2010_5thgen

this is dumb.... i understand them trying to protect themselves, but why make a performance car when you cant even use it the way they built it. and why even spend the money involved in racing to take the parts they like from it to transfer it to the production car. and why let these videos leak showing everyone a zl1 with a roll cage, racing seats, harness ect...? really shows me its a race car....... why even give it a s/c motor with all this power? why not jsut a v8 tuned differently? because in the end it really doesnt matter. for anyone that wants to retain warranty, you have to drive ms daisy around town...

well think about it...i can either go to a track, pay x amount of dollars to either drag race or road course( doesnt even have to be timed, ive raced many times at mid ohio untimed) and void your warranty....or i can race on the street for free and still retain my warranty because " im not racing".... im not liek this, but dont tell me there arent people who think this...

and what is normal opperating? because from the performance numbers i see about these cars....thats normal. and obviously the way i drive on the street, doing speedlimits and going 0-60 in traffic speed, is not normal conditions according to the mfg specs of the car.

jg95z28

And with the advancement of technology and computers, we're not far off from the day when you take your vehicle in for service and they plug into the vehicle's computer, they'll be able download your driving behavior and determine whether or not you have violated the "misuse" clause and voided your warranty.

jg95z28

Because they can sell it and make a profit. Its the reason anyone gets into any type of business.

2010_5thgen

but what is misuse? they tell us the car does 0-6 in under 5 seconds and 1/4 mile times of whatever and a limited top speed of 155. why not make the top speed 80? then no one can speed and misuse the car..... if im doing that...thats not misuse...thats what they tell us the car is capable of and thats normal conditions of the car.

JasonD

So the ZL1 sales figures go up and the Mustang GT500 sales figures go down. And your interpretation of "they way they built it" may not be in line with theirs.

What parts from a race car are being transferred to the ZL1 production car?

They don't necessarily "let" them leak. They prep the car for employee safety. It is a test car and as such, things are unpredictiable. They don't want to be sued by an employee who gets hurt. If they do show a car with those things, it doesn't mean it is for production or similar end user use. A 2010 Camaro Top Fuel funny car doesn't mean your 2010 Camaro should be capable of 4 second quarter mile passes.

Legally, that is just interpretation. Do they say "race car"? Nope...and likely never will. It it was, it would not be street legal because it is illegal to "race" on the street. For a "race car", they sell a body in white, and you need to be approved by GM Performance Parts to buy one.

To stay ahead of the competition. And to sell cars. See above.

It all comes down to "misuse" and how it is interpreted. I think that is the key word in their warranty in this case.

2010_5thgen

from the zl1 i dont know. but the c6r...alot.. and mitchum motorsports is transfering data and info from their camaro to gm for the motor to be used in future motors...

2010_5thgen

everything you just told me there is basically an excuse from gm to protect themselves. and i get it i do... but its all just a bunch of BS

2010_5thgen

so whats the excuse for the SSX?

2010_5thgen

the zl1 video was from gm proving grounds, was it not? i havent seen any top fuel drag videos from gm...

JasonD

The definition of misuse is likely up to them to determine on a case-by-case basis to protect them from legal and financial misuse by the end user.

They say that is what it is "capable" of. Where do they say "this is normal conditions for this car"?

A gun is "capable" of killing people. Never will you see a gun manufacturer say "when you use this gun, you can kill lots and lots of people". But they do assure you that if you WANT to, you can. They imply this by saying things like "utmost reliability" and "competition-level accuracy".

Which is why a gun manufacturer cannot be liable for the people killed by the guns they produce.

That is another can of worms, so if you like you can substitute "ink pen" and "write lots and lots of bad words" for the above.

So...let's say they did make the ZL1 with a top speed of 80.
And then I take one and go out off-roading with it.
Then I go back and say "you didn't say I cannot go off-roading with it, and I didn't off-road faster than 80mph. Fix what I broke.".

This is why "misuse" is not defined. For one, if they did, the warranty paperwork would be as thick as 10 Yellow Page phone books and two, they still cannot cover every possible way to "misuse" a vehicle.

You have a Hummer right? The implication is that Hummer vehicles are military grade. However, I don't think that yours can do what the Hummer that "inspired" the development of yours can do, nor hold up to what the "real" Hummer can hold up to.

Everything you buy if like this when you think about it.

2010_5thgen

you could get into a wreck and they can say you "misused" the car...thats a very vague word and they leave it ope for them to adjust accordingly and make judgement for whatever suits them.

JasonD

Really? Says who? GM? What data? Performance or reliability or...?? And that is data...not "parts". The C6R is not a production vehicle built or owned by GM. I think Pratt and Miller built that (the dude that did my blower and cam install now works for them, on that car), and it is a tube-frame race vehicle with at most, GM sponsorship and advertising on it.

The SSX is not a production car. It is a concept, show car, one-off, etc.

It was...and so are a lot of "unauthorized" footage and photos. Did GM release them or did a spy photographer? And if they DID...what where they demonstrating? Performance, or how they simply test for durability?

It might seem like BS, but the bottom line is that it is just selling cars. If you ever get the chance, consider taking a business law class...you will be stunned and amazed at what you will learn.

JasonD

From their warranty...
A wreck is between you and your insurance company. They warrant the vehicle craftsmanship within their definition of the intended purpose, not what you do with it...including "misusing" it.

wastintime

Lol, you're joking about this, but... that's something that should really worry people. Lol, and OnStar is evil.

I don't know though... some companies are pretty good about this, and on certain models you have to be more lenient. Obviously I'm very involved with Porsche and Porsches, and I have a friend who bought a GT3RS brand new from Brumos and he told them he was buying it as a track car. With about 12k miles on it, it developed an oil leak, and he was very honest that a lot of those miles were on track, he didn't think he'd over-revved it or anything, but anything's possible. They simply said "it's under warranty, this is our highest performing motor, and you're using it as intended. It should not leak." And rather than just fixing the leak they completely rebuilt his motor for free. I'd hope something similar would happen if a ZR-1 or ZL-1 suddenly started leaking oil. And it may very well be a case where you need to know a dealership that's more likely to be sympathetic to performance driving than others.

wastintime

Here's my advice if anyone is worried about this:

If you're at a TIMED event, you're probably SOL, that's usually the big thing for insurance companies too, whether or not the event is timed. If you buy a car to be a race car, you shouldn't expect to have a warranty on it.

However, I've never heard of the warranty not being honored on a STOCK car that's been taken to a DE at a road course. Now, this may vary from dealer to dealer, and I certainly wouldn't advertise that you had it on track, but if they know or find out you really should defend your rights on this one.

Unless you're pretty advanced already, you're probably not pushing the car much harder than you would accelerating on the interstate. Other than tires and brakes road courses, especially for beginners, rarely put much stress at all on cars. Autocrosses are what break cars, and it just has to do with the lower gears, more violent maneuvers, suspension loads, etc...

As a big proponent of DEs, I'd just hate to see people frightened away from a chance to drive their car on track because they're worried about the warranty being voided.