Top Gear: C6 Corvette video (drag race with NSX)

[NSXTASY_MD]

Amen to all that....the the torquey front engine rear drive vette got smoked off the line in that race...live with it

 

[DEADEYE 104]

I don't know what has vette fans thinking this was a biased test. I mean, I painfully use two arms to shift my Z06 all the time, forget the steering wheel. Since the C6 rock crusher is actually improved over mine, I'll be losing some of that muscle mass I've aquired through the years. Not to mention my left calf being twice the size of my right. My spine has been powdered to a fine dust due to the harsh wheelies my car does when I slam into a pebble.lol

Come on, that show reeked of bias! I'm really not trying to flame you guys that defend the show so don't take any offense to my following statements. I like the NSX and this forum. The NSX is a better built car than my Z06 and when I cruise around with my buddy, I feel second class when he gets all the stares. That roll flip flops when the pedal hits the floor though.

Just about everyone knows a 400 hp car will outrun a 290 hp car in a straight line (power to weight and traction permitting). It doesn't take long to run down an NSX with a hole shot, I've done it to a Comptech SC'd/ N20 NSX many times. It's just that we vette guys are constantly fighting old stereotypes that no longer apply. Here GM presents the best vette they have to offer and a show like this sets the vette a step backwards in the eyes of the world.

I know this will be hard to understand and accept, but the NSX is among the most liked, yet least respected cars in the car enthusiast world. The NSX enjoys most of it's popularity from those who are from the outside looking in. The vette (in the eyes of many on the inside) may as well have lost an acceleration contest to a Mustang GT. That is the shame of losing a dragrace to an NSX. We know the vette is not a drag car and we want the world to know it too but acceleration will always be important.

As for the materials and build quality, you guys have that in spades but to us vette guys, the vette's materials and build quality are good enough. We think having only 290 hp is worse than having a plastic interior, but that 290 hp is good enough to say the car is fast.

 

[NSXTASY_MD]

'01 Millenium yellow Z06. 523 rwhp/ 543 rwtq @ 3080 lbs. Power to weight 5.8

It's people like you who are going to make me broke trying to afford a prepped turbo motor to ensure you feel like "a second class" citizen even when the pedal goes down..hehe (impressive ride u got there )

 

[hlweyl]

Question: Doesn't the C6 have traction control? Wouldn't that have prevented wheelspin?

BTW, pointless argument, I'm ashamed of myself for reading most of it.

 

[CerberusM5]

Question: Doesn't the C6 have traction control? Wouldn't that have prevented wheelspin?

BTW, pointless argument, I'm ashamed of myself for reading most of it.

I believe so. My 03' ZO6 had traction control and a "competitive" mode that allowed additional wheelspin, but kept the stability control portion active.

 

[DEADEYE 104]

It's people like you who are going to make me broke trying to afford a prepped turbo motor to ensure you feel like "a second class" citizen even when the pedal goes down..hehe (impressive ride u got there )

Thanks for the complement. Your car sounds to be an awesome ride. I've dreamed of driving an NSX ever since my buddy gave me a ride in his. My plate would say NSXINXS (NSX In Excess) if I had his. It's yellow with a blinding white interior and HRE wheels. That thing is sweet. I WANT ONE!

 

[mlambert890]

Come on, that show reeked of bias! I'm really not trying to flame you guys that defend the show so don't take any offense to my following statements. I like the NSX and this forum. The NSX is a better built car than my Z06 and when I cruise around with my buddy, I feel second class when he gets all the stares. That roll flip flops when the pedal hits the floor though.

Oh man... this really is endless and yet I just can't let it go.

The arguments that caused this waste of space thread had nothing to do with the show being biased. Everyone agrees that the show was biased. No one particularly likes Top Gear since they hate the NSX.

The arguments put forward on this forum by people who actually REGISTERED just to argue (which I still dont understand given that THIS ISNT THE TOP GEAR EDITOR FEEDBACK FORUM) were that there was some illuminati style conspiracy to do ANYTHING possible to DESTROY the Vette on that show.

THATS what all the posts are about - the stupidity of that. Of course the show was biased! Top Gear is ALWAYS biased and opinionated (and unapologetically pro Brit). But that doesnt mean that they diabolically plotted to discredit the Vette using underhanded tactics that would demolish their relationship with one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world.

What's really annoying is that the Vette fanatics (and I MEAN fanatics) are using this as some weird reason to (as usual) trash the NSX. As if the NSX is so staggeringly pathetic in a straightline that NOTHING could cause it to best a C6 in a drag race. THATS the position you guys are taking. No one here is suggesting that "C6's better watch out when they see an NSX!", but rather its you invaders to the forum that are basically saying "your car is a POS that couldnt come CLOSE to a C6 without the illuminati building a conspiracy to discredit it".

If you guys dont respect the NSX, thats fine. Are you expecting to really come off as convincingly sincere when you register just to tell us that "its hard to accept but the NSX is the least respected car in history" or that "losing to an NSX is as bad as losing to a Mustang"? I think the "I really like the NSX, but now Im going to trash it" approach might be even WORSE than the "guns blazing, NSX is a POS" approach.


It really sounds like you should be posting on the Top Gear boards anyway, if you ask me... Ive been a member of the Corvette Forum for a looooooooong time, but you dont see me over there on that thread even though my account is still fully active and I actually have a respectable post count (from when I had the Vette).

 

[14.5 drift]

grow up dude. I'd like to nominate that one for the whiniest post evar!!!


ZO6 is faster than a nsx, so what? I drive an eclipse but I dont shit my pants every time I have to come to terms that it is faster than my car. Nsx is a great car, and despite what alot of posts would have me believe, I have since the first time I laid eyes on it up to this very day always respected the nsx.

But respect does not blind me from the reality that there are other vehicles on the prowl that are faster than the nsx. I can say it, you should give it a try. THERE ARE FASTER CARS THAN ME!!! It is not disrespectful, it is just the truth. Deal with that.


Prepares flamesuite


(in deep sinister voice)


hahahah ahahahahaha ha ha ha ah ha ha ha ha

 

[NA3]

The NSX, the Corvette, and the 911 are all good cars.

It's the TVR that's the piece of shit.

 

[mlambert890]

grow up dude. I'd like to nominate that one for the whiniest post evar!!!

Who is this comment directed to and what are you talking about? There's no one on any forum that I've seen that thinks the NSX is quicker than either a C5 Z06 or a C6. Everyone knows and accepts this.

What is being argued (ad nauseum) is the integrity of that specific Top Gear episode and, more specifically, why the people that are angry about it feel the need to vent here.

If your comments were directed to me, then you're really hitting the pipe. I spent the first half of this stupid thread arguing with NSX/MR2 over how a C6 or C5 Z06 is CLEARLY quicker than the NSX. The latest exchanges with the invading Vette fans have NOTHING to do with performance. It's about whether or not Top Gear is involved in some elaborate plot to defame GM (ridiculous).

 

[DEADEYE 104]

Who is this comment directed to and what are you talking about? There's no one on any forum that I've seen that thinks the NSX is quicker than either a C5 Z06 or a C6. Everyone knows and accepts this.

What is being argued (ad nauseum) is the integrity of that specific Top Gear episode and, more specifically, why the people that are angry about it feel the need to vent here.

If your comments were directed to me, then you're really hitting the pipe. I spent the first half of this stupid thread arguing with NSX/MR2 over how a C6 or C5 Z06 is CLEARLY quicker than the NSX. The latest exchanges with the invading Vette fans have NOTHING to do with performance. It's about whether or not Top Gear is involved in some elaborate plot to defame GM (ridiculous).

So when the guy holds his arm in pain while trying to shift the car isn't an exageration? When he rolls over a pebble that he placed on the track and holds his back in pain is true!

BTW I'm not blind and I do realize the NSX IS the better car so what you think of as me cutting it down isn't true, I'm just stating facts. There was a statement made by someone in here that the NSX has the advantage in a dragrace due to the torque issue. He also stated that most C6 drivers will lose to the NSX just like in that show.

You are right though, debating this subject is kinda dumb. lol.

 

[Meeyatch1]

I liked the video, and they brought up one of the main reasons why I would never really consider a Corvette. The CHEAP INTERIOR PIECES!! I am sorry, but I do not care if the car packs a lot of bang for the buck, at a price tag of around $48,000 the Corvette has cheaper looking and feeling interior parts than a $17,000 Honda Civic. That to me is unacceptable.

For a short time I really was thinking about getting a Z06 because of the power, and the enormous improvements over previous Corvettes. But I just could not get over how cheaply the car is made. There is no excuse for it whatsoever. I tried explaining to my wife (who is Canadian) that the American concept of car building really is just put a big motor in it, and leave the rest alone. At least it seems to be from the cut rate interior components they use in the supposed 'flagship' of the American sports car.

Example: I used to know a guy that owns a Dodge Viper RT/10. One day we swapped cars. My '91 NSX for his '94 Viper. His exact first words when he handed my his Viper keys: 'Man...you are going to be disappointed going from that (my NSX) to the Viper,' and smiled. He then explained that his car (with only about 24,000 miles) had so many rattles and pieces falling off that he had no idea what to do. This is in a car that is one of the most expensive, and most high profile, American cars ever built!! When will American car companies learn to stop pinching pennies and put some higher quality plastics in their cars?? To truly compete on the level with German and Japanese cars, you HAVE to step up and use higher quality pieces. The 'sledgehammer' effect of just a big motor and nothing else will only sell you cars here in the USA, but not in places like Europe and Japan where they know how to built a total package.

We also commented on how that show would NEVER have been produced here. Speaking frankly about the Corvette's shortcomings on an American TV show would have been met with redneck rebellion.

 

[ibDursty]

I'm kinda in agreement with the poster above in terms of the interior. I haven't sat in the new one, so I can't say how good or bad it is in terms of fit and finish. If it does turn out to be a little on cheap side it's definately a shame and takes away from the whole package of the car. Too really make the interior nice I wouldn't think it would cost that much more, maybe 3 to 5k at most? I mean if the interior was really nice or a huge improvement, I don't think that the extra 3k to 5k is suddenly going to knock someone out of the market for a Corvette. But it would open the market for buyers that are so turned off by the interior that they won't consider it at all.

 

[Mr Payne]

No, your problem is that you are 100% convinced that you KNOW what happened at the Top Gear filming and you KNOW that an illuminati level conspiracy is in play to discredit the Corvette.

Where is your proof? I saw one link to a site that requires registration (no thanks!) and I see lots of truly insane and disturbed Corvette fanatics screaming like mental patients on the web.
I never said I had proof. I simply believe that Top Gear showed a very unlikely situation with that drag race clip. I think they had taped more races (this is simply the nature of television production) and a well spoken individual on another forum stated that others had seen these races take place(and the Vette gets 2nd). Coupled with the fact that everyone on this forum, even yourself, admits that the C6 is significantly faster than the NSX, and also the fact that the strange nature of the cutting and pasting of the clips of the race leads me to believe that something unethical took place. I never said I had proof.....just a very strong inclination to believe that Top Gear exercised bad journalism.
I will endlessly repeat the same argument until you go away.

If the goal was to discredit the Vette, why post the lap time? Why not keep lapping until the Vette had a shitty time or tell Stig to hold back?
Maybe they could only tolerate a certain amount of bullshit on the show? I really don't even care at this point. The evidence I said above leads me to believe what I said.
Laptimes are VERY important to Europeans.

You're obsessed with the drag race because you NEED badly to believe in a conspiracy theory for some reason.
Need to believe? Not really, I just generally think when something looks like a duck, smells like a duck and quacks like a duck.......it is a duck. I thought the drag race was *extremely* unlikely from the moment I saw it (which is mainly due to the known figures of the C6 and the NSX) and then other evidence comes out supporting that thought.
If GM and all of these witnesses were there, then where is the statement against Top Gear?

Why isnt GM putting up a strong statement given that their NUMBER ONE goal with the C6 was to increase presence in Europe (a well accepted fact on the Corvette Forum that, for some reason, annoys a lot of Corvette fanatics who wish the USA existed alone on an asteroid somewhere).
How would I know? Perhaps they want to get the Z06 tested as well and don't want feathers ruffled before then. How says they haven't? Sometimes organizations communicate in private...
If they were going out of their way to make the Corvette look bad, WHY NOT make the 911 look good? Your arguments dont make any more sense or have any more validity than mine do. You just can't see that because you're a fanatic.
Why not do that? Pretty much the only claim I've made is that Top Gear showed poor journalism because they didn't show the most likely scenario of a race of those 4 cars. I really don't have to make an argument for anything else.
You werent there

You dont REALLY know anything

You're making sweeping assumptions indicting the integrity of a well known (not for profit) motoring show that don't hold water

You have no evidence to back any of it up

And at the end of the day, the C6 posted ABOVE THE GT3 ON THE BOARD and that is what will be remembered forever.
No knowledgeable performance enthusiastic would take that ranking to mean anything other than the GT3 being faster than the C6 (which is absolutely true). A C6 in the dry barely beating a GT3 in the wet. Big victory...
The place on the Top Gear board is HUGE. You can't seem to comprehend that. You keep modifying your argument rather than admitting that you're wrong. You're now grasping at the last desperate straw of "proof"; that being the alleged "multiple drag races" which, even if true, don't really prove anything anyhow. If they REALLY had an axe to grind, they would have gimped the C6 on the laps. Euros dont really care about 1/4 mile. Notice that they lined up cars with HUGE disparities in HP and said "all of these cars having about the same HP"???
Like I said earlier, my only point was that Top Gear exercised bad journalism by not showing the most likely result of that drag race. Why? Because we all know that if both those cars driven to the best of their ability the C6 would have won. End of story. If you truly think that Top Gear only does *1* lap around the track or only does *1* drag race then you really do not know how television production works.
If they had REALLY wanted to make the Vette look bad in the drag, they would have said "WOW! THE POS NSX THAT WE HATE WITH 290HP BEAT THE 400HP VETTE IN A DRAG! HAHAHAHAHA"

You can't make any argument of why they didnt do that that has any validity because its ALL conjecture. NONE of us will know what happened there unless GM makes a formal complaint. If they dont, its all just people with predetermined opinions puffing their chest out. I will stand by the argument that those whose position is that Top Gear is involved in a massive anti-American conspiracy are the ones with a LOT to prove. Logic is on my side.
I never said they had an anti-American conspiracy. I said they exercised bad journalism in the showing of the drag race. I don't know what they're logic is, I assume it's because they don't like the Vette. Maybe they just wanted an exciting race.......I don't know.
BUT MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL... THIS IS NOT THE TOP GEAR EDITORS FEEDBACK FORUM.

Just go away...

I think I'll stay. I didn't join this forum in August...

 

[timothyaw]

I liked the video, and they brought up one of the main reasons why I would never really consider a Corvette. The CHEAP INTERIOR PIECES!! I am sorry, but I do not care if the car packs a lot of bang for the buck, at a price tag of around $48,000 the Corvette has cheaper looking and feeling interior parts than a $17,000 Honda Civic. That to me is unacceptable.

For a short time I really was thinking about getting a Z06 because of the power, and the enormous improvements over previous Corvettes. But I just could not get over how cheaply the car is made. There is no excuse for it whatsoever. I tried explaining to my wife (who is Canadian) that the American concept of car building really is just put a big motor in it, and leave the rest alone. At least it seems to be from the cut rate interior components they use in the supposed 'flagship' of the American sports car.

Example: I used to know a guy that owns a Dodge Viper RT/10. One day we swapped cars. My '91 NSX for his '94 Viper. His exact first words when he handed my his Viper keys: 'Man...you are going to be disappointed going from that (my NSX) to the Viper,' and smiled. He then explained that his car (with only about 24,000 miles) had so many rattles and pieces falling off that he had no idea what to do. This is in a car that is one of the most expensive, and most high profile, American cars ever built!! When will American car companies learn to stop pinching pennies and put some higher quality plastics in their cars?? To truly compete on the level with German and Japanese cars, you HAVE to step up and use higher quality pieces. The 'sledgehammer' effect of just a big motor and nothing else will only sell you cars here in the USA, but not in places like Europe and Japan where they know how to built a total package.

We also commented on how that show would NEVER have been produced here. Speaking frankly about the Corvette's shortcomings on an American TV show would have been met with redneck rebellion.

I'm in total agreement! But I still RESPECT the corvette for what it is. And most members on here would.

 

[14.5 drift]

redneck rebellion? Last time I checked it was senior citizens that drove either car from where I lived. Either car show would be mistaken for a geriatrics event.

 

[satan_srv]

C6 is fast.
Top Gear is Biased
It's not a conspriacy, it's just more of a Michael Moore documentary of the C6.
NSX is nice too.

Let's just leave it at that!

 

[Animate]

Well summarized Satan!

I read some time ago that every time an auto magazine put a Corvette on its cover the circulation would rise by 30%. That seems to be mirrored on Prime....every time Corvette is mentioned in a thread heading the number of replies balloon.

 

[CerberusM5]

Let's just leave it at that!

I agree. Let's move on.

 

[Steve T]

It's not a conspriacy, it's just more of a Michael Moore documentary of the C6.

I am sure that unlike Moore's film, there is at least some slight grain of truth buried very deep in the Top Gear review. Maybe the lap time?

 

[mcibuk]

I'm going to send a note to the Top Gear team and ask them to follow this thread - I'm sure they will laugh their socks off just as i am!
I can't quite believe how people can let thir passions run so high to a point where the responses seem at times to be close to "out of control" - methinks.
What you have to bear in mind is that Jeremy Clarkson is paid to be provocative. He is a journalist that writes on just about any topic and is viewed by some of us Brits to be really amusing with his off-beat humour which he uses to "send up" anything and anyone Not everyone's "cup of tea" though - just like Corvettes , TVR's and Porsches! Don't forget the young guy on Top Gear that was doing the driving (not Stig - very respected Auto Test Driver) originally ridiculed the Corvette but later ended up defending it against Clarkson - this again is usual in this programme which i think most people over here watch for its amusing entertainment rather than serious test comparisons.
Forget the bias - in their time all of these cars have been slated by Jeremy.
Don't take us Brits so seriously!

 

[Sammy]

TV Car Shows

This thread started off fine, but has degenerated somewhat!

Can I just ask a question? Are all car shows in the US completely factual accounts? Documentaries with the base facts presented, nothing else?

Top Gear isn't like that. It is an entertainment show.

I have been to the Top Gear Studio more than once and been there for the filming. The comments about those who were there witnessing the drag race confuses me a little.

All the track action where the presenters are outside is filmed earlier in the week. On the Thursday they have the audience in the aircraft hanger (studio) and the show is shot - the inside stuff! All the 'track stuff' and road tests is shown to the gathered crowd on video screens so they can 'react'.

Sometimes 'Stig' will be out driving the car for the test time on the track while you are all there, but you don't go out there to view. Has anyone ever seen the crowd anywhere near the track?

I was there on the week when JK was the guest - we heard lots of noise as he was taking his cars out on the track ..... but unless you popped out in a break to have a sneaky look, you don't see the track stuff. On other occasions I have been there, not even heard a tyre squeal! (I saw the Koniswhatsit parked outside ready for the following week's show - fantastic looking machine!!)

As for bias - of course. Isn't all motoring journalism just someone's opinion???

I recall speaking to Clarckson on one of the earliest shows of the first (of this style) series. He had been reviewing the Focus RS and it was tested against the Scooby and CTR. Off camera he was VERY complimentary about the CTR ..... but his TV character is based upon over the top characterisations - and he isn't supposed to like Nissans or Hondas (although he has softened on Honda in recent years). Plus you get more laughs from over the top criticsms, not from enthusing over how good something is.

So what? Someone prefers one car over another. Great. It's just an opinion.

We do have car shows that are less biased and more factual, but they are not as popular. People watch TV to be entertained. If you want to know which is the best car (for you - best for one driver isn't always best for another!!) then you don't decide based on a TV show or a magazine article - you go drive the cars and decide for yourself!

The only opinion that matters on your car is your own.

I know that there are lots of cars faster than my NSX. Heck - some of the latest crop of under £20k hot hatches can give it a fair run!! But I don't care. I love my NSX. It is (to me) very special. There is a sense of occasion taking it anywhere. So I'm happy. If you are happy with your car - it doesn't matter what it is or what other people think of it ...... if you get a big grin when driving it - does anything else matter?

 

[mcibuk]

Sammy,

I totally concur or as they say between us Yorkshire lads - "what thar sed is jus fair dinkum

I also love my NSX - never raced it against any other sports car but i do like driving it!

Cheers

 

[Sammy]

Ay Ooop Chuck...... Yorkshire lass here though not lad!

 

[mcibuk]

Ee by gum - sorry