[Z06] Odyssey: Life with the Z06 and 997TT
11-10-2006, 01:34 PM
#181
[QUOTE=JSMDMD]
No offense taken. I am glad that you are now one of the "special" people, making a social statement.
It's unfortunate that you don't have a clue as to what I am trying to say.
Originally Posted by RonnieC6Z
No offense taken. I am glad that you are now one of the "special" people, making a social statement.
It's unfortunate that you don't have a clue as to what I am trying to say.
11-10-2006, 03:14 PM
#182
Burning Brakes
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[QUOTE=RonnieC6Z]
It's unfortunate that you don't have a clue as to what I am trying to say.
Ronnie, I know exactly what you are saying, and it is clearly true that the Corvettes and Porsches are commonplace in Socal compared to the Ferrari, Aston, Lambos, etc. These high dollar exotics are more likely to attract interest from people on the road and at shows.
All I was pointing out is that the Corvettes and Porsches, at least when I drive around, my experiences show that they still attract some attention, maybe not nearly as much as if I were behind the wheel in one of the exotics.
Originally Posted by JSMDMD
It's unfortunate that you don't have a clue as to what I am trying to say.
All I was pointing out is that the Corvettes and Porsches, at least when I drive around, my experiences show that they still attract some attention, maybe not nearly as much as if I were behind the wheel in one of the exotics.
11-10-2006, 05:21 PM
#184
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Originally Posted by Dave Houk
Please define weekend? Pacific or Eastern?
I have most of it written, but I let them sit for a day or two and then come back to it, often adding things I forgot or I'll catch some grammar or spelling errors. I am shooting for late PM Saturday - sometime after 10 PM PST or so...
11-10-2006, 07:10 PM
#185
Racer
This story is awesome. I have spent too much time in front of this computer due to studying so whenever I get an email from Corvette Forums I open it...and my stomach drops. Damn...part 8 isnt there yet. 
Its sad that when you have been studying for 6 hrs straight...that little distraction means so much.
Please keep the good stuff coming.
Its sad that when you have been studying for 6 hrs straight...that little distraction means so much.Please keep the good stuff coming.
11-10-2006, 08:07 PM
#186
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Originally Posted by mastiffdog
Dave, you're too funny, thanks...
I have most of it written, but I let them sit for a day or two and then come back to it, often adding things I forgot or I'll catch some grammar or spelling errors. I am shooting for late PM Saturday - sometime after 10 PM PST or so...
I have most of it written, but I let them sit for a day or two and then come back to it, often adding things I forgot or I'll catch some grammar or spelling errors. I am shooting for late PM Saturday - sometime after 10 PM PST or so...
See your even starting to sound like a real writer, next your going to tell us that you have an editor, and the next part wont come out untill your publisher gives the go ahead
Keep em coming im hooked!
11-10-2006, 08:14 PM
#187
[QUOTE=RonnieC6Z]
As a former Ferrari owner MY conclusion is that you see far more Porsches, Vettes, and Bimmers in the parking lot, BECAUSE THEY MADE IT TO WORK. Or as the flat bed tow truck driver said to me... "oh, I know how to get to your Ferrari repair shop, I take Ferraris there all the time".
Originally Posted by mastiffdog
Sorry I responded. Why the attitude? 
[/QUOTE
To what attitude are you referring? I do not see an attitiude from either side...just friedly conversation. Furthermore, I am not trying to be judgemental, rather just expounding on my daily observations here in So Cal. The juxt of my statement is that the more of a particular car constantly present in sight and in mind, the less of an impact (or social statement, if you will) that is made. Case in point: the parking lot at the Commons in Calabasas or the 101 between the 23 and the 405 is loaded 24-7 with Porsches, Vettes, Bimmers, etc. as opposed to F-Cars, L-Cars, etc. The conclusion is obvious. I hope there is no offense taken for there is none intended.
[/QUOTETo what attitude are you referring? I do not see an attitiude from either side...just friedly conversation. Furthermore, I am not trying to be judgemental, rather just expounding on my daily observations here in So Cal. The juxt of my statement is that the more of a particular car constantly present in sight and in mind, the less of an impact (or social statement, if you will) that is made. Case in point: the parking lot at the Commons in Calabasas or the 101 between the 23 and the 405 is loaded 24-7 with Porsches, Vettes, Bimmers, etc. as opposed to F-Cars, L-Cars, etc. The conclusion is obvious. I hope there is no offense taken for there is none intended.
11-11-2006, 04:18 PM
#188
[QUOTE=07 Lemans Z51 Coupe]
As a former Ferrari owner MY conclusion is that you see far more Porsches, Vettes, and Bimmers in the parking lot, BECAUSE THEY MADE IT TO WORK. Or as the flat bed tow truck driver said to me... "oh, I know how to get to your Ferrari repair shop, I take Ferraris there all the time".
So you are coming to 2 conclusions: 1. there are far more P-cars, C-Cars and B-Cars on the roads of So Cal because they are built better
(which may or may not be true) as opposed to the FACT that Ferrari's are far more limited in production and are on average a minimum of 3 TIMES THE PRICE! 2. Because you have had a bad experience with a Ferrari ( and one tow driver towed them in "all the time") your conclusion is that most Ferrari drivers have problems. Interesting conclusions obviously based upon research, data, and calculation.
Originally Posted by RonnieC6Z
As a former Ferrari owner MY conclusion is that you see far more Porsches, Vettes, and Bimmers in the parking lot, BECAUSE THEY MADE IT TO WORK. Or as the flat bed tow truck driver said to me... "oh, I know how to get to your Ferrari repair shop, I take Ferraris there all the time".
So you are coming to 2 conclusions: 1. there are far more P-cars, C-Cars and B-Cars on the roads of So Cal because they are built better
(which may or may not be true) as opposed to the FACT that Ferrari's are far more limited in production and are on average a minimum of 3 TIMES THE PRICE! 2. Because you have had a bad experience with a Ferrari ( and one tow driver towed them in "all the time") your conclusion is that most Ferrari drivers have problems. Interesting conclusions obviously based upon research, data, and calculation.
11-11-2006, 08:38 PM
#189
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[QUOTE=RonnieC6Z]
So you are coming to 2 conclusions: 1. there are far more P-cars, C-Cars and B-Cars on the roads of So Cal because they are built better
(which may or may not be true) as opposed to the FACT that Ferrari's are far more limited in production and are on average a minimum of 3 TIMES THE PRICE! 2. Because you have had a bad experience with a Ferrari ( and one tow driver towed them in "all the time") your conclusion is that most Ferrari drivers have problems. Interesting conclusions obviously based upon research, data, and calculation.
I think that Ronnie is correct on this. There are very few Ferrari cars compared to the others. I don't know the ratios, but I do know that the production numbers are microscopic compared to the other 3 makers. And you don't see many Ferraris on the road, not only because they do not make very many, but because most Ferrari people put few miles on them and take them out on weekends and special occasions. In talking with many Ferrari owners, the cars are very reliable and end up in the shops no more or less than any of the others mentioned here. I'd love to have a Ferrari one day, the last one I had was in late 1979 - a 308GTSi that I bought from Roy Riley at Ogner Porsche in Woodland Hills, CA for $48K. Great car!
Originally Posted by 07 Lemans Z51 Coupe
So you are coming to 2 conclusions: 1. there are far more P-cars, C-Cars and B-Cars on the roads of So Cal because they are built better
(which may or may not be true) as opposed to the FACT that Ferrari's are far more limited in production and are on average a minimum of 3 TIMES THE PRICE! 2. Because you have had a bad experience with a Ferrari ( and one tow driver towed them in "all the time") your conclusion is that most Ferrari drivers have problems. Interesting conclusions obviously based upon research, data, and calculation.
11-11-2006, 11:19 PM
#190
Safety Car
Take a Sunday morning drive down PCH from Newport Beach to Laguna Beach, you'll see lots of Ferraris, what you won't see is Ford GTs, and quite frankly I haven't seen that many ZO6s either
11-12-2006, 12:09 AM
#191
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[QUOTE=RonnieC6Z]
It's unfortunate that you don't have a clue as to what I am trying to say.
It's unfortunate that you can't keep your mouth shut, and let the man tell his STORY. Some of us are enjoying it.
Originally Posted by JSMDMD
It's unfortunate that you don't have a clue as to what I am trying to say.
11-12-2006, 12:55 AM
#192
Burning Brakes
The irony is that you don't. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for Z06's and they just don't seem to be that many driving around. I saw two Gallardos last week in my commute, 'still haven't seen a Z06 in my area for 9 months now. Weird.
Originally Posted by vetteship
Take a Sunday morning drive down PCH from Newport Beach to Laguna Beach, you'll see lots of Ferraris, what you won't see is Ford GTs, and quite frankly I haven't seen that many ZO6s either
11-12-2006, 01:58 AM
#193
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Part 8
The drive home from Sopp Chevrolet inspired me to start working the cell phone. It was afternoon and I had about an hour or so ride back to Camarillo, so this was the perfect time to check with some of the other Chevrolet dealers around town. I contacted the larger dealers like Cormier, Allen Gwyn and Rydell. All of these dealers were $10,000 to $20,000 over sticker and not a one of them even had a Z06 to see.
“If you could have bought it for $7500 over, you should have grabbed it,” advised the salesman over at Rydell Chevrolet. “Thanks for your time, but I just think I’ll wait,” saying anything I could just to end the call - I was frustrated and dejected by now. So I set the cell phone down and drove home shifting my thoughts away from the hopes of buying the Z06 to the positive thoughts of my pending orders on the 997TT.
I wasn’t about to give up on this high demand Chevy, so I decided it was time to learn more about what this car was really all about. When I arrived home later that afternoon, I let my fingers do the typing and started searching the key word: Z06. I immediately discovered the Corvette Forum.com and all of you.
For a couple weeks I watched and read thread after thread about the Z06’s. These guys are real enthusiasts, die hard Corvette people, I thought to myself. This was a different breed of folk. They love their ‘Vettes and lay it on the line, the good, bad and the ugly. These guys like raw power, to hell with the sophistication, give me logo a t-shirt and an old pair of jeans and dump the cashmere sweaters and khakis, we’re going to the drag strip Saturday and the track on Sunday. We’ll bitch amongst ourselves about the rattles, flying roofs, broken axles, noisy clutches or paying over MSRP - but we’d buy another one all over again. It’s GM and this is America. They even have some super racer fellow on here named “Ranger” who uses a turkey baster to suck out clutch fluid every now and then. What is that all about? What does the owner's manual tell you to do? These guys drop $80,000 and they’re playing with clutch fluid? Now these were real car people.
Until the end of the first week in July, prior to the delivery of the 997TT and while the Z06 was still a just a thought, I bounced around the forums, Corvette and Porsche soaking up as much information as I could about both cars. I didn’t contribute much as I didn’t have either car in my possession, so I tended to read a lot more than post.
Before I fast forward to early July, in late May and early June, just before the Turbo was found in Alabama, purchased and finally delivered, I would be remiss if I didn’t confess and share a detour with you.
I am still in no man’s land, or no car land. Yet one calm Saturday in either late May or early June, my wife comes out of nowhere and tells me she thinks the Aston Martin DB9 is a great looking car. And it is, there's no way any real car person could possibly dispute the looks of a DB9 - they are something to behold.
“Honey, if you’re going to spend that much money on the Turbo, why not consider the Aston Martin?” she inquired. “You know, that is the one of the most beautiful sports car in the world,” she insisted. I maintained my composure, now I was intently interested in where this conversation was leading.
“But its English and these cars are always in the shop,” I responded. I was thinking about my early days with good ole Lucas electronics on the Jaguars. She would not understand or remember those days with all the electronic problems the British cars suffered from. But you and I do. But like Clint Eastwood says, “Every man has to know his own limitations”. While we are willing to put up with the idiosyncrasies of our Z06’s, can we all agree that electrical problems are just intolerable? Those kind of problems turned love/hate automobile relationships into just hate relationships. I hate electrical problems -once bitten, twice shy. But surprisingly she forged on.
“Okay, but they have become more reliable, let’s at least go look at them,” she offered. I am okay with that suggestion. Now that’s a real date. Lunch with the wife and a trip to the car dealer and we’re on a bilateral mission. Who cares if we buy? We’re together, hand in hand, enjoying the day out together. But let the truth be known. I am always a sucker for a trip to any car lot, any day of the week at anytime. No true enthusiast can resist the chance, the excuse, or any reason for that matter not to go look at cars, especially an Aston Martin. This ought to be interesting, because I never considered the car to begin with, they were always out of my price range.
So I launched the ultimate test balloon, “These things are a $180K!”
“Yes, but you are all ready to spend a lot on the Turbo, right?” she reminded me. “Okay, let's go look!” I capitulated.
Off we drove to our local Aston Martin dealer. The closest, and coincidentally, the largest dealer is Galpin Motors in North Hollywood, California.
They are one of the largest volume Ford dealers in the world and they have thousands of cars in stock, all scattered on different parcels throughout the San Fernando Valley. The place is an institution.
The Ford store is a long city block, and across the street is the “other” Ford products – Volvo, Jaguar, Lincoln-Mercury and Aston Martin. Inside this store they have a full service Starbuck’s and when you walk in to meet the salesman, the receptionist provides you with a token to redeem for a drink.
Where are the Blackjack and Craps tables? This place felt like a Las Vegas casino. “Yes, I’ll have a double tall, non-fat, no foam latte, thank you,” as I ordered my drink from the server. "My wife and I would like to see the Aston Martins today," I asked as if I had a blank check in my hand ready to go. “Okay, welcome to Galpin, please follow me folks, we are going to see the room,” the salesman stated. My wife looked at me with a blank stare. I remained silent for a split second thinking we came to see Aston Martins, not a room.
To be continued…
The drive home from Sopp Chevrolet inspired me to start working the cell phone. It was afternoon and I had about an hour or so ride back to Camarillo, so this was the perfect time to check with some of the other Chevrolet dealers around town. I contacted the larger dealers like Cormier, Allen Gwyn and Rydell. All of these dealers were $10,000 to $20,000 over sticker and not a one of them even had a Z06 to see.
“If you could have bought it for $7500 over, you should have grabbed it,” advised the salesman over at Rydell Chevrolet. “Thanks for your time, but I just think I’ll wait,” saying anything I could just to end the call - I was frustrated and dejected by now. So I set the cell phone down and drove home shifting my thoughts away from the hopes of buying the Z06 to the positive thoughts of my pending orders on the 997TT.
I wasn’t about to give up on this high demand Chevy, so I decided it was time to learn more about what this car was really all about. When I arrived home later that afternoon, I let my fingers do the typing and started searching the key word: Z06. I immediately discovered the Corvette Forum.com and all of you.
For a couple weeks I watched and read thread after thread about the Z06’s. These guys are real enthusiasts, die hard Corvette people, I thought to myself. This was a different breed of folk. They love their ‘Vettes and lay it on the line, the good, bad and the ugly. These guys like raw power, to hell with the sophistication, give me logo a t-shirt and an old pair of jeans and dump the cashmere sweaters and khakis, we’re going to the drag strip Saturday and the track on Sunday. We’ll bitch amongst ourselves about the rattles, flying roofs, broken axles, noisy clutches or paying over MSRP - but we’d buy another one all over again. It’s GM and this is America. They even have some super racer fellow on here named “Ranger” who uses a turkey baster to suck out clutch fluid every now and then. What is that all about? What does the owner's manual tell you to do? These guys drop $80,000 and they’re playing with clutch fluid? Now these were real car people.
Until the end of the first week in July, prior to the delivery of the 997TT and while the Z06 was still a just a thought, I bounced around the forums, Corvette and Porsche soaking up as much information as I could about both cars. I didn’t contribute much as I didn’t have either car in my possession, so I tended to read a lot more than post.
Before I fast forward to early July, in late May and early June, just before the Turbo was found in Alabama, purchased and finally delivered, I would be remiss if I didn’t confess and share a detour with you.
I am still in no man’s land, or no car land. Yet one calm Saturday in either late May or early June, my wife comes out of nowhere and tells me she thinks the Aston Martin DB9 is a great looking car. And it is, there's no way any real car person could possibly dispute the looks of a DB9 - they are something to behold.
“Honey, if you’re going to spend that much money on the Turbo, why not consider the Aston Martin?” she inquired. “You know, that is the one of the most beautiful sports car in the world,” she insisted. I maintained my composure, now I was intently interested in where this conversation was leading.
“But its English and these cars are always in the shop,” I responded. I was thinking about my early days with good ole Lucas electronics on the Jaguars. She would not understand or remember those days with all the electronic problems the British cars suffered from. But you and I do. But like Clint Eastwood says, “Every man has to know his own limitations”. While we are willing to put up with the idiosyncrasies of our Z06’s, can we all agree that electrical problems are just intolerable? Those kind of problems turned love/hate automobile relationships into just hate relationships. I hate electrical problems -once bitten, twice shy. But surprisingly she forged on.
“Okay, but they have become more reliable, let’s at least go look at them,” she offered. I am okay with that suggestion. Now that’s a real date. Lunch with the wife and a trip to the car dealer and we’re on a bilateral mission. Who cares if we buy? We’re together, hand in hand, enjoying the day out together. But let the truth be known. I am always a sucker for a trip to any car lot, any day of the week at anytime. No true enthusiast can resist the chance, the excuse, or any reason for that matter not to go look at cars, especially an Aston Martin. This ought to be interesting, because I never considered the car to begin with, they were always out of my price range.
So I launched the ultimate test balloon, “These things are a $180K!”
“Yes, but you are all ready to spend a lot on the Turbo, right?” she reminded me. “Okay, let's go look!” I capitulated.
Off we drove to our local Aston Martin dealer. The closest, and coincidentally, the largest dealer is Galpin Motors in North Hollywood, California.
They are one of the largest volume Ford dealers in the world and they have thousands of cars in stock, all scattered on different parcels throughout the San Fernando Valley. The place is an institution.
The Ford store is a long city block, and across the street is the “other” Ford products – Volvo, Jaguar, Lincoln-Mercury and Aston Martin. Inside this store they have a full service Starbuck’s and when you walk in to meet the salesman, the receptionist provides you with a token to redeem for a drink.
Where are the Blackjack and Craps tables? This place felt like a Las Vegas casino. “Yes, I’ll have a double tall, non-fat, no foam latte, thank you,” as I ordered my drink from the server. "My wife and I would like to see the Aston Martins today," I asked as if I had a blank check in my hand ready to go. “Okay, welcome to Galpin, please follow me folks, we are going to see the room,” the salesman stated. My wife looked at me with a blank stare. I remained silent for a split second thinking we came to see Aston Martins, not a room.
To be continued…
Last edited by mastiffdog; 11-12-2006 at 09:49 PM.
11-12-2006, 03:22 AM
#194
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mastiffdog:
More great stuff. Thank You!!
This had better not be heading toward a season ending cliffhanger.
I briefly thought about a DB9 as well but, aside from the astronomical price tag, couldn't find one with a manual gearbox, only paddle shifting automatics.
Pat
More great stuff. Thank You!!
This had better not be heading toward a season ending cliffhanger.
I briefly thought about a DB9 as well but, aside from the astronomical price tag, couldn't find one with a manual gearbox, only paddle shifting automatics.
Pat
11-12-2006, 01:39 PM
#195
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Originally Posted by mastiffdog
Part 8
These guys are real enthusiasts, die hard Corvette people, I thought to myself.
These guys are real enthusiasts, die hard Corvette people, I thought to myself.
not sure if you realize this or not but you are a "die hard Corvette people" now. Anyone who can afford an Aston, Porsche TT and feels aboout the Z as you qualifies.
Enjoying your miniseries!
11-12-2006, 03:04 PM
#196
Racer
Very nice Well worth the wait. I was content with a story of just Porsche's and Vetts's...but Aston Martin's too!!! Thats just icing on the cake. I love Aston Martin's and would love to own one someday. I love the V8 Vantage because it just looks a bit more aggressive and the sound is glorious. However, the performance falls just a bit short of what I think it needs to be. Anayways, can't wait for the next installment of this epic journey.
Well worth the wait. I was content with a story of just Porsche's and Vetts's...but Aston Martin's too!!! Thats just icing on the cake. I love Aston Martin's and would love to own one someday. I love the V8 Vantage because it just looks a bit more aggressive and the sound is glorious. However, the performance falls just a bit short of what I think it needs to be. Anayways, can't wait for the next installment of this epic journey.
11-12-2006, 03:35 PM
#199
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Originally Posted by Sawbladz
Very nice Well worth the wait. I was content with a story of just Porsche's and Vetts's...but Aston Martin's too!!! Thats just icing on the cake. I love Aston Martin's and would love to own one someday. I love the V8 Vantage because it just looks a bit more aggressive and the sound is glorious. However, the performance falls just a bit short of what I think it needs to be. Anayways, can't wait for the next installment of this epic journey.
Well worth the wait. I was content with a story of just Porsche's and Vetts's...but Aston Martin's too!!! Thats just icing on the cake. I love Aston Martin's and would love to own one someday. I love the V8 Vantage because it just looks a bit more aggressive and the sound is glorious. However, the performance falls just a bit short of what I think it needs to be. Anayways, can't wait for the next installment of this epic journey.I am looking for Tuesday evening for the next segment.
Thanks again...