GotVett?

I wonder if the '08's performance upgrades will be the last before the C7. If not, what would be feasable for GM to do to keep it fresh in the world market. No one else is standing still.

need-for-speed

Phil, I would not be surprised to see them raise it to 450 HP in the last 1or 2 years of C6 to prod some who would otherwise wait for the C7. I believe the number "450" would have a nice ring to it and would be fairly easy to attain.

GotVett?

That would be great Mike and certainly satisfy the gap a little better than it is currently. Even though they did bump the hp with the '08's/'09's over the previous years, the consensus seems to be that it's not that much of a jump. It is (just barely enough to wet the appetite), but at 450, now that's a good sounding number. Add the aluminum frame, some carbon fiber, and quicker gearing and . . . I'm dreaming but the 450 part sounds good. Guess they'd have to do it for the 1010's if they're going to and that may not be enough time.

rustyguns

maybe something like the direct injection 450 hp camaro they are testing right now?

GotVett?

That would be great, but now that I think about it, would you buy the first year out?

jschindler

Interesting that the "concensus" is that it's not that much of a jump. At the wheels, its about the same as the jump from the C5 to the C6.

HarleyB

...not to mention the little 20 HP "bump" (385 to 405) of the '02 Z06 from the '01. The '01 owners were PO'd and the '02 owners lorded it over the first year buyers. Just think if it had been a 36 HP bump!!

Walt White Coupe

Sranger, There's no use in trying to discuss facts with Need-for-Speed because he ignores facts he doesn't like and deals in half truths as do so many head-in-the-sand Republicans. It's their ability to ignore scientific evidence that disagrees with their preconceived notions and call it bad science, and their overall stubbornness that makes a conversation feel like you're batting your head against a wall. It's people like him that make me proud to be a tree hugging greenie liberal as he would respectfully call me.

As far as the tax break that he denies, here are the facts. The amount that home businesses (sole proprietors) could deduct from equipment purchases was raised from $22K to $100k in any tax year. For vehicles it only applied to trucks and that was any vehicle weighting over 6000 lbs. i.e. SUVs. You could deduct the entire cost of the vehicle in one year. So if you bought a $50K SUV and were in the 36% tax bracket you got 0.36 X $50K = $18,000 tax reduction for that purchase. Is that incentive enough to buy. You bet!

And I wonder how much that pipeline pays him to spout his rationalizations on company time.

jschindler

Walt - be kind to need-for-speed. Unfortunately he's an aggie engineer. We all know that engineers by their very nature don't do well with facts, and are not very intelligent. Also, just because his job involves dealing with government and environmental impact on pipelines that carry oil and natural gas, he really doesn't know much about it. I'm amazed that his company has been paying him to do it for some 25 or so years.

By the way, I have not studied the tax laws recently regarding writing off vehicles, but I do know a few things. First, I really don't think it is vehicles weighing over 6,000#s. It is vehicles with a GVWR over 6,000. there is a difference. Also, tax write-offs are seldom as easy as applying a straight line % deduction to the amount income or expense. You have to meet minumums, and there are reductions to what you can write off.

HOWEVER, I do happen to agree with your point that the government has subsidized the sale of trucks and truck based SUV's in many ways.

Oh, BTW, in regards to the comment that the weak dollar has contributed to the run-up in oil prices. I've heard that before. How then do you explain that the cost of oil has gone up just as much in Europe as it has here?

Another BTW (Just went back and read some more threads). The comment n-f-s was reffering to on the tax break was that George W gave a tax break to large trucks & SUVs. That is a very simplistic statement that is confusing to me. See post # 176. That implies that you got a tax break for buying a big truck. I assume he meant the write-off for business use. I can see why an aggie engineer would not understand that post. It was not very clear.

Walt White Coupe

Seems like you are even harder on him than I was. Actually I'm a former engineer so I've known quite a few like Need-for-Speed who apart from their specific expertise knew nothing of science in general. Also the depreciation for a vehicle is a straight line deduction and the only qualifier is that you had to have that much ($50k in my example) in profit to which the deduction applied.

Weak Dollar: Because oil is priced in dollars around the world as the dollar decreases in value the number of dollars must increase to keep the same relative price.

owebo

Fixed it for ya...

Walt White Coupe

I don't mind you quoting me and arguing a counterpoint but please don't put words in my statement!

owebo

Don't make your posts so politically entertaining, and I will try to refrain.....

rjwoerheide

(*ding ding ding* Walt wins.)

I too am surprised to see the 36 hp increase in the 08s/09s referred to as small. Isn't it true that the more horsepower you have, the more impact even a few more give you? It's like gravy after a certain point, and so getting 36 more hp at 400, for example, has a much greater impact from a driver's standpoint than gaining 36 more at 300.

Or, is that total hogwash?

Walt White Coupe

Isn't it obvious that it's just the opposite. 36/300 = 12% increase in power.
36/400 = 9% increase. Which is greater?

GotVett?

Don't mean to step on my '08/'09 friends toes about the slight bump in hp from the previous. Just making an observation from what alot of guys have said and the reasons they've given about not making the switch. If I had a '08 or '09, I'd be glad that I had the latest also. I'd also know that an '05, '06, or '07 could roll up next to an '08 or '09 and loose just by a little, be even, or beat it on an everyday basis. And that anyone watching couldn't physically tell the '05 (maybe the wart) apart from the '09 (maybe the wheels and color). Now if GM were to make another bump before the C7, that would be the one I'd want. Then it would be the same argument between the '08 crowd and that year. And in the end, others would say, "it's still a C6, I'm waiting on the C7's.

jschindler

Yeah, I'm hard on him - he deserves it. Actually, he's a friend of mine and I'm angling for a free lunch at hOOters from him

GotVett?

See, that's what I love about our forum. You can cuss each other out and still do lunch and look at the hotties with each other. Jim, like to be able to have a great time here in Savannah. We'd have one!!

rjwoerheide

As a percentage yes that's true. But as to disposable power, and the added acceleration, I think there is some truth to 36 making more of a difference at 400 than 300. But I agree about the percentage thing certainly--math is math

Bville-Bud

I may be the only guy that feels this way but…

As much as I love my C5, there is a C6 (C7?) looming somewhere out there for me if GM does things right. I for one don’t want a “kinder gentler” Corvette. 430 HP is fine, but if you want to increase mileage etc. don’t cut the power, lighten the load. I’d be more than happy to adjust my own seats warm up the seat with my rear end rather than a dash switch, or install an aftermarket radio if it wasn’t up to my preference. I can get by just fine with a stand alone NAV and the interior doesn’t have to be quiet as a library, or rival European luxury cars as long as it can smoke them.

I want a Corvette to haul freight and turn and stop well while being civilized enough for my wife to agree to ride in it about once every other month. Am I by myself here?