Quote:
Walter said:
Quote:
95jersey said:
Quote "European manufacturers build cars for the absolute worst cases.American manufacturers take short cuts.I don't think "GM wondered if anybody can drive a RWD 500hp car on a wet road...European manufacturers do care about that but they also wonder if the temperature remained constantly low in the cabine for 5 hours under the sun and if the drivers @ss(or any other body part) hurts after a 500km trip"


So if you got into a 360 Challenge Stradale and your @ss hurt after 500km, you would be disapointed?!?! I think European manufacturers are more pompous than anything. If American manufacturers take short cuts that give me 505HP motor in a race wining chassis for $65k...let me be the first to throw out the heated/cooling seats! A wet road? Wouldn't a Corvette, Ferrari or 911TT usually be a second car? Use the AWD SUV for the bad weather.

Is this a sports car forum or is this a hair saloon? Your talking about a 500hp supercar for $65, and your worried about cabin temps?

None of this is meant to be taken personally, this is just a good healthy debate.



"A wet road? Wouldn't a Corvette, Ferrari or 911TT usually be a second car? Use the AWD SUV for the bad weather."

The F430,997T,Gallardo,M5,...can be used anytime by anyone.This is possible for all of those cars because it has electronic devices which helps the (unexperienced)driver alot.The Turbo and Gallardo have AWD,the F430 has the Manettino(?spelling) which has a "snow" mode,the M5 can reduce it's power to 400hp.

The M5 and F430 also have the sequential gear box which gives the pssibility to unexperienced drivers to have fun on the track.Some people that go on the track for the first don't have fun because they don't know how to heel-and-toe(which isn't a super-dupa-mega-ultra racing driver technique).If you don't use the heel-and-toe technique in a RWD car and downshift the normal way,it can be a problem for the clutch and if you do downshift too fast the rear wheels can lock and than oversteer,too much countersteer,..out.

You probably noticed that the RWD cars I mentioned above have this type of gear box.But it isn't only for the race track because it also works as a normal automatic gear box.

The Z06 has some electronic devices too but I've read in many reviews that the rear end was a bit unstable if you're not careful enough with the throttle.That probably isn't a big problem on the track but on a public road this might be dangerous.

In our everyday life more and more things are becoming more and more versatile.Your cell phone isn't just for phoning,your fridge also works as a ice cube distributor,your computer isn't just for the work,...cars aren't the exception.If you want to drive fast but you took the SUV instead of the Corvette,you might feel frustrated.If you have an M5,you just need to push a button(well,many buttons).
If you need a SUV for rainy or snowy conditions,the financial advantge of the Corvette doesn't exist anymore.Think of insurances and taxes...and you need a bigger garage.

"Your talking about a 500hp supercar for $65, and your worried about cabin temps?"
Exaclty!
500hp is a lot for me.Many scientific researches have proven that the temperature in the cabin has a big influence on the concertration of the driver.I think I would need a lot of attention with 500hp even on a dry road.Peugeot equipped their WRC with an AC.The drivers said it was very useful.
The quality of the heater is also important.I once sat in a car that had an AC.The cabin was cold but I still was sweating.That's uncomfortable(I'm not saying it's the case in a corvette).If you do a big trip and you feel uncomfortable in the car you're are not going to fully concertrate on driving and have fun driving around.

The Audi TT and the Mercedes A-class are perfect examples for what happens if engineers don't of any type of situation on the road.No-one will do heavy slaloms with the A-class and who would have thought the Audi oversteers at 200km/h?

I've read an article about the development of the Aston Martin V8.The engineers were testing the stability program by making zig-zags on snowy raods...at 180km/h.



What a great post.