[graywolf624]

I made a serious error in my attempt to test drive a car this week. No I didn't put the vehicle into a tree or anything. Anyway, more on that below..

So, I started off the day at the Nissan dealership trying to get a test drive of a 350z. For some reason I can never get any attention at the Nissan dealerships. This time I tried a different dealership, and still no luck. So I decided to walk over to my friendly neighborhood car superstore.

The dealership in question has a bunch of marques and I figured I have to find at least one to test drive. Mazda's, Chevys, and Toyotas. Right, well all new Toyotas are boring and I own a Mazda. I want to test a RX8, but unfortunately I got distracted by a Chevy, which was to be my down fall.

The first thing you see as you enter the dealership is a row of 2007 Corvette C6s. No ZO6's mind you, but still a great car and quite good looking imho. I walked around them and decided a nice orange version would be a good choice for a test drive. I must have sat around pumping the dealer for a good half hour before I settled on driving the car. In this case the line was "I bought a Trans Am recently, but man some of me wonders if I should step up". This was bought hook line and sinker.

The first thing you notice about this car is all the gadgets. You go to enter the car and the door handle is a button hidden behind a piece of fiberglass. The door unlocks simply by walking towards it with the fob. You enter the car and to start the engine you hit a button; no key required. So this car has all the latest technology fads. For extra money you can even get an optional sat nav. Not bad for what once was a bare bones sports car, though if I were buying I'd stick to the basic.

The second thing you notice about the car is the interior. It is light years better then the old C5. It isn't the greatest thing ever mind you, but it certainly looks well put together and decent quality. There are a few bits on the doors that hint at the 40000+ price tag, but nothing really screams Cavalier like the old one.

I took my seat as did the salesman. The 2lt seats are super comfortable. They have adjustable wings and perforated leather. I am quite impressed. I still would op for the 1lt car, as the extra price isn't worth it to me, but man are they comfortable.

So fire up the car and you get the standard Corvette startup screens. Nothing real out of this world here, but still an interesting touch I've always liked. I fiddled with the radio while the car warmed up. It is a mp3/cd player unit. Not bad and apparently available as standard. It looked like a quality unit but I didn't turn it up as the dealer was clearly nervous.

Now, before we startup I should tell you I ended up test driving the Automatic. Why, you ask? Well because this isn't just any Automatic. This auto is a 6 speed with paddles. Now I can hear you screaming, but its still an auto. Well yeah.. But I'd also read of .5 sec shift times, which honestly is as fast as most of us can personally shift. As such I really wanted to see if it stood up to the claims.

Shift the car into sport mode and off goes the traction control. The dealer is visibly sweating. I eased the car out of the lot and got on it. Wow.. Just wow.. Instant power, even faster then the Trans Am. I know your thinking, but you should know this its an American car. Well your right but, when the car was sitting there and even at low speeds it just didn't feel like it had that type of power. It just felt.. Well I guess you could call it refined. There was no noticable lope. No rattling. and if I kept out of it the car just glided along. However, If I slammed the gas I was up someone elses ass in seconds. I don't think I have ever experienced anything quite like it. So right I'm suitably impressed.

The transmission also appears to shift with no noticable hesitation. Unlike say the Auto Mazda 6 unit which has a nice lengthy delay, the upshifts and downshifts seem to correspond almost exactly to my demands from the steering mounted paddle shifters.

The dealer at this point asks me if I'd like him to take over and makes some joke about sweat on my brow. I can tell hes visibly nervous, so I have to say I didn't make this drive as balls out as normal. I still got on it around some corners and tested out the dead spot. While the car was not quite as flickable as the Solstice, it still changed direction faster, and with more ease than any Democrat running for office. Meanwhile there was suitable feeling in the steering wheel telling me what was going on with the wheels. Break the tires free and the wheel communicates, with a nice controllable slide.

All of this shouldn't come as any suprise to anyone that has driven a corvette recently, but was a shock is how the car handled over undulations and bumps. The cars suspension absorbs them, not quite to the extent that you have no road feel, but enough that you don't feel everything through your body. Please note this is the base suspension. I have yet to drive the Z51 which should handle even better but may result in a harsher ride.

So time to test the brakes. I first warned the dealer, I don't want the poor guy having a heart attack. I slam the brakes once my rear view is clear. The car pulls up quickly, nice and straight.

So right, great handling, fast, refined... This is getting quite impressive.

The car itself has a Targa top, honestly a great choice. As I have previously mentioned I love open top cars but I dislike convertibles. So right I can't find fault here.

Backing the car back into its spot I discover the one unfortunate flaw, the car still lacks rear 3/4 visibility. Nothing on par with the Prius, but certainly not great. I wouldn't want to back this car into a lot of spots, but the power allows you to get around people on the highway. Just clear the blind spot by slamming the gas and your home free. Not much will stay with you in that spot, so I guess you can say its ok.

I pulled the car to a stop and punched the button to shut the car off. To get out of the car you punch another button that electronically opens the door. Out I go. One more thing to check, the storage space. I pop the trunk and too my suprise there appears to be acres of space in the back. Not that you'd use this car like a truck, but certainly enough to use the car to carry a decent amount of say, groceries.

So where did I screw up? Well I now want one. I don't mean like I wouldn't mind having one. I mean like I'm waiting two weeks to see if the March Madness Sale involves 0 percent financing. If it does, you will be hearing about my new car. Though mine will most likely be a manual with the z51 suspension.

I guess you could say this write up is to be continued.