Have you guys seen this?

12 second street cars:) Now there's a new thread:) I would not knock the Vette. Check out the prices. Wonder what a new Cobra can do right out of the box? The stock Mustang GT's I see here in Tucson are sad.

Al

"Big Al" wrote in news:taEQc.77$ snipped-for-privacy@news.uswest.net:

I don't think 'poor' about either the Viper of the Corvette. Considering the two cars that beat them, price and availability put the Ford and Saleen out of reach.

The Corvette is the steal of the decade. You can't get more for the money. At least so far...

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

I like the 'Vettes... but the best bang-for-the-buck is probably the new Cobra. You can slip yourself into 400hp for somewhere around $35k... around $20k less than the Corvette. They've been said in the articles to run about the same in most of the road tests and shootouts I've seen.

That said, I'd still probably rather have a Z06 than a new Cobra if I could afford either. My boss has an '03 Z06... *very* nice car, both in looks and performance, and just plain outclasses a new Cobra (and definately mine) on any front I can think of.

JS

One thing I found a little humorous in the article was when they referred to the massive 265/35ZR18 rear tires on the Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG. I have wider tires than that on the front of my car. No wonder the rear tires went up in cloud of smoke.

You need some really wide and sticky rear tires when you get to the horsepower level these cars have. I wouldn't want a car that couldn't do a reasonable job of putting its power to the road.

C'mon... you guys suck. :) Ford kicks some serious ass and we're in denial? Forget that. Fact is, the GT40 is a world class, McLaren eating supercar. Same with the (Ford engined) Saleen. Yeah, they cost a fortune, but so what. Let Chevy build one. They haven't and probably couldn't. I'm soooo happy to see two Fords kick the crap out of the Viper, Vette and all the exotic Euro trash... I mean seriously, if you're dropping $150K on a car, you instantly think Ferrari, Lambo, etc... NOT Ford! But, like in

1966, Ford hands them their ass. It's great! I guess I'm one of the few that bleed blue! ;)

Brad

The Vette beats the Mustang on *any* front? Have you tried putting your kids in a Vette's back seat?

Further, I can't comfortably sit in any recent Vette due to inadequate headroom, yet I easily fit in my '98 Mustang with the driver's seat tilted back a little. (I'm >6'3".)

I admit that the Vette beats my Mustang on looks and performance, but perfect it ain't.

"Brad and Mia" wrote in news:oN_Qc.31777$gE.28315@pd7tw3no:

Of course the GT40 is awesome. Same with the Saleen. And you're right

- Chevy or Dodge has nothing in that ballpark, which is exactly why comparisons like that are ridiculous without taking the vehicles' prices into consideration.

In reality, the GT40 and Saleen have no business competing with a Corvette or a Viper. But as long as the comparison was made, price has to be included as a factor. Considering the huge price differences, 3rd and 4th place isn't bad at all.

The _real_ shame isn't the Corvette's or the Viper's, it's Ferrari's and Lamborghini's.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

Bob Willard wrote in news:bf4Rc.217876$a24.8855@attbi_s03:

No car is perfect, but comparing the Mustang and Corvette in the "hauling kids & groceries" category is ludicrous. Given that criteria, a Dodge Caravan easily beats both the Mustang and Corvette.

And if you didn't fit in a new 'Vette, Bob, you must not have had the seat adjusted right. I can tell you personally that there's plenty of room for people over 6' in a 'Vette.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

If the Saleen is allowed to compete, why didn't they get any Callaway twin turbo Corvettes or some Corvettes from Lingenfelter Engineering.

The test becomes kind of meaningless when tuner cars are being compared to regular production line vehicles. Some of these cars are pretty much assembled one at a time by hand, while the others roll down an assembly line.

"Mark Jones" wrote in news:AJ5Rc.11801$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net:

I think that was the point of the original test - to see which 'standard production' cars will do 12s right off the showroom floor. Apparently, the Ford GT and Saleen fit the bill, whereas Lingenfelter and Callaway cars don't.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

Callaway makes the C12 which should be just as eligible as the Saleen.

Don't have kids, but I wouldn't want to put kids in my Cobra either. My girlfriend's little cousin is a little over the one year old mark, and it was a pain in the ass to get him in the back of that thing. The Vette doesn't even offer you the option.

I dunno about "easily" fit. I have a '97 Cobra and I'm a little over 6'. I sit with my knees in the steering wheel. My '89 Probe GT had way more legroom (I could move the seat back so far that it was hard to push the clutch to the floor). Not to mention that the shifter is so far forward that reclining the seat makes you reach for everything. The seats don't hold me in, and I constantly find my knees against the door trying to keep me in my seat on a hard right turn.

I've not actually planted my ass behind the wheel of the Vette, but I can't imagine being too much more cramped or uncomfortable than in my Cobra. Luckily, some racing seats are due to be installed when I finally get another winter/daily ride... and I can put them in a position most comfortable to me.

Never said it was perfect, but I think it'd win on every category that I care about (hauling large, cumbersome objects... and children, or even more than one passenger is not even remotely a priority... that's what daily drivers are for).

I still like my Mustang... don't get me wrong.. I just don't think it's the best car in the world. But... with a few tweaks here and there, it can be a pretty damn fine car... and until I start raking in millions, I'll be perfectly happy with it. :-)

JS

It's nice to see those two cars at the top of the list duking it out. And, I'll agree that they are spectacular cars, and right up there in the league of the Lamborghinis and Ferraris of the world. As some pointed out, though, there are tuner Corvettes, and even tuner Vipers running around. On top of that, this was a strictly quarter-mile comparo. The S7 will run with the best, and the GT is pretty damn good too, but the biggest function of the Italians is the fact that they can do more than just go fast in a straight line. The Saleen can hit the twisties, as can the GT, but I'd be more impressed if they could both out-perform the Italians in a real comparison that included turns as well as 1/4 times. Watching a video of the GT against a Ferrari on the track, it didn't turn as well, but made up for it in the straights. I understand that they wanted to do a "stoplight comparison" kinda thing, but when was the last time you saw an Italian pull up to a stoplight in your neighborhood?

I'm excited to see these cars... all of them... but these are pretty much dream cars. I'd be lucky to own any one of them in my lifetime.. so it really doesn't matter who tops who. Give me a potent, relatively inexpensive Mustang brawler like the 5.0 notchbacks of late, and then we'll talk.

Besides, a new Cobra and $1000 will run 12's all day long, as will a AWD turbo DSM with $500 thrown at it.

JS

Callaway and Lingenfelter are not registered as car manufacturers. They are still officially customizers. While most consider Saleen the same thing the US Government has recognized him as a small volume auto manufacturer, like Panoz. Thus Saleen shows up as a car maker, Callaway and Lingenfelter do not.

Steal of the decade? I can buy an '04 SVT Cobra brand new, tweak it to crush the 'Vette on the strip, band-aid it to be reasonably competitive on a road course, blow the motor and buy a fresh one direct from Ford, and still not have hit the price tag on the 'Vette they tested. If you were to get a base, plain-jane 'Vette trim I might have to get the second motor from a less expensive source and I won't go over by much and I'll win even more often ;).

"Steal" has to be defined by what you want to do with the car. Right now nothing beats the SVT Cobra in bang for buck for a street/strip/mild corner-carver. If you want to be seriously competitive or just go really fast in the twisties, then yeah, the 'Vette is best way to go depite the lame rear suspension. I'm really disappointed they didn't fix that rear end on the C6 but I'd still consider one :).

Also, there's something wrong in their testing when a 'Vette with a weight to power ratio of 7.7 gets beat by a Mercedes with ratio of 9.0! Both make the same power and the Benz is *1300* lbs heavier. That's just odd :).

"Dan" wrote in news:r79Rc.11$ snipped-for-privacy@news.uswest.net:

> > le

By 'steal' I meant driving one right off the showroom floor without mods. For the money I still say you can't beat a 'Vette. As for the 'Vette's rear, it's certainly better than the Cobra's.

You've got that right, Dan. I wonder who was driving those cars.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC