Consider yourself lucky. It was just as I said. "When I say go, take off. Don't burn rubber. Shift at 4000 rpm. Get it up to third and leave it there throughout the course." That's exactly what he said. He told me exactly when to shift and what to do.

Like I said, I'm guessing the C6 auto was less restrictive.

 

I had totally missed what you said at that part. My bad.


I lit em up (not ridiculously, just a hot launch) at the start of the track, and got sideways as mentioned going into the straight. But I had asked the guy first, and he let me know it was fine. I would have never done it just out of the blue.

 

They've gotten more restrictive since it first began. I went two years ago and the guy who was watching over the vette (C5) was cool. He didn't want me to sit there and spin them for 5 minutes, but he said other then that have a ball. I got the tail out on the third turn and the guy was having a ball, no complaints. I think it is whether you seem in control or not, or at least back then.

Last year, it totally changed, and like you said they just tell you to go to this speed, change gear here, and whatever. In fact, it wasn't even a track last year, it was just tow straights and a u turn. I don't know what the big deal is, since if you break it you buy it, if you all read the contract you signed when you came in.

BTW, why the hell did they move the GTO to the passenger car section? The first year it was there it was in the sports car segment, where it belonged.

 

They probably aren't too keen on trying to extract 50 grand for a brand new wrecked Corvette from the average joe. Not the easiest thing to do; often times flat out impossible.

 

Glad you enjoyed Autoshow in Motion.

A couple of things.

The 7mpg is probably because the vehicle idles a lot...........and a lot of start/stop.

when I read the part about you not having enough room in the HHR, my first reaction was that someone had 'ratcheted' the seat up. (Cobalts and HHRs have a standard 'ratchet' that will allow you to raise or lower the seat. IF, in fact, it had a power seat, I think something may have been wedged under the seat. I'm 6' 2" and have plenty of headroom in the HHR. But I do agree with you that the rear view mirror blocks your visual scan. (something we took very seriously in the Camaro/Firebird......and moved the mirror up as far as possible so that you could get a good field of view)

The reason we're somewhat restricting on the track is not because of what it will do to the cars.......rather, we're worried about what the car may do as it hits another......or worse.........people. We've been doing 'test drive' events for well over half a century.........and there have been way too many instances where someone gets in over their head and someone gets hurt.

Glad you had a good time.......and I highly recommend going to anyone on this site.

 

You should go on weekdays. I've learned my lesson on my first visit. Ever since then I go on weekdays, way less lines. There were only 3 people in line for the Solstice. I tried the H3 and SSR as well, 3-4 in line waiting.

H3, nice and solid, but what is with the I-5's whine? The guy next to me states I have to keep it in 4-wheel low and it revs to around 2500-3000 around the track and kept whining. Same thing happened with the GMC Canyon which had a short gas pedal travel, IIRC.
IF only the H3/Canyon/Colorado had a more powerful motor....

SSR, I put the top back up when I drove up to the starting line where the guy was and requested it. He stated to hold the button until it chimes. This truck is fast, but that's all that is good about it. Interior was low-buck and the car felt like it was falling apart, especially over those made up speed bumps, lots of rattle.

HHR, no problems with headroom. I'm 5'7". I also have a PT Cruiser and this thing felt smoother and has more mid range than the peaky PT. Only gripe is that it is 7" longer, yet when I got in with my GF the interior looks smaller than the PT to both of us.

Cobalt SS, this was hands down the best "regular" car in the whole show. Good acceleration, cornered on rails, good ride, and no rattles. The only gripes are visual:The vents' bezel on the dash is not a separate piece to the dash, rather Chevy just made the bezel around the vents out of a line and different texture to give the appearance of a separate bezel. Right apron was empty compared to the left, looks like something was missing. I also didn't like the way the casting of the block and head looked next to the rt apron. Minor gripes, but just being picky.

G6 GTP 4-door, had some rattles coming from the rr shelf. Not as sporty as the Cobalt SS when it came to cornering and acceleration, but pretty decent for what it is and considering the track size. Where is the Nav?

GP GXP, not as solid as last year's Grand Prix GT that I test drove. This one had a few rattles as well. Cornering was pretty good. Acceleration was good, but not much room to really try it out. Dash and console left some to be desired.

Impala SS. Very solid and fast. Cornering was pretty decent, especially for a FWD sedan, though it felt like the GXP cornered better. The only thing is the gauges were bland.

Solstice, nice. sit-on-the floor and near the back. Tall cowl height, just like a roadster. I had no problems seeing over the hood. Decent performance and cornering. Fun to drive and looked GOOD doing it. The only thing that bugged me was the window rattling when I closed the door and that the seat belts are caught behind the seat and there is no room between the door trim panel and seat to put your hand thru to get at it. I had to open the door again to get it.

Didn't sit in the GTO as I already did last year. Solid and fast. People kept revving it there.

Envoy Denali, more roll than I would like but I almost bought this SUV last year. I like the size and especially the motor. Best looking out of the 3 (was 4). I rented the Bravada a couple of years ago and tested the Raineer (sp?) last time and this engine is always buttery SMOOTH.

Torrent, yes Torrent had to test drive it as I test drove an Equinox when it first came out and I think there was something wrong with the Chevy last time as this one was quieter and smoother and the steering seemed better than I recall of the Chevy. Again, if only it had more power. Even if they put the 3.9, it still won't feel like it is being competetive. I just saw the latest issue of MT and the new Rav4 that is coming out is going to have a 3.5L 268HP V6!!!!!!! I guess it's up to the upcoming Saturn Outlook to duke it out with the Rav4.