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So you basically take magazine hearsay as gospel.
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No, I take the general consensus of British mags ('Autocar', 'evo' and sometimes 'car') and German ('sport auto' and 'auto motor und sport'), along with the male reviews performed on 5th gear, and some Best Motoring shows as a pretty good indicator of how high-end cars perform comparatively.
Regarding the Z06 in general, I would say it represents an excellent price/performance buy. However, if you can afford more, there are much better and better engineered vehicles out there. They also don't feel like they're put together like a $20 000 American car is.
We actually did some development work on a C6 Z06, and although I didn't drive it myself (this particular program was not my responsibility), one of the guys who did (who has driven everything from his Cayman S to a single turbo 935 and a 993 GT2 evo on Mosport) said that it was really fast, but was pretty hairy at the limit. He also said it felt like a piece of junk. He was actually considering it before he bought his Cayman S (same kind of money). He has not looked back at his decision since...
So, in a nut shell, if you like doing stop light drags on a budget, or only drive on relatively smooth tracks, it would make a good choice. On the other hand, that line you mentioned about taking it to the Theater or something, is ridiculous. Corvettes have never been considered in good taste among the 'old money folk'. They have always been an example of the 'brute force' approach. Although, I will admit that the C6 Z06 has been as close to a properly engineered car as they have ever come, and if they would just work on the suspension and fit/finish quality, they would have a genuine contender!