Holger B

Quality consists of the aspects that can't always be objectively measured. It's the reason we don't all drive stripped 2 liter turbo sedans from Japan (or whatever meets the performance measurements that are important to you).

If the new Z06 is such "an excellent value" in your eyes, go trade your TT for one. Drive it like an enthusiast would for a few years and get back to us on its "quality".

Are P-cars or Vettes (or anything else for that matter) flawless? Absolutely not.

I sold my old 996 to a Vette owner who couldn't wait to make the switch and is still thrilled he did. But what does he know?

TT Gasman

The best thing that ever happened to a British car is when Carroll Shelby put a FORD 427 side oiler in one. Instant transformation from POS to one of, if not the most awesome sports car ever built.

mundman

Although the Z06 is a sexy car at a great value, It's no 911. It can't be and never will be. The driving experience of my car makes it the best street going race car on the market. The standard C6 is a brute. My friend has one and sure, it will blow the tires off the rims....But to quote a fellow Rennlister IT"S A CHEVY! plastic fantastic and rattles and poor quality. Even when Porsche f%$s up it's a quality F%$k up like RMS. My 911...I think I'll keep her

Eli at Pelican

WILMINGTON, Delaware (AP) -- General Motors Corp. plans to close plants and eliminate 25,000 manufacturing jobs in the United States by 2008 in an attempt to restore profitability at the world's largest automaker, its chairman said Tuesday as he fended off calls for his resignation.

Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner told shareholders at GM's 97th annual meeting in Delaware that the capacity and job cuts should generate annual savings of roughly $2.5 billion.

About one out of six jobs in the United States will be eliminated.

rhunt

I am considering going the other way and trading my 996 for a C6 Z06. Build quality to me has gone down in the Porsche. RMS for 6 years now and still not addressing the problem, airbag lights that cost $900 to fix, I have had to have my top recalibrated 3 times in the 1 year that I have owned it. My 964 was rock solid, but the 996 has been a bit disappointing to me. People can say whatever they want about the Porsche badge. I have owned over 10 Porsches and have never had the problems of the 996. Just my .02 Maybe I will go back to a 993 turbo, who knows, I am just venting about the problems with my car.

RR

The ONLY way GM competes is on price! Let's face it guys.

No one would buy the Z06 if it was priced like a Porsche or Ferrari - that's the reason they priced it the way it is.

I think GM would have finally reached the pinnicale if it could actually price the car at $150K AND have people buy them.

caf

Personally, I wouldn't pay 50 cents more for a Porsche badge than a Chevy one. I don't give a $hit about impressing people because I drive a Porsche. What's important to me is the performance. And like it or not, with each generation Chevy gives Porsche a much better run for it's money. The Z06 is now almost identical in length to a Carrera, offers more horsepower, a true dry sump engine (instead of the pseudo-dry sump foisted on us by Porsche cost cutting),and will out run the 997 in a straight line and on a road course. There's one thing that keeps me with Porsche and that's the phenomenal road feel and steering feedback that Porsche offers. Chevy can't match that. But the margin between the two is pretty damn thin, considering the dollar differences.

TD in DC

Apart from adding a few more details relating to durability that I think Porsche still does better, I couldn't have said it better myself.

RLandis

Really? Try driving a Jaguar!!!!

Eli K

It's actually a couple of inches shorter than the 997...

996Pilot

I don't want to change the topic but what is "recalibrating the top"? I'm just a curious relatively new owner of a '99 C2 Cab. I've had my top apart a couple of times to see how it works (and find out why the dash light stays on sometimes) and it's an engineering marvel (or Rube Goldberg - depending on how you look at it). BTW - dash light was a sticky microswitch - a little silicone spray and viola!

TitanL9

My buddy has two Vettes. Both very fast with lots of chrome and goodies But, when I feel the plastic surface, listen to it on the road, look at the interior...all I see is a GM's answer to a fast convertible car. There's simply no comparison to my 03 996

What I would really like to see is how many vette owners would buy a vette over a 996, if price wasn't an issue. I know my buddy would rather have two cars for the price of one PCar. I, on the other hand prefer quality and performance over multiples. As I would prefer one great bottle of red wine verses many bottles of table vino.

clum553946

I wonder how much a Corvette is with the GM "employee discount" promo they have running?

fast1

The GM employee discount unfortunately doesn't apply to vettes.

fast1

If you could buy a decently equipped 997 for $50K, I doubt that GM would sell many vettes. Maybe some would prefer the styling of the vette over the 997, so there could be a few sales but not many IMO.

But back to the real world. For the price of a stripped 997 you will be able to buy a C6 Z06 which based on preliminary reports is a street legal race car. The over 500 lb/ft of torque produced by the Z06's 7 liter engine will be awesome. I use to own an 8 liter vette with around 450 lb/ft of torque, and that car would eat up anything on the road from a roll. Of course unless you were running slicks, it was tough getting all that power to the road from a dead stop.

I'm not certain how you are measuring performance, but I wouldn't tangle with a C6 Z06 if you are driving your 996. BTW I'm not sure if you have driven a C6 but its interior is vastly improved over the C5, although it's still not up to the standard of a 996 or 997.

Don't get me wrong. I believe that the 996 is a highly refined sports car with outstanding performance, and for those who prefer refinement over brute power, it's hard to beat a 996.