Sat in some GM cars at CNE

[IVRY PRL]

The verdicts were as follows:
Z06 Vette:
Entry and exit into this car are very ungraceful. You always nearly trip over yourself. The electronic doors are pretty damn cool though. Inside the cockpit, the seat and interior dissapointed me. This car goes for $103,900 CAD, and it can't even compare to an S2000 interior wise. The shifter was... okay, but the throws were a bit long. The clutch was garbage. Ever drive a $14k econo car with a manual? That's where they sourced the clutch.
I now know why this car manages to offer so much performance for the dollar, because they sure as hell didn't spend a cent on anything else.

Solstice GXP: I like the way the hood opens, because it looks like it makes the car really easy to work on. The fact that it comes with a factory FMIC is pretty cool too. The interior? You gotta be kidding me. If you buy a Solstice, the first thing you should do, is throw the seats in the garbage, and get a set of Recaros or something. These seats do not belong in a sportscar. The *** cushion is soft as hell, and has no side bolstering. The back cushion is adequately firm, but also lacks any sort of bolstering. The S2000 had a purposeful "racecar" like interior, this has lots of cool looking circle shapes, that only look good from afar. When you actually sit in it, your first thought is "Wow, the Chinese DO sell cars on this continent. They call themselves GM." IMO, the Solstice is one of the worst cars I've ever been in. Stepping outside it too, and taking a closer look at the body showed a lot of bad panel mismatch. The kind that would get you killed for at any import automaker. "Shinji, what have you done to this car? You're a disgrace to your family and your people. Commit seppuku now!"

G8:
I actually LIKED this one. The exterior was nice and muscular, although I thought that the hood vents were a bit much. I loved the fenders and how they flare out. The interior won't be jeopardizing any import sales anytime soon, but it's DECENT. Whoever said that this car would be compared to our cars, was waaaay off though. Power wise it has what it takes to hang with the big boys, but it lacks refinement big time. With that being said, I wouldn't mind plopping down 45 large (yea, Canada... we get less money and pay more for stuff, I should make a de-motivational poster from it) for a car that will comfortably cart around 5 people and pump out 406hp with a 6spd manual transmission.


Summary Z06 Vette, Solstice GXP FTL! G8 FTW!

[mIKE]

I totally agree on the Solstice/Sky seats.

Awesome for comfort, terrible for hard cornering.

[Joe_Camel]

About the Solstice, yeah of course it's not going to have true sport seats... the regular Solstice is a chick car (obviously). The GXP is a more beefed-up version for old men who have paid off the minivan and the wife's SUV, so they can finally get a 'sporty' car that's easy on the joints.

You want something that's actually sporty and fast? Get a bike.

[mal_TX]

What's garbage about the z06 clutch? I know it has a hydraulic design with large amounts of force multiplication, so I hope you're not judging it as crap just because it isn't stiff/hard to press?

[Hotdawwgman]

i want a ZO6 bad!

[IVRY PRL]

Originally Posted by mal_TX

What's garbage about the z06 clutch? I know it has a hydraulic design with large amounts of force multiplication, so I hope you're not judging it as crap just because it isn't stiff/hard to press?

That's exactly how I'm judging it. Sissy clutches belong in Corollas. When I drive something with 500hp, I want to have a left leg that's twice the size of my right.

[mIKE]

I guess you make fun of all the G35/G37 6MT drivers... hydraulically assisted.

[Reidonly]

Originally Posted by IVRY PRL

That's exactly how I'm judging it. Sissy clutches belong in Corollas. When I drive something with 500hp, I want to have a left leg that's twice the size of my right.

God forbid you have a car with clutch that can take 500-600+hp and still be easily drivable.

[mal_TX]

Yeah that is pretty darn ignorant. Might want to research hydraulics and teach yourself why sharing that you think that way makes you look silly. :P

Clutch pedal stiffness has zero to do with clutch quality or stoutness.

[mIKE]

Maybe he should try braking a car without power brakes

[IVRY PRL]

Wow, what's with the pansy-ness? My clutch is also hydraulic, what modern car isn't? It still has some FEEL to it. I like stiffness because it makes it easier to modulate the clutch.
This really cracks me up, anytime I say anything against a convenience feature on this forum, people jump all over me. So what, half the forum insists that automatic is a viable choice for sports cars, and the other half thinks we should have spongy pedals? Is there not even one person that thinks a sports car should have some "rough" and "tough" to it?
And I've driven a car with the brake booster removed, but not on the street, it was a track only car. It depends on the car, it was fine on that one, but I wouldn't want non-assisted brakes on the G.

[mal_TX]

Thats cool man, but to say the clutch on the z06 is sourced from a $14k econobox manual tranny is misleading and incorrect.

The weak little pedal on the econobox is that way because the clutch is weak, not because they used hydraulic multiplication to make a very strong clutch easy to modulate.

I'm not sure what "feel" you are talking about your clutch pedal providing you -- you just press it down to release the drivetrain and release it to engage it. IMO most of the feel is in the back of your seat.

I'll take a super strong, well engineered clutch that I can easily modulate over a weaker one that makes me do all the work (just so I can feel like a "tough guy"?) any day.

Anyway.. yeah, "The clutch pedal is softer than I prefer" is something you can say about the Z06 and unlike your comparing it to a geo metro, it wouldn't attract anyone calling out the B.S.

[Skaterbasist]

Can you really have a verdict from a car like the Z06 without driving it? And I thought the drive itself was why the Z06 was the supercar it is

As far as the Pontiac G8... the car gets two thumbs up from me. Probably the only Pontiac I have ever thought was a car worth its money

.

[fecurtis]

You just come off as ignorant because of your obvious lack of knowledge of clutch clamping force...with that much torque, it has to be stiff.

To confuse it as cheap is just plan stupid. I'm not sure if the Z06's have a dual clutch plate (I know the ZR1's do), that'll help make it a little easier. But I haven't read many reviews and critics complaining about the clutch stiffness.

[dmitriylm]

This is also coming from the guy who praises the S2000's interior. Although a decent car, the interior is certainly nothing to brag about. It's cheap and no frills which is not considered a feature.