Please GM, Fix the Corvette

[Rob]

I'm kind of curious what everyone's opinion is on this:

-Rob
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Please GM, Fix the Corvette

By The Mechanic | October 12, 2009
Edmunds Inside Line

This semi-regular column is written (in his own blood) by an automotive sage and noted malcontent, known as The Mechanic. Mercilessly beaten as a child with rolled-up back issues of old car magazines, our free-spoken hero developed a unique "for your own good" take on cars and the auto industry, along with an unfortunate habit of setting himself ablaze. Later, after a distinguished career as an automotive journalist and magazine editor, he cast off the reins of his musty oppressors, carved out his superego with a plastic spork and became The Mechanic.

Before I begin, let me say that the following is not an attack on the people who buy Corvettes. They are good, clean, patriotic car lovers, and I think they should all be applauded for buying American.

I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Every barrel-chested baldy (sorry, retirees) and stripper (sorry, Bambi) who bought a Corvette recently deserves our respect and admiration for spending their hard-earned cash on America's sports car. God bless them all. I hope they enjoy their cars.

This column is not about them. It's about the Corvette itself, which sucks.

Full Story: Straightline

 

[Cadillac Tech]

I won't waste my time reading it. I don't care what this person thinks.

 

[harrower]

I won't waste my time reading it. I don't care what this person thinks.

I agree!

 

[Photo Girl]

I won't waste my time reading it. I don't care what this person thinks.

I'm not wasting my time either.

 

[HOMEGAMEROOM]

That's a typical article from a typical rube who probably hasn't seen a Corvette (in person and up close) in years! Just another writer trying to get attention and recognition - good OR bad.

 

[XLR-V Lover]

Ditto to all above.

Except for this:
The Corvette is head-and-shoulders above most in her class; and a bargain $$$$ wise!

Floyd (BB)

 

[speedway]

Utter complete nonsense. This guy doesnt have a clue.

Fred

 

[Little Woman]

OKay, I read the article and I must say this guy doesn't know what he is talking about. You ask me, he sounds like someone who can't afford a Corvette and is jealous. He must have been hit a little too hard with the rolled up car magazines!

 

[b_pappy]

What a hack, no wonder he wont sign his real name. Thankfully, by his own admission he wont ever own one, and set a bad example for all of us.
Bruce

 

[ChicagoDave]

Read the article ... what an idiot. In the article, he talks about how expensive the vettes are, and then compares to a BMW M3. The BMW M3 has a price tag of $57K vs Vette's $48K. The M3 isn't HALF the car the vette is. "The Corvette just goes fast" ... DUH!!

I'll take my vette-based XLR ANYDAY!!

Chicago Dave

 

[Little Woman]

Read the article ... what an idiot. In the article, he talks about how expensive the vettes are, and then compares to a BMW M3. The BMW M3 has a price tag of $57K vs Vette's $48K. The M3 isn't HALF the car the vette is. "The Corvette just goes fast" ... DUH!!

I'll take my vette-based XLR ANYDAY!!

Chicago Dave

Thanks Chicago Dave I was wondering the price tags on the car he was referring to.

 

[Oldtimer]

Corvette has become a bit of a hillbilly car. I had 4 C5s and one C6. Time to grow up and look for something with some class...let the Dukes of Hazard retire.

No mater what GM does to the Corvette, it will allways be a Chevy that most dealers can't work on. And that is bad, because they need a lot of work. (poor quality).

The Roush (don't know if I spelled that corectly) Ford is a good alternative if you just want HP. I f you want class.... look somewhere else...

 

[harrower]

Corvette has become a bit of a hillbilly car. I had 4 C5s and one C6. Time to grow up and look for something with some class...let the Dukes of Hazard retire.

No mater what GM does to the Corvette, it will allways be a Chevy that most dealers can't work on. And that is bad, because they need a lot of work. (poor quality).

The Roush (don't know if I spelled that corectly) Ford is a good alternative if you just want HP. I f you want class.... look somewhere else...

Maybe Oldtimer needs the back seat of the Roush to carry his wheel chair. The weight of the Roush and solid rear axle keeps it in the rear view mirror of Corvettes. Where do you take a Roush for service? HP, torque, handling,comfort, style and price keep Corvette far ahead of the pack.

Keep them coming Chevrolet! It keeps getting better.

Dave

 

[Rob]

Corvette has become a bit of a hillbilly car. I had 4 C5s and one C6. Time to grow up and look for something with some class...let the Dukes of Hazard retire.

No mater what GM does to the Corvette, it will allways be a Chevy that most dealers can't work on. And that is bad, because they need a lot of work. (poor quality).

The Roush (don't know if I spelled that corectly) Ford is a good alternative if you just want HP. I f you want class.... look somewhere else...

I completely disagree.

"most dealers can't work on"? Really? And why is that?

 

[speedway]

Corvette has become a bit of a hillbilly car. I had 4 C5s and one C6. Time to grow up and look for something with some class...let the Dukes of Hazard retire.

No mater what GM does to the Corvette, it will allways be a Chevy that most dealers can't work on. And that is bad, because they need a lot of work. (poor quality).

The Roush (don't know if I spelled that corectly) Ford is a good alternative if you just want HP. I f you want class.... look somewhere else...

I couldnt disagree with you more about everything you have said. I have never had a problem getting service for my Vette. If you have had a problem and your dealer didnt fix it all you need do is call GM direct it will be fixed. In my opinion there are no other cars in our great country that can compete with the CORVETTE. I am speaking of stock cars from the factory. There are alot of wantabees but they always fail and just cant hold a candle to the CORVETTE. The Corvette is an American Legend (57 years)and will continue to be for many many years to come. BTW have you seen the C8 that will be coming out in 2014 absolutely AWSOME.

"get err done GM"

Speedway

 

[Lola's Mom]

My turn on the soap-box, puhleese ....

The point of this thread is moot being as this is the XLR forum ....
WE, owners, have had a place unique in the history of the American automobile. I believe the XLR was the most advanced auto OF IT'S TIME when it came out and also was the car that cost the most for the base model. Yes, you can buy expensive Corvettes, but their base model is still affordable to most anyone. And - hate to say it - but from a distance - a Corvette is a Corvette.

This is not to say that I don't love and admire the 'Vette, and hope to someday own one .... but, I will never-ever regret being an elite owner of the XLR. This has been THE ride of the century. Now that the grand ol' lady has been retired ... the only American roadster of any substance is the Corvette.

We have Jimmy Johnson Chevrolet dealership here .... even the salesguy told us that it you want to bring your Corvette into dealerships that have Corvette technicians on staff - they are like the XLR techs ... that is what they work on and that is what they know .... I don't think I'd want just any GMC technician making his best guess on my Corvette ... and I would hope that if I need help with it I wouldn't have to call customer service every time .... what a pain.

As for the Roush .... AWESOME car - c'mon, it's not a roadster, but if you love automobiles, you have to give it it's due ...

 

[Oldtimer]

Maybe Oldtimer needs the back seat of the Roush to carry his wheel chair. The weight of the Roush and solid rear axle keeps it in the rear view mirror of Corvettes. Where do you take a Roush for service? HP, torque, handling,comfort, style and price keep Corvette far ahead of the pack.

Keep them coming Chevrolet! It keeps getting better.

Dave

Everybody has an opinion....

 

[Crimson Pearl]

I like the Corvette, but I like the XLR better!

I disagree with the author.

When I was a kid, every red-blooded American boy wanted a Corvette and a Harley-Davidson.

The Corvette has stayed true to its tradition as a very performance oriented car, though it suffered in the late 70s and early 80s. It outperforms and just flat-out outruns most of its competition with window stickers well above that of the Corvette. And quite frankly, just in case the author hasn't noticed, the price of all cars with the quality and engineering of the Corvette has gone up a bit. The Camaro offers some great performance at a price that our "youngsters" can afford.

One thing that my best friend of almost 40 years and I were discussing recently was that the one point that most car magazines criticize about the Corvette is the interior. I just sat in a new ZO6 a few weeks ago, and I thought it was nice. BUT, we think that Chevrolet should offer another model, let's call it the Corvette L or perhaps the Corvette LT. Give it a top-notch interior like the XLR has. Then you would have blistering performance as well as a world-class interior.

I love my XLR and chose it over a Corvette for a variety of reasons, but long live the Corvette - America's Sports Car.

 

[Rob]

I agree with most of the responses here.

The only Corvette I can think of that can be difficult to work on is the ZR-1; such as my 1990. However, it's not impossible to work on it. The difficulty comes into play if you have to do in-depth engine work and need some of the special J-tools that were designed for use to service the engine.

It was a limited production Corvette with an engine designed by GM Powertrain and Lotus in Hethel, England, so in my opinion, some difficulty on servicing the engine is to be expected.

However, with that said: I'm not a mechanic - although I can do most of my own service work.

In the past, I have pulled the entire top of the engine off, replaced the fuel injectors with stainless steel injectors, replaced gaskets, and the entire secondary port throttle vacuum system which is a nightmare in itself.

All I had was the the LT5 service manual and a bunch of tools.

To get an idea of what it looked like, check out my thread on the Corvette Action Center with pics:

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...995-zr-1-secondary-port-vacuum-diagnosis.html