Remember all of the tests of the Z06 talked about how unsettling it was to drive at the limit and it wasn't very good on the road course because of that.
Well according to a new comparsion test in Car and Driver which the Z06 gets first place, the 2007 Z06 handles a lot better thanks to new shocks and a recalibrated suspension

 

Is this test in the new C&D Feb or March?

 

Was the new 600 hp Viper in that test too? If so, how did it do?

 

Nah , it wasnt . The new Porshe GT3 an Elise ...and I dont remember the rest

 

No Viper, it was between a Porche GT3 and a Lotus Elise. I just read through it at Barnes & Noble the other night.

3rd place: Lotus Elise
2nd Place: Porche GT3
1st Place: Corvette Z06

They said by placing the Z06 in first place there were worried readers would consider them biased towards American cars ......yeah right.

 

Thats not a problem, the general feeling on here is that it is the other way around.

 

Funny, I've never read that they're concerned that people would think they were biased towards foreign cars whenever they pick a foreign car as the winner of something.

It's like they just can't bring themselves to say it! lol

 

I wonder if it's now "streetable", whereas before you just "couldn't drive that car on a daily basis"?! (according to some Euro Top Gear or 5th Gear host ). Sorry World, but America knows how to build cars too!!

 

That's great news... any insiders or nerds have the details on what was changed? Actual significant part revisions or just a change in the factory settings to the same basic parts?

I wonder if the difference is as substantial as one would have to assume it'd be to get a car to swing so heavily from disliked to 'first place'... or if it was just a different reviewer or they were in a different mood that day?

 

Shocks make or break the car.

GM's shock valving decisions range from inadequate to bizarre to simply stupid across their entire product line. Trucks, cars, EVERYTHING. This has always puzzled me with the likes of John Heinricy leading the way.

Sounds to me like someone actually listened to the test drivers / engineers this time around.

 

March.

It was a Lotus Exige, not an Elise. That's the hardtop version.

The competition was for hardcore street cars. The 600hp Viper would have been a good addition to the test, but I don't think it's available yet.

There was also a competition for kit cars. They tested the Brock Superformance Coupe, a Noble M400, and an Ariel Atom 2. It was a pretty sweet read.

The Car and Driver article says that Tadge Juechter, the chief Corvette engineer, said that "the shock damping rates have been trimmed back a little." (quoting the magazine, not the engineer).

 

Now see this is what makes me think the mags worry about such things. The fact that they thought about how the readers would take their results makes me feel like they skew the results sometimes to make things even or sometimes anti-American. The next test if things are close they will give the foreign car the nod becuase the American car won this time.
Just drive and test the cars and if the results come down to subjective ratings give us your opinion. Thats all we ask and really its why they have the job they do.

 

You've got me thinkin'.
C&D (and all the other mags) knows who it's subscribers are. They know what kinds of cars the majority of the subscribers drive (thru mail-in surveys and what not).
They will always cater to their subscribers. If the majority of their subscribers like foreign cars over American ones, then the foreign cars will get better press than the American cars.
If these mags consistently picked the American procduct, the magazine would lose their subscribers and revenue would fall.

Their catering to their core, which is what all businesses do. And that's fair.

But they should not be saying that they are unbiased or that no company or group has an influence over the cars the pick. That's just BS.
Their subscribers, who pay their salaries, definately influences their decisions.

 

That's freaking hilarious! Proof positive, they know exactly what their mindless readers expect from them.

 

Seems to me I remember some posts on this very board crying “bias” and “more GM bashing” when the comments about the Z06’s handling were published.

Apparently, however, GM took the comments seriously and made some changes to address the issues raised…that would lead me to conclude that the article’s writer(s) were right all along.

Guess it goes to show that just because an article/writer finds fault with a GM product, it might be legitimate criticism and not just aiti-GM bias underlying it.