrived good gas mileage, the automatic transmission upshifts to eighth gear as soon as you're above about 20 miles an hour. So the tall gearing is constantly hiding the power of the engine. But if you step on the gas pedal, the transmission downshifts from 8th to 3rd . . . and you rocket away. You can also just keep the car in manual, as first gear is good from 0 to 75 mph.
This 2019 Corvette has 2019 technology. (My 2019 SL550 has 2015 technology, because Mercedes knew they were killing off my beloved 2 seat, retractable hardtop configuration, and did not bother to update the onboard technology.) I love the C7's heads-up display which shows navigation, speed and gear!
Tinka's car has the base suspension. I cannot believe how unbelievably comfortable is the base suspension, and yet the car still stays completely flat in corners! The C7 base suspension truly is remarkable! (I'm glad we did not get the adjustable Magnetic Ride Control suspension.)
When did Corvettes become genuinely and absolutely great cars?
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