1st Drive 09 ZR1 Covette + More: )
#1
08-21-2008, 05:32 AM
1st Drive 09 ZR1 Covette + More: )
[align=center]Something to Dream about Today. I hope that you enjoy[/align][align=center]your auto dreams. It only take one lotto ticket to win : )[/align][align=center]I think it should be my turn
4-Sure : )[/align][align=center] Wish the reader of this[/align][align=center]Good Luck, and a Happy Day 2Ufrom `Space [8D]
[:-]
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First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]By Frank Markus[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]Photography by Evan Klein[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
"Shock and awe."
That was the design directive, the mantra operandi that Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter instilled in his ZR1 team as they developed the most powerful regular production passenger vehicle in General Motors' 100-year history (the freshly certified stats: 638 horses, 604 pound-feet). Get team members talking and they contrast this with former Corvette chief Dave Hill's marching orders for the C5-generation Z06. He reportedly placed greater emphasis on refined performance. Don't misunderstand, myriad technical advances mean the ne-plus-ultra Corvette ZR1 drives with far greater refinement than any Z06, but rest assured that few concessions to gob-smacking acceleration, cornering, or braking were made in the name of refinement.
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
For more nitty-gritty details than anyone could possibly remember about the nuts and bolts of the ZR1 pull out your February issue (or pull it up online). Lets spend most of our time here blasting around the 2.9-mile Lutzring circuit at GMs Milford, Michigan, Proving Ground, a course engineered to replicate the trickiest, most technical corners and combinations encountered on the best road courses from around the world.
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |Next[/align][/align][/align][/align][/align][/align][/align]
4-Sure : )[/align][align=center] Wish the reader of this[/align][align=center]Good Luck, and a Happy Day 2Ufrom `Space [8D][:-]
[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]By Frank Markus[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]Photography by Evan Klein[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
"Shock and awe."
That was the design directive, the mantra operandi that Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter instilled in his ZR1 team as they developed the most powerful regular production passenger vehicle in General Motors' 100-year history (the freshly certified stats: 638 horses, 604 pound-feet). Get team members talking and they contrast this with former Corvette chief Dave Hill's marching orders for the C5-generation Z06. He reportedly placed greater emphasis on refined performance. Don't misunderstand, myriad technical advances mean the ne-plus-ultra Corvette ZR1 drives with far greater refinement than any Z06, but rest assured that few concessions to gob-smacking acceleration, cornering, or braking were made in the name of refinement.
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
For more nitty-gritty details than anyone could possibly remember about the nuts and bolts of the ZR1 pull out your February issue (or pull it up online). Lets spend most of our time here blasting around the 2.9-mile Lutzring circuit at GMs Milford, Michigan, Proving Ground, a course engineered to replicate the trickiest, most technical corners and combinations encountered on the best road courses from around the world.
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |Next[/align][/align][/align][/align][/align][/align][/align]
#2
08-21-2008, 05:41 AM
RE: 1st Drive 09 ZR1 Covette by GM : )
[align=center]And the crazy Space Auto Dreams continues:[/align][align=center]I love cars and can`t wait for the 2010 Camaro, but I would[/align][align=center]also love to test drive the below. Post your thoughts, comments.[/align][align=center]EnJoy[/align]
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First Drive: 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T
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CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align]
Hot Wheels made a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T model. It seemed large and kind of blocky next to Mattel's Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro. The real Challenger was a conveyance for the emerging decade that transformed the ponycar into a musclecar, sharing its platform with the smaller Plymouth Barracuda, not with any compact sedan.
A modern musclecar, the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T has 6.4 inches more wheelbase and six inches more overall length than the 1970, making it full-size by almost any measure. Because it shares the Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger's tall firewall, the Challenger is longer than those two sedans, despite a four-inch cut in its wheelbase. The Challenger had to be long to maintain its elegant, retro-futuristic proportions, right down to its long overbite/underbite grille and serious blind-spot C-pillars. If you're one of the purists who complained the Charger shouldn't have four doors, your coupe has arrived.
Reasonable purists will like the optional Tremec T6060 six-speed manual, adapted from the Viper, but with light, smooth clutch-pedal action. The six-speed is available on the R/T and SRT only; the V-6 SE comes with a four-speed automatic. The manual has triple-cone synchros in first and second, double-cones in the remaining gears. It's a satisfying gearbox, worth selecting over the automatic (five-speed in SRTs and R/Ts) just for its modern, ergonomic take on the original's pistol-grip shifter.
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align]
Being a coupe, the Challenger's shocks and springs befit its sportier intentions. Being 39 years newer than the original, it has a more sophisticated suspension, better NVH, "plus a couple of gears and a pair of new Hemis," says product chief Larry Lyons. "Like me, it's gained a few pounds."
You're familiar with the SRT and its 6.1-liter Hemi, rated 425 horsepower and 425 pound-feet. The R/T's 5.7-liter V-8 is rated 370 horsepower and 398 pound-feet with the five-speed automatic, 375 horsepower and 404 pound-feet when equipped with the stick and fueled with recommended premium. City economy drops 1 mpg with the stick, but the manual-unique exhaust system optimizes backpressure, composing an especially burbly soundtrack, particularly for the 1-2 upshift.
The R/T forgoes the SRT's high-backs in favor of low-back buckets. The popular equipment package gets you such SRT standards as leather interior, Boston Acoustics six-speaker, 276-watt amp, satellite radio, heated front seats and Keyless Go. A "Classic R/T" package adds functional hood scoop, Challenger script badge, body-side stripe, and 20-inch wheels (up from 18s). The R/T shares two color options with the SRT, Hemi Orange and, available "later," B5 Blue. R/Ts get body-colored rear lip spoilers; SRTs have black spoilers.
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY[align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align]
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2009 Dodge Challenger
[align=center][/align] First Drive: 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T
By Todd Lassa
[align=center][/align]CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY
Hot Wheels made a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T model. It seemed large and kind of blocky next to Mattel's Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro. The real Challenger was a conveyance for the emerging decade that transformed the ponycar into a musclecar, sharing its platform with the smaller Plymouth Barracuda, not with any compact sedan.
A modern musclecar, the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T has 6.4 inches more wheelbase and six inches more overall length than the 1970, making it full-size by almost any measure. Because it shares the Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger's tall firewall, the Challenger is longer than those two sedans, despite a four-inch cut in its wheelbase. The Challenger had to be long to maintain its elegant, retro-futuristic proportions, right down to its long overbite/underbite grille and serious blind-spot C-pillars. If you're one of the purists who complained the Charger shouldn't have four doors, your coupe has arrived.
Reasonable purists will like the optional Tremec T6060 six-speed manual, adapted from the Viper, but with light, smooth clutch-pedal action. The six-speed is available on the R/T and SRT only; the V-6 SE comes with a four-speed automatic. The manual has triple-cone synchros in first and second, double-cones in the remaining gears. It's a satisfying gearbox, worth selecting over the automatic (five-speed in SRTs and R/Ts) just for its modern, ergonomic take on the original's pistol-grip shifter.
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY
Being a coupe, the Challenger's shocks and springs befit its sportier intentions. Being 39 years newer than the original, it has a more sophisticated suspension, better NVH, "plus a couple of gears and a pair of new Hemis," says product chief Larry Lyons. "Like me, it's gained a few pounds."
You're familiar with the SRT and its 6.1-liter Hemi, rated 425 horsepower and 425 pound-feet. The R/T's 5.7-liter V-8 is rated 370 horsepower and 398 pound-feet with the five-speed automatic, 375 horsepower and 404 pound-feet when equipped with the stick and fueled with recommended premium. City economy drops 1 mpg with the stick, but the manual-unique exhaust system optimizes backpressure, composing an especially burbly soundtrack, particularly for the 1-2 upshift.
The R/T forgoes the SRT's high-backs in favor of low-back buckets. The popular equipment package gets you such SRT standards as leather interior, Boston Acoustics six-speaker, 276-watt amp, satellite radio, heated front seats and Keyless Go. A "Classic R/T" package adds functional hood scoop, Challenger script badge, body-side stripe, and 20-inch wheels (up from 18s). The R/T shares two color options with the SRT, Hemi Orange and, available "later," B5 Blue. R/Ts get body-colored rear lip spoilers; SRTs have black spoilers.
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY
CLICK TO VIEW GALLERY
#4
08-21-2008, 09:01 AM
RE: 1st Drive 09 ZR1 Covette by GM : )
The ZR1 is a dream car. But for me its going to have to remain a dream car. Cant afford the sticker price on that one.
Seems like all the new, fast, exciting cars are priced way out of most people's price range.
Hopefully the new Camaro comes with a better sticker price.
Seems like all the new, fast, exciting cars are priced way out of most people's price range.
Hopefully the new Camaro comes with a better sticker price.
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