what are you talking about with the skip shift thing? if you're driving a manual, you should be able to pick what ever gear you want right? Did Chevy do something to enable a lockout above certain speeds?

This is a great electonic gizmo that allows Corvettes to NOT be subject to gas guzzler tax.

There is a lockout solenoid (like reverse lockout) that blocks the path to 2nd gear, forcing you to select 4th gear - if you are in 1st and a some criteria are met.

I seem to recall they are something like 25% or less throttle, below 15mph, below 2000rpm, engine oli temp above a certain level etc (all indicaiotns that you are in Grandpa Mode)

It is really not that much of a bother, just give a bit of gas and move on.

There is a siple resistor you plug in to disable the skip-shift lockout - I often "skip shift" myself while driving around town - great way to get 18mpg with a 346ci 480bhp V8... ;)

1st to 4th?? Why not just go 1st to 3rd?? :?

1 3 5

2 4 6

The shifter is self centering on 3 - 4 shift line, and 4th is the natural selection if you "miss" 2nd. The time to shift "around the corner" to 3rd would be counter intuitive - besides we have all the torque we need to manage 4th gear at 1200rpm and 20mph ;)

I must be an oddball then. When i had my Z i would either skip 2nd from 1st and go for 3rd, or skip 3rd from 3nd and go to 4th with a

1 3
2 4

pattern.

put then again the throw in my Z was about 2 miles long :lol:

Members reviews of American cars
 

did you drive some car, was it good? was it bad? tell us about it!

Nth, let me look up the review i did on the Malibu i drove to Houston in Feb. We can start with that :lol:

post a link to it, and i'll merge it in :)

I drove an american car once...And it was a cunt :lol:
















j/k

Just a famous Sid Vicious qoute "I've met the man in the street and he's a cunt".

http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36236

here we go. There's a little more than just the review of the car in there, but none of it is merged together.

SFD... well, Syd was quite the personality... have you seen "Syd and Nancy"? i think thats the name...

sorry z, just simply re-post it in here... i can't move the topic ouside of this forum :oops:

Well, its high time to put something here, if only just a preview

I've been driving a 2003 Mustang Cobra coupe most of the day today...

Steering isn't as numb as i have come to expect from Ford cars... in fact, concidering how much assistance there is, its definately better then the F bodies steering by a long shot.

Ride... HOLY CRAP!!! even over Michigan potholes, this car actually rides better then my Jeep! how did they do that?

Handling, 400 HP, 400 ft. lbs is just soooo much coming out of bends, where the ass end dips out... more knowlege of the cars dynamics would likely see me feathering the throttle more. Corner entry, i backed off so I wouldn't end up in the woods, but there was plenty grip left for what i was doing.

The suspension being macpherson strut has too much dive under braking, so I didn't attempt any trail braking... it may work, but my skill level with this car may have poor results :P

Accelleration :twisted:
another car that just requires the gas to get the tires to light up in 1rst gear :twisted: Although, i really didn't perform any hard launches... we all know its data... but its feel... 1rst gear feels like a merry-go-round with other people moving towared the middle! 2nd gear.... wow! few cars have the smoothness of the Cobra shifting into second... flawless on throttle shifting, and good for 90ish mph :)

BTW, this car has enormously tall gearing... on that subject, the shifter is great for 1rst/2nd... but 3rd seems almost invisible to feel, so accidental 5th shifts can happen, as well as 6th instead of 4th... a bit annoying, but after driving for a while, that doesn't happen quite so much.

Engine note: what, all i here is a really loud roots supercharger mashing the air in! every so often when not on boost, It is one of the best i've ever heard... now, only if i could hear the outside the car version :P

Sound system, for having tooo few options for EQ, the Mach 1000 does sound nice. controls are extremely basic looking.

anyway... i've got a lot yet to "review" here... pictures and the full review will be coming.

Upon driving this car, I did not find the shifting to be harsh from 3rd to 4th. The only issue I had with the shifter was an accidental 3rd gear standing start, which worked out very well. But the choice of gearing in the transmission seems to suit this car vey well. Referring to the outside sound of the engine, its great. Deep rumble, but that supercharger still reigns supreme. But in my neighborhood, I heard you coming down my road when you turned onto it.

here's the link to my review of the 2005 Chevy Malibu.

http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36236