Vehicular annoyance

[John V]

LOL.

It's funny how different environments expose the different facets of car ownership. The Corvette owners I see are predominantly young (25-35 years old), male, and definitely not the Hawaiian shirt crowd.

I think the C8 is going to meaningfully change that demographic. But I'd never let a perceived demographic affect my desire for a car.

[Nick M3]

i'll be very curious if my dad looks at one. the big problem is the lack of a place for the puppy.

if he buys one, he gets a star of david gold chain to go wiht his hawaiian shirt.

[equ]

Originally Posted by John V

LOL.

It's funny how different environments expose the different facets of car ownership. The Corvette owners I see are predominantly young (25-35 years old), male, and definitely not the Hawaiian shirt crowd.

I think the C8 is going to meaningfully change that demographic. But I'd never let a perceived demographic affect my desire for a car.

Fair enough... If I cared about perceived demographics, whew, I'd be staying pretty far from the german machinery and their impression of luxury.

I don't see any hawaiian shirts around here among Vette drivers. They are generally old and slow with few exceptions. Slower even than porsches. They are probably a bit more patriotic than import drivers.

[lemming]

Originally Posted by equ

Fair enough... If I cared about perceived demographics, whew, I'd be staying pretty far from the german machinery and their impression of luxury.



I don't see any hawaiian shirts around here among Vette drivers. They are generally old and slow with few exceptions. Slower even than porsches. They are probably a bit more patriotic than import drivers.

I can’t wait to see how this car compares dynamically to the Ford GT or McLaren cars.

The stereotype of the Corvette doesn’t bother me at all. You can engage with the enthusiast groups or not. Follow the Corvette Racing Team or not.

GM can make amazing cars that have racing pedigrees. There’s no shame in that.

[robg]

Originally Posted by equ

Fair enough... If I cared about perceived demographics, whew, I'd be staying pretty far from the german machinery and their impression of luxury.

I don't see any hawaiian shirts around here among Vette drivers. They are generally old and slow with few exceptions. Slower even than porsches. They are probably a bit more patriotic than import drivers.

Yep- there's probably a negative stereotype associated with pretty much any enthusiast car except possibly some of the smaller British brands like Lotus. Alfa might get a pass too.

[Alan]

Originally Posted by robg

Yep- there's probably a negative stereotype associated with pretty much any enthusiast car except possibly some of the smaller British brands like Lotus. Alfa might get a pass too.

+1 ... exactly !!

[ZBB]

What about the new Mazda 3?

I saw one last week -- sedan in dark blue with the tan leather interior. Its a really good looking car, with a very nice looking interior (it drove by us in a parking lot and I looked in after they went in the store...) Perhaps not the performance you want, but it might check other boxes...

[John V]

Too slow. I know the engine in that car very well and it's just kind of a dud.

[equ]

I have thought about this a bit, and with wdc, af and others, I'd say give a used 240i in the right spec a whirl.. The engine is so responsive and efficient, the manual is satisfying and you can fix the suspension if you see fit. The larger engined non-M's make better dailies than M's. Will it be trouble-free after 80k? Probably not, but it will be pretty good until then, and you can fix stuff anyway... The existence of the M2 should not rule out that car. It hits many of the earlier criteria you listed, efficiency, practicality (there is always the 340i), peppy enough.

[equ]

Here is a b58 teardown that is interesting. Not all positive or negative; it's just too soon to say what the long term will be of this very modular engine. It has some of the best throttle response of any recent bmw I've driven: