Originally Posted by watwazat
Our last test of this year which is almost complete is the 350Z, which of course we will post on one of the popular Nissan forums. Then we break for the holidays and In January we are at Barrett Jackson for the auction, which is always a delight.
We haven't tested the new Vette yet, but if Chevrolet ships us a car on schedule, we should be testing it in early March. We love testing the Vette, it is a true iconic American sports car, not only does it have it's history, but it performs well, very well. The Vette is true "value for the money" it can compete with cars that cost thousands more. It is a Chevrolet, but it's earned it's other badge, the Corvette which says a lot to those who are fans of the car and there are many.
If DC listens to it's customer's and works with the Crossfire, it too may eventually gain status. It now has the Chrysler badge and the little know Crossfire name, it's going to take time to build it's supporters and it has a long way to go.
The post about the SRT dying a quck death is utter trash. A manufacturer builds a new model with a minimum 7-year comittment, if they were to pull the Crossfire early, they may have great difficulty returning with a sports car in it's class for decades to come, as customer's have long memories. I think the Crossfire will and must evolve. Like anything new, it's a good idea to sit on the sidelines and wait a while. If the price drops which it appears it will, the SRT might actually hit the "value for money" mark and they will continue to improve year after year. As a disclaimer and for those who take things very literally, there are exceptions to the 7-year rule, remember the Fiero? But I don't think the Exec's at DC will let that happen to the Crossfire and they have the added benefit of sharing components and technology with the SLK.
speedfreak as you are Vette fan I will send you a personal transcript copy of our testing, which by the way is 3-days worth of tests. Send me an e-mail and I'll get your address and you will have it by the end of March.
Happy Holidays!
I disagree with "the Crossfire must evolve" I don't think it will mainly because cross shared platforms don't have big followings. Even the Cougar/Mustang didn't prevail. Unless it's for #s only in market share and under price compared to Benz or others.
The Crossfire could get the new 3.5 V-6 that at the very lease would then give it the 40 hp it needs to satisfy some buyers.
I do agree with most everything you have said about the SRT. Except that you made it originally sound like your friend was FOOLED into buying it on it's Performance looks. And how you proved it was not the perfomance car like PORSCHES. I don't think most SRT6 buyers are fooled. They buy it beause it looks great.
This may confuse you but I like the Porsche evolution into a GREAT car that still looks like an old car! Because of MARKET DEMAND OF PORSCHE OWNERS AND BUYERS. PORSCHE has catered to it's own GREAT customer following. And has decided to give people (PORSCHE LOVERS) what they want. THE same old looking car only better performance year after year. For an affordable start price $45-50k Boxster base. and the new Boxster coupe coming out next year. This will help them stay competive with others so called sport cars.