So what has happened at GM.

[ZR1cliff]

Reading the reports on the new C6 Z06 and the latest advance in the powerplants,gearboxes,chassis design etc i cant help but think that GM have got a Bee in their bonnet(or should i say Hood)about elevating the corvette into a seriuos new performance era,how as this come about and why?,is this the lagacy of the ZR-1,or am i being a little self indulgent of my own marque.

For so long,early 70's to the late 80's,the corvette seemed to wallow in its own way happy to comply with the smog choking performance of its time,then in the early 90's things took a change of direction,was this due to changes within and did they realise that to take the vette into the future there had to be a radical reworking of America's most famous sportscar or is this just by chance,was it the emergence of the Viper that kicked GM's butt or was it the need to keep up with the rest of the world?,what ever happenend they have certainly got the bit between their performance teeth.

[te51cle]

ZR1cliff said:

...was it the emergence of the Viper that kicked GM's butt ?

:yesnod:

That'll be the reason, the recent european pricing announcements show how much consideration they give to the competition over here.

[LuS1fer]

I suspect they were as surprised as anyone when they started to kick butt at LeMans and no-one really challenged them which probably gave them Porsche ideas. I'm sure that there are now more cars than ever starting to eat into the Corvette's traditional buyers so it's compete or die.

Shame the rest of the Chevys and Daewoos have gone right to pot. Still ,here in Cardiff, there's an Aston Martin and Lotus franchise with a brand new black C6 sitting there as well.