JR-01

A 16 year old, with extremely limited driving experience, behind the wheel of a 350 hp sports car that's capable of 160 mph IS an accident waiting to happen in my book. I hope he keeps us posted how it all plays out.

SaxyVette

This is a very hard thread to read..A lightning fast powerful Corvette is simply NOT the right car of choice for an inexperienced 16 year old kid driver to be taking to high school..

I would think EVERY responsible parent would agree. I question your sanity my friend. You seem more concerned about the car's protection than you are about your son's.

Lt. Dan M.

Very hard to say if the boy is capable of the discipline it takes to drive such a car. That said, I am very greatful to my parents for not letting me have such a car as I would at best have gotten in trouble and at worst killed myself or someone else. But that's just me, I still don't have the discipline at times to have the car I always wanted but had to wait 51 years to get.

DSTURBD

See, now that is just an ignorant generalization. Granted, it may play out that way sometimes, but that way of thinking just says "why try, it won't change." If we gave up before trying, many things we have and enjoy today would never have existed at all!!

You sir, are a very narrow minded individual!!!!!! I'm glad that you are not a teacher!!!!!! Every single 16 year old is an individual, and though you may make certain generalizations, they are by no means certain or guaranteed!! If you tell someone repeatedly that they will fail, are you really surprised if and when they do fail?!?!?!?!? You sound like the POS step-father I was forced to grow up with!!!!!

DSTURBD

jrose7004

I bought my son a Camaro with duels and SS stripes. A patrol cop around our neighborhood started pulling him over almost daily and writing not moving violations but loud pipe tickets and such. I took care of the problem buy selling the Camaro and buying him a VW Jetta. Never was pulled over again.

troyguitar

At 16 I was running faster stuff than a base C5 on real race tracks and had no interest in screwing around on public roads. Not all kids are inexperienced drivers at 16.

That being said, my first road car was still a 1993 Buick Century.

1Willy1

If a kid wants to race around and kill himself on the streets all he needs is a little 4 cylinder Honda civic with a loud rattle can exhaust, I honestly sense ALOT of jealousy here and its pretty sad.

These corvettes are quick but they are not Lamborghinis or F-1 racers, the average Mercedes has 300HP nowadays, even a ford Taurus has 250 HP, every car nowadays has more then enough power to kill someone.

JR-01

How much driving experience could a 16 year old possibly have? It's not a generalization at all. It's a fact. It is you that are ignorant. Teenagers are getting killed all the time because their parents want them to grow up too fast. It's really sad that too many people think like you. Maybe you should not be a teacher since you lack common sense
Giving a 16 year old a high performance car increases his chances of becoming another traffic fatality exponentially.

Corvette505

Lot of negative comments about me sharing the great experience of Vette ownership with my son. Many of you assume he is like you or someone you know, that he has the car for the speed, however my son is very mature and disciplined in all that he does and I couldn't be prouder of him. He takes responsibility with all that he is and all that he has. He views the car more as a luxury car than a sports car, and just because it has over 300 hp doesn't mean he will use it. There are ground rules that I had him type up and post on Facebook to acknowledge he knows them and to alert most of his friends that he indeed has severe consequences for not adhering to my rules. I've also got schedule to install a CompuStar tracker that will show his driving habits and such. I do trust in my son and believe he will rise above the adverse comments and thoughts many subscribe to him, he has never done anything to warrant a negative perception of his character, and I'm not going to start now. Many people also assume he hasn't earned it; in my mind being a great person with great values that are demonstrated daily and getting great grades is more than earning it. I wouldn't have gotten him the car had he demonstrated a lack of integrity, maturity and all the other negative aspects you all assume a 16 year old is. He is a great son and a great person and I have the utmost faith in him. As for the money aspect of it, calling him spoiled, well that too i disagree with. Spoiling a kid to me is buying him something as a replacement for spending time and attention on them. I spend all my time with my kids and enjoy their presence in my life. To me it'd be wrong not to share what our family has been fortunate enough to get in life due to God's graciousness, that would be the true travesty. Thanks to those of you that support the act of sharing that I have done with my son. Disheartened that there was more bashing and are only a few replies about the actual topic, protecting the car in the parking lot.....

Corvette505

That being said, I don't want to focus on all the negative haters and wish to thank those that actually had positive responses. Thank you very much:
DSTURBD
Pirateslife4me
JR-01
Dannyman
703
zdeckich
dbgoodwin
RonC!
Memmer
NukeC5
1Willy1
Laurnt Z06
MGP1

DSTURBD

Well said, by an obviously loving and attentive parent!!!!!! As I have mentioned on this forum many times, I teach at a rural school in an agricultural community. Our kids work hard, are taught by their parents as well as their school teachers, and are no strangers to hard work and responsibility. Many are experienced operators of multi-million dollar pieces of farm equipment such as combines, tractors, etc. and personally own high-value livestock and have done so from a very early age!!!! A proper and effective sense of responsibility is something that is taught by mentors who are caring and attentive, not a mere product of age and experience!! I have known of many middle-aged individuals who never learned a working sense of responsibility and still blame everyone and everything else for their own failings!!

You, sir have my full support and I hope you and your son have many enjoyable years and experiences sharing the Corvette hobby. Also, I would think that the way you have raised your son would dictate that he is not the type of person who would make enemies that would damage his car. Even sh!theads don't usually mess with those who are universally respected by others.

JMHO

DSTURBD

JR-01

I hope the best for you, but MOST parents believe their children are more mature than other kids. You really do not know what is in his mind or how he really thinks. The truth is 16 year old minds are not fully developed and they do not always make rational decisions. Also the fact that he has less than a year of driving experience. Sharing is one thing but putting your kid and others at risk is not being a responsible parent. I have seen too many young people die because their parents wanted them to have the best. Last month a junior in high school that lives down the street was killed on the crotchrocket his dad bought him, when a car pulled out in front of him while he was doing 70 mph in a 35 zone. Remember you are responsible for whatever happens and the leading cause of death for 16 year olds is car accidents.. You should have let your kid drive your Vette for a few years and bought him one when he turned 18. That is what a responsible parent would do. Let you kid grow up.
Now being a Vette owner you know what can be done to protect your car. You knew you would create controversy with a topic like this.

I am done here.

cor28vettes

Bound to be some jealousy in any student population. And its bound to be keyed for that reason alone. If and when that happens, I bet he wouldn't/won't return to HS with it.

vela21975

I'm not wanting to bash on you or your son. I'm sure that you are an awesome father and he obviously a well deserving son if you felt he earned this awesome gift. I think best of all we all just want to share our level of concern for your son. Sure when you read , hear , or see accidents involving Vettes you will certainly see young men , kids , AND adults just the same. Statistics just don't lie or exaggerate when it comes to how many accidents involve teenagers so that being said it really doesn't matter what a teen drives but if you put a high powered vehicle into a young persons hands it's just as risky as handing him or her a loaded weapon. You can talk about how deserving , mature , and wonderful your son may be but all it takes is just ONE bad judgment call on his behalf and it could potentially be a very bad one. I just want to say it's awesome that you got him this great car but as a parent myself I have to say after having asked myself that same question. " Would I reward my son of 16 with a corvette or similar type of car ?" This is just my opinion " I would not " Not because my son is a bad kid or undeserving but rather because I love my son too much and would rather not put him in the position or situation to where he could potentially harm or kill himself or someone else. All I can say is God bless and will pray for the both of you as a human being and a soldier I have seen too much death and would hope nothing negative comes from this wonderful experience you two are sharing.

Monkey D. Luffy

Monkey D. Luffy

You set rules and enforce them. The tracker will ensure the rules are adhered to. His son knows the tracker is there and the car is gone if the rules are broken.


Now you want to feel some real HATE post a picture of your C5 with 19/20 inch black wheels, then my friend you'll know what real hate is

K9Leader

I understand that the OP feels a bit defensive but most of the comments were reasonable and fair commentary. I concur with the school of thought that any one (16 years old or older) with 0 years of driving experience is not a good candidate for a high-powered sports/luxury car. I'm a teacher (have taught secondary and elementary, currently and permanently in elementary now) and a long-time Scout leader and have worked with a lot of responsible and mature young men (mostly in Scouts, many Eagle Scouts).

My son was very mature - top student, Eagle Scout, never in or caused any trouble, not easily influenced by others. When he turned 16, my wife and I did want to have a car for him to drive - lots of after school, church, and Scout-related activities that we would no longer have to drive him to. And, I had a car that was largely unused - a 1994 Lincoln Mark VIII. While not a Corvette, it was a powerful (300 HP) rear wheel drive car, exactly the kind of car that an inexperienced driver can get into trouble in, intentionally or unintentionally.

My wife and I opted instead to get a then 11-year old 1993 Volvo 940 for him. It was a great first car - he learned a lot in those first couple of years with two minor mishaps, both in ice/snow conditions (slid into a neighbor's driveway, taking out a bush and a driveway light and cracking a front turn signal housing; spun on ice going up a hill and knocked the tire off the rim). When he went to college, his sister drove the old Volvo. His junior year of college, when he could have a car at school and he had a couple of years of driving experience, he then got the Mark VIII and drove it for two years, at college, going back and forth, and summers. One thing that made it easier is that my son is not a car guy - he appreciates having one for transportation and convenience but did not inherit my love of all things automotive. He is also very easy going and affable and very appreciative of anything done for him. So, for him, any car was okay with him (although he did used to joke about the Volvo's 0-60 time that could be measured with a sun dial).

The OP sounds as though he has taken some wise measures to guide his son toward responsibility as a driver. However, teenagers, even responsible and mature ones, are still inexperienced in both driving and in making decisions.

K9Leader

Loby 1

To the OP.

No One knows your son better than you. If you feel he is responsible enough to have a C5 then so be it.
I do not agree with the naysayers bashing you for your decision.

Someone will have to explain to me how this man posted a question about how to protect a C5 in a school parking lot and receive 3 pages of abuse.

As to your question regarding the safety of the C5 while your son is in school, I have no solution, we cannot control other peoples behaviour.

I hope that you and your son will enjoy those beautiful Corvettes together.

donald4972

My kid is smarter than your kid....
My kid is smarter than any kid ever born....
My kid has more common sense than you ever will...
I'm the first parent ever, to not be blinded by love, evaluating my child...
I spend all my time with my kids so they're perfect...

blah, blah, blah......

Blue Time

I bought my oldest son a Z-28 camaro ('97 in 2002) at sixteen. Took it to school every day(winter he had a winter beater '95 geo tracker). Never had any problems. At seventeen I got him a set of Torque thrust rims and tires for it. Notice the back tires were bald. (Hmmm) At eighteen new heads & cam headers ect. Replaced broken ring and pinion. (Hmmm) College redid the whole suspension. One of the best learning tools I could of bought him. Car still looks like new.He has no problem working on his own cars.('09 Z06-'14 Ford Focus ST-'12 ram) Oldest is now 28 1 ticket at 18 in the Geo tracker (reduced to just a fine)
Now his younger brother, I got him an Audi A4 Turbo Quattro. Never did a thing to it except drive it. Sheriff called one morning it was in the ditch. Found it pretty much on its side in the ditch.Luckily very little damage, but there was a line of rubber (200 plus ft) leading from his friend's drive way to the car. Could not believe that car was capable of doing what it did. It switched drive wheels while spinning the tires.(Audi's are different machines with their drivetrains) He has just starting to do his own maintenance with my help. ('02 300 special- '97 Z-28 bought from his brother). He is looking to purchase a new Z06 at some point. Now 25 1 ticket at 20 (speeding 40 in a 25 zone)
The biggest mistake made with the young kids is at highway speed going off the right shoulder and over correcting (jerking the wheel) to get back on the road without slowing down, practiced many times with my two kids. Next biggest now is cell phones. Kids will be kids no changing that. What would be a better situation 100 mph in a pick up truck or a corvette? Which one's going to hold the road better - stop faster? Neither one is a good situation with a young kid driving. All you can do is train them and hope for the best. Pretty much any car will pull triple digit speeds or close to now days.
One old fellow told me after giving his daughter a $100 for a concert, I can see her smile now, if she gets it after I die, I don't see any smiles
Good luck with your son. Enjoy your time together and make the most of it.



On her way out after six years of service




Still in the family