Porsche Carrera GT vs Chevy Corvette: Which Is Better?

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AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on a poll regarding preferences between Porsche and Corvette, emphasizing performance and engineering rather than affordability. Participants express a strong preference for European cars, particularly valuing handling and elegance over sheer power. The conversation highlights the engineering backgrounds of various manufacturers, with mentions of Porsche's European roots and the complexities of multinational car production. There is a debate about the Corvette's suspension technology, with some arguing that it falls short compared to Porsche's superior handling capabilities. The discussion also touches on personal experiences with different car models and the nuances of car ownership, including the challenges of maintaining a driver's license. Ultimately, the consensus leans toward the Porsche Carrera as the superior vehicle, primarily due to its performance and engineering excellence, while the Corvette is viewed as less favorable in comparison.

Which car rules? (Latest models of each)

  • Porsche Carerra GT

    Votes: 26 86.7%

  • Chevy Corvette Z06

    Votes: 4 13.3%
  • Total voters
    30
rocketboy
Messages
243
Reaction score
1
I figure we need a poll to settle the Porsche vs Vette thread that has come up.

This isn't about affordability.
 
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I've never liked american or japanese engineered cars. I prefer european cars due to their shear elegance and high performance.

If I had the money I would get an Enzo Ferrari for driving and a Maybach 62 for riding.
 
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I prefer a better handling car versus a simply powerful car. While I can appreciate what the vette brings to the American market, I love powerful, great handling sedans like BMWs.
 
Actually Porsche is an European company. Its corporate headquaters is found in Austria, and the founder of Porsche worked for Dlimer (sp?) (Mercasides-Benzs), and also helped desingned the first Vlotswagens. As for a driving car I'd prefer a BMW 760 Li sedan and move up to a M6 series when it hits the market. For my cruising model I'd like a Corvette that has been tricked out by Bob Northwood
 
russ_watters said:
I own a Mazda 6 - is that Japanese or American?

It's Japanese
 
dduardo said:
It's Japanese
Ford is Japanese?
 
hitssquad said:
Ford is Japanese?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda

"Mazda Motor Corporation is an automobile maker based in Hiroshima, Japan."

Ford owns Jaguar, but it is still a British vehicle.
 
Michigan, Hiroshima Prefecture, same difference

dduardo said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda
"Mazda Motor Corporation is an automobile maker based in Hiroshima, Japan."
Welcome to Flat Rock, Michigan Prefecture, Japan.
http://www.detnews.com/2002/autosinsider/0210/19/b01-615423.htm


dduardo said:
Ford owns Jaguar, but it is still a British vehicle.
Jaguars are made in Ford factories in the United States?
 
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  • #10
I know Ford is more Mazda than Mazda is Ford - I was just making the point that a lot of cars are multinational today. I wasn't even sure where my 6 was built (according to the Wik article, all are built in Flat Rock). I'll check the sticker tomorrow about the parts fraction. It is, however, Japanese engineered. I have the 4 cylinder, which is a Mazda engine - the V6 is a Ford engine.

Good Wik article, btw - I learned a lot about my car I didn't know. Can't wait to see what they do with the hybrid version...
 
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  • #11
Yes a lot of cars are built multinationally today, but that doesn't mean they are designed multinationally. For example, BMW has plants in Germany and South Africa, but the cars are designed in Germany.
 
  • #12
I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't really fit into a Porsche too easily. Then again, I didn't fit into a Corvette too easily until about 2000 or so. Personally, I prefer view and space over power and speed anyway. Having a fast car does nothing during a bumper-to-bumper commute, and when I'm out driving on the highway, I like to be leisurely about it and enjoy the scenery. I was driving an Expedition until my license expired and I didn't bother renewing it.
 
  • #13
Getting a driver's license - more painful the second time

loseyourname said:
I was driving an Expedition until my license expired and I didn't bother renewing it.
If you mean your driver's license, that will cost you. You will have to go again through the entire process of getting tested and paying exhorbitant fees in order to get a new license. Meanwhile, employees of institutions will want to know why you do not have a 'real' ID.

Someone will have to drive you down to the DMV and let you borrow his car and sit around waiting while you are tested. The DMV driving tester will be curious to know why you seem to know how to drive.
 
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  • #14
hitssquad said:
If you mean your driver's license, that will cost you. You will have to go again through the entire process of getting tested and paying exhorbitant fees in order to get a new license. Meanwhile, employees of institutions will want to know why you do not have a 'real' ID.

Someone will have to drive you down to the DMV and let you borrow his car and sit around waiting while you are tested. The DMV driving tester will be curious to know why you seem to know how to drive.

I went to get it renewed and found out it had been suspended. For whatever reason, the city of Los Angeles claims that I never took care of a fix-it ticket that would now cost me around $600 or so. I did take care of the ticket, but it was almost two years ago, so I have no receipt or proof at this point. I don't know what to do, and I almost never drive anyway, so why should I bother? A state ID is perfectly fine for a "real" ID. I know it's almost impossible for most modern people to imagine living without a car, but it's really not that bad.
 
  • #15
loseyourname said:
I know it's almost impossible for most modern people to imagine living without a car, but it's really not that bad.
It really depends on where you live. If you live in a big city like Los Angeles you can make it by with walking, riding a bicycle, the bus, and taxis, each with its pros and cons.
 
  • #16
Sometime before too long I'm going to rent a top car for a day or two.

I just did a little checking...

Lamborghini Diablo VT
Rental Rates

$2800.00 per day.
$16800.00 per week.
:eek:
However,
50 miles included.
$2.00 per additional mile.
http://www.bhrentacar.com/vehicle_info.php?vid=5&h=0

Hmmm, I think this is going take some quick talking on my part; Right, married guys?
 
  • #17
Jaguars are made in Ford factories in the United States?

Where did you hear this to?
 
  • #18
Jaguar has somethingl like 3 plants in Britian.
 
  • #19
yea, a really big one in coventry aswell.
 
  • #21
hitssquad said:
"Coventry has lost Jaguar"

news.google.com/news?q=jaguar%20coventry

idiots at ford/jaguar abandoned alluminum design while germans and japanese are making cars out of alluminum(top end) and selling them like hotcakes.
ford should can whole jaguar anyway, they are ugliest cars on the road.
 
  • #22
Old men will always buy jaguars, they have that market cornered.

http://www.jaguar.co.uk/uk/en/company/company_today/locations.htm

Make what you want of that link.
 
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  • #23
13th paragraph, Andy.
news.google.com/news?ie=UTF-8&q=jaguar+%22coventry+has+lost%22

--
In his letter, Mr Robinson said: "It is disappointing your officials have not yet met Jean-Martin Folz. We understood that the meeting had already taken place.

"Yes, it is good news that the 206 will continue for a few years yet.

"But the point is that, given the lean times in the motor industry, decisions must be taken now if a programme is to be introduced in time for the 206's phase out.

"There is no room for complacency. Coventry has lost Jaguar, Massey Ferguson and Stadco and faces severe reductions at Marconi."
[...]
Household names in the West Midlands which have either reduced dramatically in size or disappeared include MG Rover, Massey Ferguson, Jaguar, Alstom, Goodyear and Waterford-Wedgwood.
--
 
  • #24
  • #25
Its still there at the moment though.

D'OH, WHERE THAT OTHER LINK COME FROM.
 
  • #26
Castle bromwich is still in the UK.
 
  • #27
If Jaguar had three factories in the UK and none anywhere else, and one of the factories was in Castle Bromwich, wouldn't Castle Bromwich have to be in the UK?
 
  • #28
Ford have a 1/3 share in mazda.
Ford own Jaguar, The Landrover line and Volvo.
the Drive train, floor pan and some interior parts off the Ford Mondeo are used on the Jag X-type :cry:

Any way back to the OP.

The Carerra if far better than the Vette. Mainly due to the fact that it doesn`t matter how powerfull the car is, if it can`t transfer that power to the road it sucks, and unfortunattly that is where the Vette falls down they still use leaf sprung suspention in the 21 century. My dad had a 1950`s Landrover with leaf sprung suspention!

The most important part of a car is not the power or looks but the chasie and the aerodynamics. The Lotus Elise uses a 1.8 litre engine developing 189BHP but will go around a track far quicker than most other cars. Why because it transfers that power to the road in the most efficent way at every point on the track.
 
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  • #29
zanazzi78 said:
the Vette falls down they still use leaf sprung suspention in the 21 century.
7:42 at Nurburgring.
 
  • #31
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  • #32
  • #33
Porshe. I always prefer European to American or Japanese if money doesn't matter. If it does, then japan has my vote.

I drive an '05 Mazda 3, russ watters. You ought to be ashamed having to ask which country Mazda is. Tisk tisk.
P.S. Let's race. zoom zoom.
 
  • #34
zanazzi78 said:
Thank you, BWM from where ... EUROPE!
Actually, I think that might be the race version of the BMW M3 GTR. The fastest production time on that list looks like 7:32.4 for the Carrera GT.
 
  • #35
I'd say the Porsche. Generally prefer European cars for their handling, which is more of an issue over here because we actually have corners in Europe.

However, I'd never have a Porsche. To me, they seem devoid of all character. Give me something like a Lotus or TVR instead.
 
  • #36
Mixing BMW-parts

Hello everybody !

Here's a complete newby as far as kitcar building goes. I'm still (for a long time now) thinking about what to built and if I could make it work. My choice was almost made for an Autotune Gemini, but recently I found out about the Marlin Sportster. I like the BMW idea of this built, so I'm considering the options now.

My actual question is: Could I use suspension, gear box, rear axle etc. of E30 BMW's and use the BMW E36 M3 engine, wiring loom etc or that of http://www.auto-parts-wholesale.com/mm/bmw/7-series/760.html"? I think it would be cheaper to use as much E30 parts as possible, but I like the M3 engine ... Besides that I read somewhere that using E36 suspension, axle, diff bits give more trouble in mounting ? Or is this all just coming out of the mind of a mad man and would I better buy a complete E36 M3 ? Finally perhaps anyone who says that an M3 enginge is not necessary or useless anyway ?

Like to read your thoughts on this ! Guess I'll might have some more questions/thoughts before and after the purchase ! Hope to read some usefell stuff !

Cheers !
 
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  • #38
Like Russ pointed out a couple of years ago, the nationality of the nameplate means nothing. Ford closed their Marysvill, OH, plant saying that it was old and antiquated and citing high labor costs. Honda bought the plant, hired back most of the Ford labor force and launched the production of the Honda Accord, built in the USA with the highest percentage of US-made parts of all the cars that were supposedly manufactured in the US, and took the #1 spot for mid-sized cars sold in the US. The only way Ford was able to topple them from the #1 spot was to buy their own cars (Taurus) from themselves and lease them to rental car companies at huge discounts.
 
  • #40
I own a Z06, and would prefer the Carerra GT, however, I don't have $450,000 (USA) to buy the Carerra GT. The Carerra GT has 606hp and is lighter than the Z06. Nordschleife time in the Carerra GT is 7:28, while a pre-production Z06 ran a 7:42.9, although the actual car has had slight improvements since that run.

However, the Z06 just looks like another Corvette, so it doesn't attract a lot of attention and I use it as my daily driver (or my motorcycle).

Regarding the Nordschleife "production" car record, a Radical SR8 holds the current record at 6:55. This is basically a street legal (in some countries) race car.

Sedan type race cars run faster times than 6:55, but these are true race cars with slicks. A video of a BMW M3 GTR race car running combined Nurburg F1 track and Nordschleife:

http://jeffareid.net/real/m3gtrnrd.wmv
 
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  • #41
GREATTT VIDEO JEFF. Thats what I call being alive!
 
  • #42
zanazzi78 said:
The Carerra if far better than the Vette. Mainly due to the fact that it doesn`t matter how powerfull the car is, if it can`t transfer that power to the road it sucks, and unfortunattly that is where the Vette falls down they still use leaf sprung suspention in the 21 century. My dad had a 1950`s Landrover with leaf sprung suspention!

I bet both cars have pneumatic tires too :rolleyes:. Stop making stuff up and learn a little about cars before condemning them over nationalistic prejudices. That Land Rover uses heavy longitudinal multileaf steel springs that serve as suspension links. Corvettes use lightweight transverse composite springs that do not affect the suspension geometry in any way. Such a spring is no better or worse than an equivalent coil. It just takes up space differently.

Vettes are actually known to be excellent at transferring their power to the road. The design is about as good as it can be for that purpose. For overall chassis performance, nothing else can touch a Z06 on the track for anywhere near that price range (unless you go to stripped out race cars with no bodywork, near-solid springs, and 2" of ground clearance). You can argue about various subjective qualities, but the Vette is an excellent value if you want to go extremely fast in comfort for relatively little money.

All that said, I don't see how anyone would take the Vette over the Carrera. The Porsche costs 6 times as much, so it had better be a much better car.
 
  • #43
Greg Bernhardt said:
This isn't even a fair poll. The vette is one of the worst cars for the money.
The Carerra GT costs something like 8 times more though...
 
  • #44
moose said:
The Carerra GT costs something like 8 times more though...

Right but at the Z06's price tag of 70k, I'd rather have a BMW 6 series or Audi A8.
 
  • #45
Greg Bernhardt said:
Right but at the Z06's price tag of 70k, I'd rather have a BMW 6 series or Audi A8.

Ok, but those cars are designed to do completely different things. If that's what you like, I doubt you'd want a CGT either.
 

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