I'm in college (a senior) and drive a 2002 Mustang GT. My mom (yes, her idea) wants a sports car. I know much about cars, so I am doing all the research for it. I'm not very partial, I just like American V-8s. She never really set a price range, just suffice it to say a Viper is more than what she would like to spend. She once had an opportunity to get a Corvette when she got out of college, so she really likes them. When the Z06 came out, I told her about it, and while she said it was a bit expensive, after the C6R won LeMans she was sold, even bragging about it. We decided that having it during winter in Indiana would just be sad (watching it sit in a garage), so we would wait till Feb. or March to order it. Now she has second thoughts. She said that affording it is no problem, she has trouble justifying spending any money on herself (she paid for 3 kids through college), she's really skittish with money. So I sent her the video from here of a Z on the dyno, and a few other things, and I think she is back on board, but if there is anything you can tell me or direct me anywhere with additional information, it would be greatly appreciated. There is just never enough research for her. In particular, she wants the red side bolsters, and finding pictures of that would be great.

 

If you are looking for information to help push her towards buying the Z06 all you have to do is pick up any of the recent auto mags in the stores. They should pretty much seal the deal for you. Every article you read will rave about the performance to dollar value of the Z06 and that no other car will give you that type of performance for anywhere close to that price. Only problem you may run into is that there is probably a nice waiting list at your local dealer for the new Z06 so the sooner you place the order the better. Good luck.

 

Why a ZO6? You may like the idea of one of the most powerful, one of the fastest, etc., but isn't that really a little extreme? Is your Mom into sports cars in a big way (NO, otherwise she'd know all about the ZO6). Can she drive a manual trans -- and more to the point, does she WANT to drive one every day?: the ZO6 comes no other way. Does she want to live daily with a car that's had half the sound insulation ripped out to lighten it, etc., that has a stiff suspension, extreme dry weather tires, etc.

I think you are making a mistake, steering your mom toward the wrong car.

What is wrong with a standard Corvette?:::400 HP, automatic trans, maybe get her a convertible if she is adventuresome, or at least the removeable top. That is a very fast, very sporty car. The new, six speed paddle shifter automatic is first rate. Standard vettes come with lots of luxury and convenience features not available on the ZO6 that your Mom will appreciate. And it will cost a lot less -- about 1 years worth of college less.

And buy it while it is still just at the tail end of winter - prices are cheaper. Come summer, those convertibles go fast in more ways that one.

 

Although I didn't say anything in my first post I was kind of thinking the samething. A Z06 my be a little over kill for your mom, but if she is into that level of performance then tell her to go for it. And by the way, is this going to be her daily driver? If so they I definitely say go for the standard C6.

 

After reading the reply from Lee Willis, I realized how inadequately I explained my Mom on this issue. First off, thanks for the advice, we have bought most if not all of the magazines to get many views on it. As for my mom's stance, THIS IS NOT FOR A DAILY DRIVER. When we first settled on this car she asked what radar detector we needed. My mom has a sedan for that to haul her work around with her, and the reason she has not had a good sports car for a while is because where she parks at work people will park beside her and ding her car all the time. In '94 she bought a Mustang convertible because she wanted a soft top, but only got a V6 because she wanted to drive it every day.

Our family has always had muscle cars. Growing up she drove a '69 Trans Am for a while, and my Uncle had two Mustang Mach 1's. Since I've had my car, she always makes me let her drive it when any work is being done to it. She knows how to drive a manual, and my brother and I work on all the cars in our house. The only time they go to the dealer is for warranty work.

Any more my mom just gets very protective with her money. She will want something, but she works really hard and then when spending the money, even on something she really wants, she gets second thoughts, even when her refridgerator went out after 15 years she didn't want to buy a new one. Once she finally gets convinced and into what she's looking for, she can't be stopped. For example, a few years ago we needed a new TV, and she wanted a projection TV. I showed her many that were $1,000-2,000, but after committing herself to a new TV, she went way above that price and yelled at me for asking her if she was sure she wanted the one she got.

She reads a lot on cars, but I do even more, and my friends all do, so she knows I know more than her on the matter. When she first came to me about this, she said she wanted a "toy car" to drive fast on country roads. She said she wanted the new Mustang GT500 (at 475hp) or a vette, but I told her we should look at others, which she wanted to do. After a while she settled on the vette, but we thought the Z06 would be well out of range on price. When the final specs and price came out, she set about learning more, even going to a local dealership herself. When I told her the C6R won LeMans over Aston Martins and Ferraris, like I said, she was sold on it. We would probably have one now, but she said she would cry at not being able to drive it during the winter (right now it is 30 degrees w/ snow on the ground). Over Christmas she just kept saying it was a lot of money. She sees it as an investment, and we've had a bit of a history of some cars we get being lemons (from the dealer), so she doesn't want to buy a $65k lemon.

She's got a lead foot, and already told my brother, sister, and I that it will not go out in the rain.

 

Get it then, but it is not "an investment" (it will depreciate).

 

Just won't depreciate at the same rate as some other Chevy's on the market