Csaba Csere from Car and Driver...

And, if I had a suitable mode of escape available, I would have been more than happy to choke that douche-bag out on the spot.

But alas, there was nothing handy.

Here's an example of this fool's utterances:

"Motorcycles have gotten lighter. Why haven't cars?"
http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=9981

Well, dumba$$, maybe it's because motorcycles don't have a half-billion new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to comply with every decade.





Note to Red:
Next year, please have a Z06 waiting outside running and I will ensure that this piece of jounalistic detritus never writes another lame-brained article about automobiles (a subject he knows precious little about) again...






***

 

I was by Flint. Boy is he iiiiiiiiinteresting! Csere came over and chatted it up for a bit too. But Flint is quite the character LOL

 

Hey bro, a Z06 has two seats...

Next year we could off them both and be out of there like the wind!

 

Yeah he sucks. You should have pimp slapped him.

 

I'm not 100% sure; but I believe he was the dingbat who, in 1999, wrote this in the Car & Drivel review of the 1999 30th Edition Trans Am: "(whining about how gaudy he thought the car was) ...While driving the car, I wished I had a sign taped on the door saying - 'Not My Car!' "

 

Homicidal urges aside, did ya hear anything interesting from him.......?

 

Nope, but I did make some pointed comments about the general idiocy of the automotive press loud enough for him to hear.


"It could come fresh from GM with 600hp but some idiot from Car and Driver will probably pan it because of "Gotta Have It Factor."

 

Yeah, how DARE anyone complain about car weights! They SHOULD be going up and up and up, spiraling out of control, and anyone who suggests otherwise should be SHOT!

We should all be THRILLED at the prospect of a 3600+ lb. Camaro.



Bikes are lighter-weight because hard-core sportbike enthusiasts DEMAND light weight.

Car "enthusiasts", for the most part, only care about more power

Regs have something to do with weight, to be sure, but don't you think these new era "pony cars" being built on big, heavy, luxury car platforms might have *something* to do with their morbid obesity?

 

hey Pacer, you should have heard the fool on CNBC. here's a bit to get your blood pressure back up to it's normal level:

Her:
"Lets take the shot full and see what goes on here as we bring on the brand new Camaro. We'll let you listen to all the groovy music. I love this. The auto show is such a blast because they make such a big deal out of this, its great. (with a stupid smug laugh) The engine is reving, do you hear that? (hahaha) Oh wow. my. That looks different. It doesnt look like a Camaro to me. Doesnt look like the old Camaro."

Him:
"Which is probably the point."

Him:
"If you believe the stats on that car, that is a very fast car. It has a very big engine and it goes very fast. And thats the sort of thing that people get into. People who want to go drive around like lunatics, thats a good car to get into and drive like a lunatic."

Her:
"look at that grill. That grill is slightly reminicent of the Chrysler that has become so popular with the younger croud. Although the grill is bigger on the relatively new Chrysler, that for example, Snoop Dogg loves to drive that he was in the commercials with Dieter Zechle"


Now this was from earlier when they were just discussing GM and Camaro...

Her:
"People want to see a grreat design, and they were able at least on the Ford side with the PT cruiser, to come out with that and that sort of had a retro look to it."

 

If someone is going to complain about weight, then that's fine, just don't be an ignorant jackass by making a comparison with a mode of transportation that is wholly different than a car.

Being the local speed-bike freak and car enthusiast, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that while weight is a huge issue in sportbike design, it is not the only issue. For the last 6 years, the world's fastest and quickest production motorcycle tipped the scales at 478 pounds DRY.

Make no mistake though, weight is also a HUGE issue in car design - but the comparison falls flat when you take a single purpose repli-racer motorcycle and compare it to a car that performs far more functions than just going fast, like Camaro.

Camaro is not a dedicated road racing machine.

A Corvette Z06 is.

The Suzuki GSXR-1000 and the Z06 are equivalent engineering statements.

Camaro, on the other hand, is better compared with a sport-touring platform - and let me tell you brother, the 1100 Katanas and Bandit 1200's and Hayabusas of this world ARE NOT ultra-light like the GSXR's are.

They serve different purposes, and are designed differently because of it.

If you want the attention to detail paid to every ounce at the expense of the rest of the features that make Camaro what it is (a bitchin' radio, comfy seats, A/C, etc...) then shut yer trap and buy a Z06. At that point you can rip any and every feature associated with comfort out of it and get your wish.

Camaros ARE NOT and HAVE NEVER BEEN ultra-performance cars. They're fast, they're comfy, and they're stylish - but if you want to win road-course races, buy a Corvette. My buddy Chuck Curran wins them right and left... and he drives a Z06.

BTW - betcha a 2006 Z06 is lighter than a fully optioned 427 cubic inch mid-year or early C3.


Not really. Those platforms are big and heavy specifically because of the added bulk associated with safety and items.

A full-size mid-1970's luxury car would have few problems clocking in at OVER 2 tons. For comparison, please consider that a mid-1970's Chevrolet Caprice was technically a MID-SIZE and NOT considered a FULL-SIZE.

You want big? Try a Fleetwood on for size. They came standard with anchors and foghorns.

Further, motorcycles do not have side impact beams, safety cages, 5 mph bumpers, seat belts, 6 air bags, energy absorbing steering columns, 4-wheel multi-channel ABS, energy abrobing interior panels, etc... etc... etc...



Final note: +/- 50 lbs. means NOTHING compared to aerodynamics when motorcycles at +190mph are the issue. At those speeds, aero is EVERYTHING. Just ask those GSXR-1000, R1, ZX-10R, ZX-12R riders why they keep getting passed by Hayabusas up top.

 

[QUOTE=PacerX]Being the local speed-bike freak and car enthusiast, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that while weight is a huge issue in sportbike design, it is not the only issue. For the last 6 years, the world's fastest and quickest production motorcycle tipped the scales at 478 pounds DRY.[QUOTE]

Hayabusa is quickest? Only in a straight line, and then only *BARELY*. A modern 600 would take it on any road course.

agreed

No, it isn't either. A Formula Ford is a dedicated road-racing machine. Z06 is a somewhat road-course capable ROAD CAR.

I'd rather the Camaro be more of an Aprilia Tuono than a (cough, cough) Katana (ewwwww!), or Bandit even.

Er, right. I'm *thinking* of a ~$30k new car, so of course I can easily just get a $65k Z06, no prob!

Comfy?! FWIW, the Z28 *should* be a capable road-course burner, not just a 1/4-horse. Ultra-high performance I don't require, but I do NOT want an overweight scrunched-down 2+2 luxury sedan!

EXACTLY! That's why I tire of hearing all the excuses made for an overweight new Camaro. It didn't (still doesn't?) *HAVE* to be that way!

No kidding, but road course performance is more relevant to most hardcore sport riders. And at the road course, 10-15 lb. is significant.

At the road course, weight can actually be more important than power/weight! Which explains why my piddling 10:1 power/weight 240Z hangs with and BEATS Z06s, Vipers, 911 Turbos and the like.

Light weight rules!

New cars don't HAVE to be as heavy as they are!

GM, build me a 3200 lb. V8 Camaro or ELSE!

 

You know that's about 30 lbs more than the base corvette weighs, right?

Not gonna happen.

 

wow, lots of love in here?

I really like C&D, and have been reading Csere for years - I'd very much enjoy to talk cars or go on a road trip with any of those guys. Excellent magazine, the best of them all in my opinion. And full of real car enthusiasts. OK, John Phillips does seem a little nutty. But still comes off as a hard core auto enthusiast.

 

Yeah, I bought that one because the 99 30th T/A and the pewter 99 SS both appeared in the same article. I was very annoyed when I read it.

 

I'd rather read people who say what they honestly feel, whether I agree with it or not, instead of a bunch of industry cheerleading (which C and D does more than its fair share of anyway).