I rolled in our long-term 2002 Chevy Corvette Z06 for the first time last night. Yeah, no surprise, it looked and felt dated and smelled like an old sneaker. But it wasn't as bad as I thought, and it drove fine.
Another surprise was the rear visibility, which I feared was going to be horrible. It's not.
You see, when I would back up our dearly departed long-term Dodge Challenger R/T or our Dodge Viper, it wasn't something I would look forward to. The C pillars on the Challenger are particularly thick. My strategy was to go slowly while whispering a couple of Hail Marys, hoping someone wouldn't nail me.
With the notchback Corvette's slim rear pillars and expansive rear glass, you need not worry.
Hail Marys aren't necessary.
Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ 51,500 miles
travelingman79 says:
11:57 AM, 09/22/10
I wonder if the GT-R's driver needed to pray when parallel parking in front of the Cathedral.
SnakeDoctor says:
12:07 PM, 09/22/10
travelingman -
Actually, that driver was giving thanks for the opportunity to drive our long-term GT-R.
That driver was me.
Regards,
Albert
cr_driver says:
12:20 PM, 09/22/10
Nice picture indeed.
Look at all those bells!
oldno7 says:
12:59 PM, 09/22/10
That seat reminds me of one of those semi-anatomical punching bags.
When are you guys going to put some real seats in this thing?
stingray454 says:
08:42 AM, 09/23/10
Albert - biased much? You approached the Z06 with such negativity: "Yeah, no surprise, it looked and felt dated and smelled like an old sneaker. But it wasn't as bad as I thought, and it drove fine."
In 2002, the Z06 was among the top 10 highest performing cars in the world, and its performance credentials are still very impressive even by today's standards. The car is a thoroughbred, and the best you can come up with is "it wasn't as bad as you thought" and "it drove fine"?!?!
Yeah, the rear visibility is good overall. A Toyota Corolla drives "fine", and has good rear visibility too. But the Z06 isn't a transportation appliance. It's an entertainment machine. So, Albert, with this information and new approach to the Z06, how did the Z06 entertain you? That's what we want to know about.