In Search of America’s Best Roads
How many of you would love the opportunity to jump in a Corvette Z06 and drive from LA to New York? OK, silly question. While most of us can categorize this as a pipe dream, Ben Stewart, the west coast editor of Popular Mechanics, landed this tough assignment. Ben is blogging his journey over at the PM Blog.
While we think this is really cool, the PM guys are just scratching the surface of what is possible. They could make this much more interesting for those of us who have to live vicariously. How about moblogging? Or, some video of the ‘Vette performing on some treacherous mountain roads? One reader even recommended that Ben chart his progress on a Google Map.
Regardless, it’s definitely worth checking out . . .
- Posted in Cars & Trucks
Tim Geisler
Very cool… hope he makes it across in one peice, and obeys the traffic rules.
The Z06 is a very nice vehicle! arguable the best sports car out there.
kurt
Cars are becoming ever more powerful and autobahn style roads becoming ever fewer.
Perhaps Bens’ blog will help drivers find places to put all that power to use, rather than go crazy jack-rabbiting cars or drag-racing between trucks on our freeways.
Meanwhile, perhaps there could be more locally sponsored driver events where (as Nevada now does one day a year with the I-15),a major road is closed for a day to convert it into a temporary fast autocross. The catches are 1) anyone driving these would have to show financial proof they could pay for any injuries/damage their driving could cause, 2) The sponsor and property owner would be held totally blameless and not be liable for any accidents.
Atul
I’m envious of their task at hand to drive the Z06 across country. What amazes me about the Corvette is its ability to get such great fuel economy with wide sticky tires, eight cylinders, and all that power. I drove the last generation Z06 and the acceleration in 1st gear felt like a horizontal free fall on my stomach. I could only imagine what the new one is like.
speed42
I’m disappointed to see he’ll be missing Mississippi. I can imagine how much fun it would be to drive a new Vette down the Natchez Trace. Not to mention the food he’ll miss.
J.Queen
I’m sure the many GM Executive Idol-worshippers who frequent this blog (”you complete me”), will fall all over themselves to describe what a pants-wetting dream it would be for them to drive a Corvette cross-country. Not me; I’ll pass on the Corvette, thank you. Give me something that is precise and fun to drive (over 30 minutes) instead.
I’m sure some drivers will get their ego-fix from the Corvette shape and their hovering mental image of “how they look in the car.” And some Corvette drivers can’t live without the arrogant, in-your-face acceleration that makes them feel superior in 35MPH traffic. And yes, I’m sure most of these idol-groupies will just not understand or notice what the Corvette lacks, and how someone could not like it. They will quote all the objective-numbers nonsense about the Corvette (and other GM slugs like the G6), but the bottom line for many enthusiasts is: Who cares? Subjectively, GM cars have eons of improvement needed.
I like my machinery to feel good through connecting driver and machine to the road through precise feedback; the Corvette doesn’t. I like my machinery to be composed, and confident over life’s rough roads; the Corvette isn’t. I have driven several “Vettes,” and after I got done flooring the thing for the 11th time, the lumpy, clumsy, crude, nervousness of the car’s behavior is still there, ever present.
Tom W
Driving a Corvette cross-country is about as good as life gets, assuming you have some discretionary cash for extracurricular activities
Freedom at it’s finest.
Poster J.Queen’s comments about the psychological aspects of Corvette fans could apply to just about any car owner. Who would deny that Prius owners feel superior to the masses. Or that BMW owners derive an ego-fix from their cars. Or that the bling freaks fret over how they look in their mobile marquee? Anyone who claims to be above the pschological rewards of car ownership is a liar or an idiot.
Also, claiming that many of the Corvette “idol-groupies” don’t understand or notice what the car lacks is incorrect. Corvette fans such as myself are fully aware of the positive and negative aspects of the car, but the positive aspects are so overwhelming that the negative aspects pale in comparison.
I’d like to know exactly which vehicle J.Queen would choose for a cross-country trip. Something tells me it’s one of those cars that make you want to pull over and take a nap.
John
Pretty cool idea.
It was pretty cool when Edmunds.com had a guy do Route 66 in a 2006 Z06 as well - http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=108291.
But you know what would be really cool?
Making a RWD performance car that the average joe could afford (like the Camaro if it ever gets here and it’s affordable), and then putting a sub-blog up at fastlane allowing people who’ve ACTUALLY BOUGHT a car from GM to record their own road trips.
That would be pretty sweet.
Puff pieces from people loaned donor cars from GM can only inspire so much.
Hearing about an average Joe who bought the 2008 Camaro with his own money, spent a few dollars on safety/performance upgrades, drove it out to Nevada with his family onboard, ran the Silver State Classic (with the family watching), and then got in it and drove them all back home, would be inspiring indeed.
Hearing about something that’s attainable is inspiring. Hearing about something that you have to be an automotive journalist or have a spare $65k to do is just kind of silly.
We KNOW the Z06 is awesome. Now make something awesome for the rest of us!
Chet
J.Queen: S2000, or 911?
Corvette isn’t perfect, but few cars are better suited to a cross-country romp over both interstates and back roads. Have to wonder if Ben Stewart will need earplugs for the Z06’s road noise, though…
The thing about an LA-to-NY run is that so many of America’s best drives aren’t along that path. The LA-to-NY story has been told so many times, you’d think there’d be a “Press Only” lane.
As for affordable fun, the Camaro folks need to give it a rest already. Judging from your comments, most of you aren’t going to buy it when it hits the streets anyway, because your expectations are unrealistic. (Look how many people nitpicked the GTO.)
GM: How about pursuing excuses-free fun-to-drive sedans and midsize SUVs? Niche vehicles like Corvette and Camaro and Solstice are fine, but GM will live or die by the strength of the next Trailblazer and Grand Prix.
And until GM stops pulling up short on interior design and materials, a cross-country drive in a GM will be a subpar experience no matter which model you choose. Stop trying to “innovate” with weird materials and layouts — you’re not fooling anybody — and just do what the other guys are doing.
Jason
Hello. In talking about branding, Corvette creates an image. I can’t see how car names like G6 are going to carry on in similar branding.
http://www.novelidea.com/blog/2006/03/11/un-branding/ has an interesting blogitle about branding which mentions GM, and I’d be interested to see your response and/or vision for GM and branding. C. F. Martin has been around since 1833. Up until this year, they’ve always specialized in making the best instruments possible. As of now, they’re just one of the herd. Will I sell my Martin? Probably not. It’s still the great instrument it was before. But like many other devalued brands (Mercedes, and virtually anything GM makes), you can no longer see that name on the headstock and presume that the instrument is going to sound great.
What does this mean for your brand? It means that cutting corners and trading your brand’s value for a “quick-fix” mentality is sucide. Martin will never again be able to claim that they only make great instruments. They don’t. How about you? Is your brand great? Will you always be able to say that, or are you willing to make something cheap, to “expand your brand” at the expense of your reputation.
that’s the quoted part. Keys are in your hand.
Dave Lawson
I’d like to see the same drive done in a Solstice. The interesting part would be seeing which vehicle would be chosen to be the chase car, carrying all the luggage.
CaptainDan
The “lumpy, clumsy, crude, nervousness of the cars behavior” which J. Queen refers to, have got to be comments on his own driving. The Corvette gives an exceptionally good ride IF YOU DRIVE IT THAT WAY, but it isn’t as forgiving (numb) to poor driving habits as his average car might be. I have found the Corvette to be the single most comfortable car, of all the cars I’ve owned, to take a long trip in. It has a tight “in control” feel to it, and it does what you tell it to do. But if you drive it crudely, it will behave crudely.
I’m quite sad to have gotten out of Corvettes (kids don’t fit in back seats which aren’t there!), and been trapped in those numb sedans. Even in the winter snow, on the gravel back roads where I live, it was my car of choice, especially since I could only afford to own one car. And the best part? Corvettes are cheap to own. They hold their value. I’d keep trading ‘em in every year or two, and get back most of my money. Occasionally, I’d even trade it in for more than I paid for it!
Edwin
The Blue Ridge parkway is a great stretch of American Road to navigate, peaceful, inviting, until you venture off into the countryside to the allure of beautiful Smith Mountain lake, VA where with beauty comes the price of intrigue, around the beautiful lake, are roads the wend and twist enough to make your skin crawl. Some of the upaved roads wind around, then around, and around again, back to the middle, and around again! They are among the most treacherous roads in America. Call them the short cuts to no where! You can find them just as you leave one of Virginia’s largest Chevy dealers in Roanoke, VA and pass by the Mill Mountain Star.
Edward Hayes
Google earth has a great snapshot of GM’s headquarters and you can even see, faintly the “GM” sign on the side of the building…cool. Which goes to my point, why would anyone want to slander GM’s headquarters?
I guess they didn’t get their copy of “Architectural Record”, well the WSJ ain’t getting mine. It was actually a compliment they said GM’s building looked like a “corn silo”, appropriate considering GM is at the forefront of ethanol technology.
Somebody is going to figure out soon at the current cost of $4,000 per hybrid it would cost $400,000,000,000 to replace America’s transportation system to only realize the 25% savings per vehicle. After all that we would not even be energy independent but rather it might over 10 years only slow the growth of consumption.
Somebody is going to figure out that we don’t need to ship that money to Toyota but ethanol is a better answer. With little additional cost vehicles can run on only 15% of the gasoline it once used. The other 85% will come from farmers that own the land who send the corn to the local ethanol factories. Cost to the USA? Zero.
In short do we need hybrids? Of course! Are they the sole answer? Of course not. Ethanol hybrids would be best. Ethanol is the only short term technology available that can make us energy independent as soon as we want to be. But the imports will have to wake up!
My question is, is it possible to retrofit existing cars to drive with E85?
One last point. I understand GM is rediscovering its first love…design. Is it economical if GM’s designers were to design a future car, the new Malibu for example, and while they have blue prints and pen and paper in hand, would it be economical to design both the 2007 and 2008 or ‘09 facelifted Malibu at the same time?
In other words, by the time the fist episode of HBO’s Sapranos hits TV they are already finished shooting for the next year, all 16 or so episodes. Would it be wiser to design the Malibu and her facelift at the same time and do, for example three Malibus instead of one? Maybe shave the $300 million facelift cost by doing it all at once.
If we want a design offensive these are the things we will have to think of.
I wish GM, all of you God speed, still I think we found the silver lining.
beken
A few years ago, I packed my wife and daughter into a Buick Century and took 3 days to drive from Vancouver BC to San Francisco Ca and back. The drive down I-5 was wonderful. The car performed flawlessly and was downright comfortable. Like sitting in your living room and watching the scenery go by. On the way back, we took the coast highway and I wished we had a vette. The Buick was not going to make time through the windy road so we went back to I-5 after 6 hours on the coast highway.
I’ve had the privilege to drive every generation of a vette except the most recent C6. I admire GM for being able to pass that unique feel of being in a vette through each generation. This is not everybody’s cup of tea, but for those who like it, it’s an addiction. It’s a great halo car for GM. I just wished you could trickle all that great technology into your other cars. That would leverage your costs a bit.
Edward Hayes
I mean I know we are falling behind in math but….
So I finally stopped to read some of these blogs. There are bloggers and floggers. So here is the million dollar question. You started it GM.
Why can’t all of your vehicles be E85??????
That was a great idea, thanks somebody. You wanna go green let’s go green. The question is do you wanna change the world? Make the committment.
You will make Nebraska and Iowa love you overnight. You will have the midwest in your
CORN-er!!!
Come on, American Oil.
Oh and I translated the word Commadore to English…well American English. Buick Commadore??? Well…the word translates to Pappa needs a makeover. I will reserve comment on the Z06 and Corvette when I can get my own. (Can’t talk the dealer into a test drive.)
Finally, (sorry they kicked me off of gminsidenews, I’m lonely).
I think the only person’s leadership that was questioned more than Rick Wagoner’s was George Washingtons.
Thanks Rick, I can’t be more proud of you. This is all yours after all.
Ted Thomas
This brought back memories of my sister and I taking a 16-day driving journey from PA through Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and back, in a beat up old 1969 Suburban with 160,000 miles on it ! We had a fantastic time, driving on dirt mining backroads and checking out ghost towns, and our only problem was a flat tire and a broken headlight. I used it until it hit 200,000 miles, and it still ran great when I traded it in. Chevy Trucks, built to last !
Big Picture Guy
My favorite road in the USA is the 10 mile or so stretch of Rte. 108 between Smuggler’s Notch and Stowe Vermont. Gorgeous scenery, white knuckle twists and drops and at the top a single-lane serpentine course around some house-sized boulders.
The worst part is that I’ve only ever driven the road in our minivan, as we only go there on family vacations. A minivan on that road? Ugghh.
I dream of driving Rte 108 in a Solstice or Corvette. With the top down of course.
PStreet
Way cool!
Stan
I gotta idea!!!Why not advertise if you buy a GM car or truck.2or3 or more times out of the year you get a THRILL RIDE.A person owns a Reg or the Super Vette Zo6 for 1 day.A Reg Vette take home while a Zo6 go to the track with a professional driver and LET HER RIP!!!!Nothing like 8 cyclinders and over 500 ground pounding horsepower to give you that SMIRK in your face.
Jeff Fisher
Since we don’t all have brand new Z06s… we have to “make the most of what we’ve got”. Last weekend I led a group of 24 Solstices (Solsti?) on a long and challenging drive around Central Texas. This wasn’t any simple little drive to lunch… and it wasn’t a tourist drive to any specific destination. “Driving is what it’s all about” - so this was a challenging drive across a wide variety of back roads with a thousand tough turns - a course demanding great handling and superior dynamics. All the Solstis got more than a little dirt on them, and their owners got more than a little worn out. But with smiles on every face, the owners and passengers all agreed that Bob Lutz’ car was more than up to the task!
Bob: keep up the great work!
john
if he is smart he will zig-zag from mexico to canada the whole way.
jp
I’m very hesitant to drive my new Zo6 down dirt/grassy roads. I don’t mind cleaning it ,but am worried about dirt,grass etc. in the rotors and other sensitive areas. I’m sure I’m right but how about some feedback. In love with lemans blue!!!