Interesting sneak peek at Motor Trend best drivers car competition

[PYROLYSIS]

Originally Posted by 2cnd chance

a 2cnd chance

[hognutz]

this will be interesting. This is subjective so I see the ZL1 middle of the pack. it is seriously outgunned though. It does drive nice though but it is really down on power to wieght on some fo these contenders that I assume also drive well.

It is going to get destroyed in the drag race. I think even the shelby is going to get moped up there as well. the about the poor BRZ ha ha.

[armysig]

Originally Posted by 2cnd chance

[*]Ackward cup holder placement[*]Bland/cookie cutter interior
These items have nothing to do with It's being considered a "Driver's Car".

I beg to differ with your opinion.

Aside from the track now, if you're driving your ZL-1 on a road that has a lot of twists, turns and constantly shifting, I'm not going to want to have my cup holder filled with a drink or something to impeed my ability to make a proper shift. If you noticed they take the cars off the track and use them for recrational driving for 300 miles. Neither one of us can say they did or did not have a drink or items in the cup holder. If they did, they would remove it so it wouldn't affect their driving.

Bland/cookie cutter interior.

Ok, when I go on long distance drives with my ZL-1, first thing I do is remove my wallet from my back pocket. Why? Because if I don't it gives my rear end an uneven seating position. Thus affecting my comfort level while driving. I had a 1 SS, and the cloth seats were more forgiving than the ZL-1 seats.
Second, I'm 6', there is plenty of room for my head, shoulders, arms and rear end. Now there is the matter of my legs. My right leg rests on the side of the center console. After awhile it starts to hurt my right knee and hip because its in one place. Now this is alomst true for every sports car I have been in. Some have more room while others have less. This in effect makes the driving of the ZL-1 less than pleasent after many hours of driving.
I may not have been spacific on the 2 points earlier, but there are some details about the interior that could be improved upon to make the experience more enjoyable and pleasent. Thus making it less bland or a cookie cutter feel.

[Sajonf]

Originally Posted by armysig

I beg to differ with your opinion.

Aside from the track now, if you're driving your ZL-1 on a road that has a lot of twists, turns and constantly shifting, I'm not going to want to have my cup holder filled with a drink or something to impeed my ability to make a proper shift. If you noticed they take the cars off the track and use them for recrational driving for 300 miles. Neither one of us can say they did or did not have a drink or items in the cup holder. If they did, they would remove it so it wouldn't affect their driving.

Bland/cookie cutter interior.

Ok, when I go on long distance drives with my ZL-1, first thing I do is remove my wallet from my back pocket. Why? Because if I don't it gives my rear end an uneven seating position. Thus affecting my comfort level while driving. I had a 1 SS, and the cloth seats were more forgiving than the ZL-1 seats.
Second, I'm 6', there is plenty of room for my head, shoulders, arms and rear end. Now there is the matter of my legs. My right leg rests on the side of the center console. After awhile it starts to hurt my right knee and hip because its in one place. Now this is alomst true for every sports car I have been in. Some have more room while others have less. This in effect makes the driving of the ZL-1 less than pleasent after many hours of driving.
I may not have been spacific on the 2 points earlier, but there are some details about the interior that could be improved upon to make the experience more enjoyable and pleasent. Thus making it less bland or a cookie cutter feel.

you don't understand the meaning of driver's car.. It's not about comfort or cupholders. It's about driving feel, control, feedback from the car and the smile on your face when you are driving. That's the criteria they are judging by, not specs or lap times. They could give a shit about cupholders.

[armysig]

Originally Posted by Sajonf

you don't understand the meaning of driver's car.. It's not about comfort or cupholders. It's about driving feel, control, feedback from the car and the smile on your face when you are driving. That's the criteria they are judging by, not specs or lap times. They could give a shit about cupholders.

Well you're just a pleasant person now...I understand why and what they are doing. But if the average Joe gets in the car and expects to have those same experiences on what I listed, it does come into play.

Flame me for what my opinion, I don't care. I'm not going to be rude about your opinion. It's easy to hide behind a monitor. :(

[The IOM Ninja]

Originally Posted by GearBangr

So no cars with auto trans either?

Also where's the vettes and cadillacs?

Exactly, and just to confirm for you a DCT or Dual Clutch Transmission is not an automatic, it's an automated manual. If you're to take it apart it is nothing like an automatic transmission. The Camaro has an Automatic that can shift like a manual (to an extent) the GT-R has a Manual that can shift like an automatic. They are two different things….

Originally Posted by 2cnd chance

And many years ago, some track drivers felt that same way they hated the thought of power steering and power brakes in racing thinking they would lose the "feel" untill they saw the advantages.

Just consider it the next level in racing technology.

With auto tune: At the end of the day you still can't sing…

With electronic nannies such as Torque Vectoring, Stability Control, Performance Traction Management EPSA etc: You are not getting the same raw feel.

Some examples:
ZR1 vs GT-R - Despite the fact that they are both loaded with nannies out the ying-yang the ZR1 will arguably be the better drivers car.

ZL1 vs GT500 - Despite that the solid rear axle on the GT500 being a liability it will provide a more raw experience that personally I would prefer over the ZL1. Not that it makes the ZL1 a bad car at all, it just obviously doesn't provide the same experience. All the stuff that makes the ZL1 perform so well also makes it a limper car than say the 1LE (which would be a much better drivers car)

Comfort and Programming that masks how bad a driver is are not factors that make up a good drivers car…

Originally Posted by Sajonf

you don't understand the meaning of driver's car.. It's not about comfort or cupholders. It's about driving feel, control, feedback from the car and the smile on your face when you are driving. That's the criteria they are judging by, not specs or lap times. They could give a shit about cupholders.

^This

Though it doesn't really matter anyway considering all automotive magazines are bias towards one manufacture or another. I take all of these comparisons for what they are. Marketing techniques to sell more magazines… The car that will win will be from the manufacture that spends the most money on advertising….

[zl1bro]

Originally Posted by Sajonf

you don't understand the meaning of driver's car.. It's not about comfort or cupholders. It's about driving feel, control, feedback from the car and the smile on your face when you are driving. That's the criteria they are judging by, not specs or lap times. They could give a shit about cupholders.

Randy Pobst has already been behind the wheel of the zl1 and loved it. Rated it a better drivers car than the Boss Laguna Seca (which most would rate as a better drivers car than the Shelby). I expect the zl1 will compare favorably in this group, definitely ending up the the top 50 percentile if not the top quartile. When compared against cars costing 2-8 times more that is a real achievement. If Chevy had given it a better power/weight ratio, it would fare even better.

Btw whats wrong with the cupholders?

[Good2go]

My prediction: The BRZ and ZL1 will be in the top 3.

[Betiwin]

Lets not get to far ahead of ourselves. Perhaps the Zl1 does do great in this comparo but I wouldn't be suprised if the ZL1 GT500 times where done a few months back when they where there for the head to head match up. So pretty much times we seen might be just cut and paste from that article. If I remeber from the video Randy saying with a break upgrade the GT500 was the better track and street car as he felt the Z had awesome brakes but a chassis imbalance that caused some mid corner correction. He praised the 500's steering and abiltity to put the power down. He also said that the ZL1 was a very enjoyable track car. I can't wait for next week to see these videos. I will agree the Subaru will be top of the pack. Should be cool to see how cheap Detriot muscle handles being with $$$$ exotics.

Originally Posted by zl1bro

Randy Pobst has already been behind the wheel of the zl1 and loved it. Rated it a better drivers car than the Boss Laguna Seca (which most would rate as a better drivers car than the Shelby). I expect the zl1 will compare favorably in this group, definitely ending up the the top 50 percentile if not the top quartile. When compared against cars costing 2-8 times more that is a real achievement. If Chevy had given it a better power/weight ratio, it would fare even better.

Btw whats wrong with the cupholders?

[blackcam2ss]

I think just to have the Zl1 part of that competition is a great thing for Chevy, I learned one thing from having different vehicles is that there is always something better out there!

[Betiwin]

I wish they would of included a vette or Caddy to see how they compare as well.

[2010-1SS-IBM]

I think the ZL1 will do well. My guess is the Porsche wins it though.

[MEDISIN]

Originally Posted by 2010-1SS-IBM

I think the ZL1 will do well. My guess is the Porsche wins it though.

Porsche is hard to beat as a "drivers car". No BMW as the current M3 is pretty dated now, probably the same with the V's from Cadillac and nothing new from Corvette. Interesting comparison and I suspect the BRZ will do better than many of the high-power cars. I suspect the Ford will be near the bottom. The huge drag race they always do is one of my favorite videos every year.

[72MachOne99GT]

Originally Posted by 2cnd chance

No

So you don't think the ZL1 will place pretty high even though it's going to be slower around the track and slower in the quarter mile?