New Corvette!!!

[JonesF1]

Originally posted by krt917
I agree with some of your sentiments Tristan. My own little pet-hate about Americam motorists is their insistance on using 15mpg 4x4 Bricks to go to the shops, burning all the world's resources whilst telling the rest of us to stop it! Then again, we're starting to do the first bit ourselves!

Pot, kettle, black. The Rovers were some of the first SUVs on the market. As for the gas mileage argument, its all a scam. Look at real world tests, Hondas can guzzle just as much gas as pushrod V8s.

On an unrealted note what really ****es me off about American car companies is that they give you guys better cars then us. Why cant Ford give Americans a Falcon XR8 or Focus RS? You know damn well that 4wd Cosworth model will never make it over here!

ps. I want a Viper, too.

[Tristan]

Yeah, re: the US version of the Focus (THE car that shaped 1990s Europe) - IT'S HIDEOUS!! You would have thought that it would be IMPOSSIBLE for Ford USA to make a pigs ear out of this one, but clearly I underestimated them. ALL American cars are RUBBISH.

[Bluebottle]

One of these days you'll learn the difference between a fact and an oppinion. May that day come soon.

[Bluebottle]

(P.S. I agree with your oppinion on the US Focus!)

[garcon]

Right, let's play at some logic.

"All American V8s are stupid."

Two rather prolific units used in thoroughly BRITISH cars for absolutely years came from Buick and, er, I think, Buick.

The Rover 3.5 V8, and the Rolls/Bentley 6.75 V8.

But they came from the US originally, so they're stupid too.

So, logically, must be all the cars that used them:

Rover P5B. The Queen drove one!
Rover SDI 3500. Build was hopeless, and only the later, fuel injected Vitesse was actually quick, but I loved 'em and so did all our police forces.
Just about every V8 TVR from day one to the birth of the Cerbera. I give you the TVR Griffith 500 - that's what you can do with a "stupid V8".
Rolls Royce Silver anything from the 60s, though the Shadow and Spirit right up to the end of the 90s. That 6.75 unit has always been refined, powerful, awesome. Only the new (German) V12 has bettered it.
Bentley T2, Mulsanne, Arnage Red Label, Arnage T... And when you slap a BIG Turbo (or two) on it, that 6.75 V8 becomes the most unbelievably potent unit one can imagine. 645 lb/ft of torque. That's more than the ultra high tech twin turbo V12 you'll find in the latest Mercedes S600 and CL 600. From the same (ok, somewhat modified over the years!) stupid cast iron breathless piece of American scrap they were using 40 years ago.

Bluebottle's right - we should all learn the difference between a FACT and an OPINION sometimes.

But there are times when an OPINION is just WRONG!!!!!!!

[krt917]

[Bluebottle]

Garcon:-

[Tristan]

"But there are times when an OPINION is just WRONG!!!!!!!"

Yes, but a TVR is a DECENT MOTOR CAR!! THE CORVETTE.... ISN'T!! Argument over.

[garcon]

Ah, so you now contradict your previous assertion that US sourced V8s are "stupid" ??

[Bluebottle]

Originally posted by Tristan
Argument over.

No it isn't....

[Tristan]

Yes it is. The old Corvette is decent enough, but it falls WAYYYYYYYYYYYY short of its rivals. The new one looks like a dogs dinner. All other American cars in current production are arse. Argument over.

[Bluebottle]

No it isn't.




(Thinks"...This guy's too young to remember Python... ")

[Tristan]

(No he isn't )

[Bluebottle]

"Is this the 5-minute argument or the full half-hour"

(you're still wrong 'though)

[429CJ]

Tristan is against rear wheel drive and V8, what is he driving? Suzuki Alto?

[JonesF1]

The Alto? Thats a secretarys car. Real racin' men like Tristan drive the Cappuccino!

[Bluebottle]

I don't think he owns a car at the moment
(I didn't own a car until I was his age, didn't need to until then, and it's been downhill ever since!!)

[Tristan]

Suzuki Cappuccino - case in point. THREE CYLINDER engine, 600-odd cc.... BRILLIANT CAR!! Legendary, in fact.

[garcon]

Quite agree - ace car!!! David Yu (he of Skyline GT-R "Godzilla" and modded F355 Spider fame...) has a Cappuccino for darting round town in. And yes, he's managed to blow the engine up in that too...

However, one point. It's the same size and weight as a Corvette door handle. And flat out it does about the same speed as the Corvette manages at 1500rpm. In first.

That's not an argument, that's a contradiction. You're just contradicting everything I say!

[Tristan]

But that's not the point. The Aston Martin Vantage 600 went very quickly indeed. It's engine was the size of a Suzuki Cappuccino. Didn't make it a good car though, did it?? To quote Jeremy - "it's a wardrobe with a rocket strapped to the top" (or something like). Code for "why??!!".

[Bluebottle]

Originally posted by garcon

That's not an argument, that's a contradiction. You're just contradicting everything I say!

"No i'm not"

[Hurricane]

Originally posted by Tristan
Didn't make it a good car though, did it??

There's no such thing as a 'bad' Aston, IMO

Originally posted by Tristan
To quote Jeremy [/B]

What does He know anyway? He's a good presenter etc but at the end of the day his opinions are just that and worth nothing to me. He has, however, at least driven the cars he spouts rubbish about!

[Tristan]

"There's no such thing as a 'bad' Aston, IMO"

Oh come on, Aston Martin Lagonda have been responsible for some appalling motorcars. But then so has Maserati. Hell, even Ferrari once or twice (Mondial anyone??). Doesn't mean I love any of them less, I must add.

[alfasud]

Originally posted by Tristan
In the US, a V8 weighs three tonnes, is made from cast iron, has a rev limiter at 1500rpm and has a fuel economy of 3mpg.

I think you will find most are alloy block these days. As for the weight, you might also find that with a short crankshaft, single cam and alloy heads with reasonably light pushrod/rocker gear, they don't weigh much more (sometimes less) than some European big sixes.

Compare Jag 4.2L six with Chev small block V8 in the list below:
http://www.angelfire.com/ar/dw42/engfyi.htm

Now I wouldn't want pushrods in my Alfa, but when the engine is 5.7L, you don't need 6-7000rpm to make decent power and at low RPM, the advantage of OHC's are less. If you don't have to pull those big revs they why have 4xOHC, when pushrods do the job?. And who cares about weight when petrol is so cheap in the USA? Of course weight distribution is an issue, but in a Corvette, being a 2 seater can allow the engine set more central in the chassis, so that's less of a problem.

I seem to recall an article in a British performance car mag in the late 80's. They took a bunch of GT's to Italy (real roads). Of course the Ferrari and Porsche were right at home and the Alfa GTV6 (old RWD model) was good on the tight twisty stuff, but the Corvette was not disgraced. Too big for the really tight stuff where the Alfa was in it's element, when the roads opened out a bit, it didn't do too bad at all.

Don't get me wrong, I'd choose a Euro sports/GT over a Corvette any day, but I really don't think the car is really so bad in the right place - it's just that probably isn't my place.

On the other hand, that car in the first post does look too much like a Viper gone wrong - I liked the Callaway picture better.

[Lee Janotta]

Thanks for those thoughts, Alfasud.

I should point out that a 6.0L DOHC V8 was considered for the Corvette in 1997... But the engine wouldn't have been able to fit under the hood in anything resembling the wedge-shape associated with the Corvette since '84. So instead, a 100% new cast-aluminum pushrod V8 was designed. And, of course, found it's way into the Camaro, Firebird, and the Holden line.

Yes, they could have done a mid-engined 'vette, but that's an idea that's come up over and over again, and never goes anywhere.