Short-Throw

As many of you know, my Z06 posed as both a daily driver and track toy. I ran the car bone stock for 3 months before I began my upgrades one at a time.

I was honored to be the first lab rat to discover the carbon emission patch in my throttle body. The fix was no big deal, keep the oil no higher than the center hole on the dip stick.

Because of the brutal braking demands at Autobahn, I threw on Brembos at all 4 corners. Never had a soft pedal in 3 years.

My only additional expenses beyond normal maintenance over the 3 year period were consumables...mainly countless sets of brake pads and tires due to tracking the car.

I will no longer be driving my beloved Z06 as I traded it in last week. I have a perpetual sickness that does not allow me to keep cars very long. Winter has never been an asset for a sports car owner in Chicago. I purchased a CTS-V that will be built this week and hopefully delivered by Month's end.

I have owned many cars over the years and the Z06 is my favorite. I saved it for nothing and drove it every chance I could. I drove the snot out of the car on track and it held up flawlessly. I was very meticulous with maintenance so perhaps that helped. I must admit I avoided rain many times, not for fear it would melt, but because I didn't want to wash it constantly.

Given our bright economic situation which has reduced our depreciating Z06's (as well as all cars) far more than what would have been expected, low mileage appears far less important than one would think in preserving value.

The Moral:

Get out there and drive these things, if you want something pretty to look at, buy a piece of art for the wall.

I will not be Vetteless long as the ZR-1 arrives in March and once Spring arrives maybe I'll buy back my Z06 from the dealer for 10K less.

Once I have had a few miles with the CTS-V, I will write up a comparison vs. the Z06......and why I miss it so much!

I honestly can't see myself without a Z06 for very long.


Mike

jschindler

Good luck, and I look forward to your review of the V. Are you getting a manual or automatic?

Short-Throw

This was a very tough decision for me.

The car will see almost zero track time (I will take it out once just to see what it can do at Autobahn) and I'm on the phone a lot for business.

It took every bit of second guessing myself but I chose the A6. The only thing I don't like about automatics is the lack of rev control. With the paddles, I can at least still hold a gear for ramps, passing, etc..


Mike

Painrace

Vetteless? What about THE BEAST!

Enjoy your new rides and adventures, Mike.

Jim

Short-Throw

Jim,

Now I can scare 3 people simultaneously at Track Attack!

HIRISC

You're still a Vette owner and a vette-inbound waiter

Good words of advice - as always - re people driving their cars.

Be interested to hear how you like the CTS-V.. On paper, I looks like a great car.

dvandentop

did you trade it in to laurel bmw?

i saw a yellow z06 with lots of mods on a website.

shoulda de modded it before selling if ya did trade.

Short-Throw

Awww. come on now, we all know modded cars are worth a lot more right!

My car was traded in 100% bone stock!

dvandentop

LOL ok cool

i saw a yellow katech car for sale on some website it was yellow and in chi town figured it was yours.

when do the mods go on sale

Short-Throw

Thanks for the reminder , I wasn't counting the race cars.

vette ruminator

I thought a ZR1 was in your future, wasn't it Mike? The CTS-V is a killer car, though, with another supercharged vette engine, no less! And it's got room for 4 passengers to share the Joy of Torque with! Enjoy

Noel

Short-Throw

Hi Noel,

Did you skip some of my post?




I chose to defer my 1st allocation as taking delivery in the Winter would have been one big tease.

Joe_Planet

Too bad you let go of the z06, Ive been to autobahn twice, but in an acura rsx type s I should be able to afford a used z06 or a new coupe in the springtime though.. enjoy the cts-v!

0David_Yu

Ooh, you are going to make one Jeremy Clarkson (and me) very jealous!

They just aired the Muscle Car special episode of Top Gear here last night and astoundingly (despite a massive initial amount of resistance from Captain Slow, James May) they all absolutely loved their respective steeds.

Jeremy Clarkson: ZR1 "I'm going to have to buy one of these when I get back to England" (he goes on to set a new production car record for the standing mile at Bonneville. 176mph on salt!)

Richard Hammond: Dodge Challenger, I think he, or the BBC, actually did buy the one he was driving as Dodge pulled out at the last minute!

James May: CTS-V. Spends the first half hour slating the car for "not being a true Caddy, it's a poorly built M5" etc, then when they got to some canyon roads declared it "the best American car I have ever driven!" and the look on his face was priceless!

I am not specifically an American car fan, just a fast car fan, but right now, I think the Camaro (not Challenger), CTS-V and ZR1 are three of the most exciting fast cars on the planet.

Sadly, I don't ever see a need for a 4 door sedan for me (need a wagon for the 2 dogs), but a Camaro and a ZR1 are on my must-have list...

Fast06Z06

You wont be disappointed with the V. I was in the Driving Lab this weekend for them and test drove the new one. What car! Not as quick high end as the Z but pulls ridiculous down low through mid range. The A6 was good choice. There were all autos and one stick there and everyone said they like the autos better because you could really get to know and use the cars power. more. Enjoy and let me know what you think after having it for alittle while. Sorry to see the Z go.

fa63

If it makes you feel better, Heinricy used the A6 equipped car to set the production sedan lap record at Nurburgring

jvp

I know you won't be disappointed Mike. I had the rare opportunity to go for a hell of a ride in a pre-production model, back in May. One hell of a car. The 3.73s in the rear end make it seem like it's pulling like a freight train. But you're gonna pay for it when it comes to mileage...

Now, it'll be interesting to see if your car actually does get built this week. GM has yet to release EPA fuel mileage numbers on these cars. That's a requirement for sale. Further, as far as I know, GM hasn't actually released official MSRP numbers on all the options (rather, estimates in various press releases).

Finally, Caddy's web page is now saying "Coming this Winter" for the car; previously it was "Coming this Fall".

So, hopefully you actually get your car soon. But I wouldn't hold my breath were I you. :-)

jas

Short-Throw

What club or group were you running with? The RSX-S is a great cornering car which Autobahn favors.

Short-Throw

David,

I'm not sure I will score that hat-trick as I do love the Camaro, but do not see me buying one. Perhaps if we see a Z-28 model.

The CTS-V in no way replaces a Z06, more of an hor dourve until the ZR-1 is served.

Short-Throw

If the CTS-V was my only car, I would have ordered the manual. I'm looking forward to the A6 as I will have no issue merging on the highway, and a chance to relax once I do.