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Automotive News & Views Automotive News & Views-Archives Karl's Daily Log Book 
2391 messages, Last post on Nov 30, 2005 at 6:50 AM
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Karl Brauer is the Editor in Chief of Edmunds.com, which means he finds himself in a different vehicle almost every day of the week. If you want a daily road test review regarding the latest cars and trucks to hit the market, along with commentary on everything from auto industry happenings to L.A. drivers to his latest close encounter with Johnny Law, this is the place to be.
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We just tested the cars, but unfortunately I can't remember all the numbers we got. But I do remember 1/4-mile times (always my real benchmark for performance...must come from my drag racing days of youth...). Anyway, they stack up like this (these numbers are uncorrected, so figure about 3/10ths off each to account for the altitude of our facility): Ford GT: 1/4-mile 11.91 seconds Chevrolet Corvette Z06: 1/4-mile 12.10 seconds Dodge Viper Coupe: 1/4-mile 12.80 seconds Yup, these cars are all very FAST!! With the corrected number for the GT coming in around 11.6 seconds...well, there are only about three street legal production cars ever made that are clearly quicker, and they all cost A LOT more and are A LOT harder to acquire (McLaren F1, Ferrari Enzo, Bugatti Veyron). Pretty wild... And no, I wasn't the driver for these numbers. We used a professional driver hired just to do the testing for these bad boys. |
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Replying to: nitromax (Oct 28, 2005 2:26 am) |
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...and the multilink suspension with coil springs and antiroll bar prevents even rear passengers from being bounced around unnecessarily. Really? The 2006 Rio has a crappy torsion beam in the rear, and since they are platform buddies the general assumption was that the Accent would get the same sad treatment. Can you go look and see just what Hyundai stuck under there? Also: Date posted: 01-01-3000 Since this is being posted from the future, can we get a sneak peek at the fun stuff coming in the next few decades? |
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In the past two weeks I've driven five different GM cars...and I must say that I really liked them all. Not, "really liked them, as GM cars go" or "really liked them, despite their GM-ness." No, I just plain liked them. 2006 Corvette Z06 -- Of course many will say this car is a unique offering from GM, or that at $70,000 it better be good, but even so the car means nothing to most normal people. Whatever. This car offers masssive performance regardless of its price point. The fact that it's among the 10 quickest cars ever made, but anywhere from 1/2 to 1/12 the cost of the other nine is damn impressive. I wish it had a better transmission, but it's easier to live with on a daily basis than most of the other nine "quickest cars" too. Very cool car! 2006 Pontiac Solstice -- I know our comparison test put the Miata ahead of the Solstice, but I personally would take the Solstice any day over the Miata -- and twice on Sunday. Great value, great styling, great interior design, excellent performance. Both the engine and transmission could be better, but they aren't terrible -- or even bad -- and at this price point the car is simply a great value. 2006 Pontiac Torrent -- I already liked the Equinox, so this isn't a big surprise, but after driving this car 150 miles I got out of it and couldn't think of anything I could seriously mark it down for. Some of the interior plastics could be better, but just like with the Z06 and Solstice it represents a solid value overall. Great engine/tranny, solid handling and ride quality, comfortable seats, great sound system. Just a fine SUV by every important measurement. 2006 Chevy Trailblazer SS -- This car was just plain fun! We had it at the track Friday for instrumented testing, and it was very fast (low 14s in the 1/4 mile). It also had a great automatic transmission with some of the most rewarding upshifts I've felt since driving the shift-kitted 727 torqueflight in my GTX. It really slingshots forward during upshifts (without feeling at all harsh or "clunky"), which is exactly how a performance automatic should feel. Handling was solid, and it even looked really cool, too, with the upgraded wheel/tire package. I turned off the traction and stability control (our test car was rear-wheel drive) and couldn't stop grinning as I was steering it with the throttle at our test facility. I was actually running the "sell" conversation with the wife through my head after driving it. "But honey, think of all the room for carrying the kids' bikes when going to the park with them." 2006 Impala SS -- While not a redesign, GM did wonders with the existing platform. Steering feel is much better than I expected -- and "good" by any standards for a 2006 family sedan. Firm and responsive without being too heavy. Interior design/materials were also good, as was seat comfort. The V8 in the SS was excellent in terms of torque and smoothness, and despite the high power output there was no torque steer when flooring it from a dead stop. Very impresive! I wish it had a more controlled ride quality (especially since this was the "SS" version), and the brakes could have been stronger (it took 140 feet to stop from 60 mph). But neither of those items will be issues for 90-plus percent of customers 90-plus percent of the time. The rest of the time this car will offer more comfort, interior room and performance than comparably priced family sedans. Anyway, I'm still not a huge fan of some of their recent introductions (HHR, Grand Prix GXP, Cobalt), but I thought it was worth noting that everything I drove from GM in the past two weeks I really liked -- certainly more than I expected to. Maybe we're past the "darkest" and into the "dawn"... |
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Replying to: editor_karl (Oct 30, 2005 2:47 pm) I had to read the first paragraph twice. I didn't believe what I was reading! Good. |
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Replying to: editor_karl (Oct 30, 2005 2:47 pm) |
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Replying to: editor_karl (Oct 30, 2005 2:47 pm) Did you like the steering on the Torrent? I could not stand (steering wise) the Nox I drove - the electric steering felt horrible and sloppy. That is one of my complaints with the Malibu as well. So, have you driven a G6 GTP? I have yet to see any reviews on this vehicle yet. I am really curious if the conventional steering system has had a positive effect on the G6. Maybe I should go drive one myself - the local dealer has a dozen or so, amazingly even 4 with the manual. |
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Replying to: bigdaddycoats (Oct 31, 2005 6:59 am) I haven't driven the G6 GTP yet, but another editor did and he said it was pretty good. We're getting one in a few weeks so I'll know soon enogh... |
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Replying to: editor_karl (Oct 31, 2005 7:08 am) Did you ever look into whether or not the spy pics of the 07 Envoy are really the Envoy or are they indeed the Acadia?
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While a HUGE improvement over the Aztek, I think they could have done better than an old V6 made in China. At least give it the 3500 from the Malibu. That plus the cargo area tower eat up half the potential cargo space. Some minor re-packaging and it could be a lot better. Just swap out the engine and re-do the shock towers so they're not so huge. -juice |
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