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Chevrolet C6 Corvette Takes Top Honors among Consumers at Detroit Auto Show According to Yahoo! Autos Survey

January 13, 2004 08:14 AM US Eastern Timezone

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 13, 2004--The hot new styling on an old classic is proving popular with consumers as the Chevrolet C6 Corvette was selected Best New Design at the 2004 North American International Auto Show being held in Detroit this week. Yahoo!® Autos (http://autos.yahoo.com), an informative and objective site for people looking to buy, sell or research automobiles, asked the general public to vote for their favorite vehicles at the biggest auto show in the country.

More than 2,300 consumers voted in five different categories including Best Concept Car, Best Car to Impress a Date, Best New Design (Production Only), Best Family Car, and Best Looking Hybrid Car.

Following the trend of the minivan comeback, the Dodge Caravan was voted Best Family Car, while consumers selected the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti as the Best Car to Impress a Date. The Lexus brand's first foray into the hybrid segment looks promising, as consumers chose its RX 330 as the Best Looking Hybrid Car. Other category winners and runners-up include:


Best Concept Car:
Winner: Dodge Slingshot
Runner-Up: Jeep Rescue

Best Family Car:
Winner: Dodge Caravan
Runner-Up: Volvo V50 Wagon

Best Car to Impress a Date:
Winner: Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
Runner-Up: BMW 645i Coupe

Best New Design (Production Only):
Winner: Chevrolet C6 Corvette
Runner-Up: Chevrolet Cobalt

Best Looking Hybrid Car:
Winner: Lexus RX 330 (400h)
Runner-Up: Honda Civic

On Saturday, January 10 and Sunday, January 11, 2004, Yahoo! Autos distributed special "Rate-It" cards to auto show attendees at several People Mover stations en route to the Cobo Center. A total of 2,309 consumers submitted completed cards.

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[Mr_Pringle]

wow-- I'm impressed- the Vette got top spot and the Cobalt was the runner up--

I am intrigued by the winners of the "Best Concept Car" category though...

 

[tgagneguam]

"Best Concept Car:
Winner: Dodge Slingshot
Runner-Up: Jeep Rescue"

Huh?! I sense many of you will disagree with this selection.


The more I see and read about the new 'Vette, the more I feel I need to own one.


"Best Looking Hybrid Car:
Winner: Lexus RX 330 (400h)
Runner-Up: Honda Civic"

Well, it looks like the Big Three (my apologies to Toyota-philes, Jim Press, et cetera, the "Detroit Three") won't be winning this segment anytime soon...

 

[Rex Raider]

The fact that the 2 best looking hybrid cars both look identical to their regular gas counterparts means that people don't want futuristic (weird) styling on their hybrids (Prius, Insight, EV1).

 

[sam4irene]

No doubt. I hope they notice that futureistic (weird) in the case of the insight is awful. Maybe they'll reconsider it's look?

Dodge Slingshot and Jeep and best concepts? Damn. I think I'll just keep this one to myself. :blink:

 

[dans67firebird]

This might cause some waves, but I'm surprised the the new Mustang did not receive any awards. Don't get me wrong, the Vette is sweet and I want one. But the Mustang is totally new and is hot. The Vette to me is just a redone C5. Nothing is carry over on the Mustang, new chassis, new skin and a new 5-speed auto. Something the Vette should have!!
Just my thoughts.

 

[IMPALAon20s]

Originally posted by dans67firebird@Jan 13 2004, 02:58 PM
This might cause some waves, but I'm surprised the the new Mustang did not receive any awards. Don't get me wrong, the Vette is sweet and I want one. But the Mustang is totally new and is hot. The Vette to me is just a redone C5. Nothing is carry over on the Mustang, new chassis, new skin and a new 5-speed auto. Something the Vette should have!!
Just my thoughts.

nothing is a carry over? not even the v6 engine. or same o' solid rear axle thats been on it since the 80's? as for the c6, think that is all new, but styling had to remain traditional vette. diehard vette people would have it no other way.. vette is not a car to sell its soul just to sell a few more units like the mustang. besides, mustang isn't even in same catagory as the vette.

 

[Smilingoat]

wow. thats amazing, the crystler concept was part of this right?

 

[awalbert88]

Originally posted by IMPALAon20s@Jan 13 2004, 04:33 PM
nothing is a carry over? not even the v6 engine. or same o' solid rear axle thats been on it since the 80's? as for the c6, think that is all new, but styling had to remain traditional vette. diehard vette people would have it no other way.. vette is not a car to sell its soul just to sell a few more units like the mustang. besides, mustang isn't even in same catagory as the vette.

Hmm... let's see.. different V6 engine entirely. The axle hasn't changed much, but why is this an issue? When it comes to the live axle, Ford pretty much has that one down pat, and I see little reason to change it. Yes, IRS would be nice, but for a low-priced (relatively) car, it's a little impractical. Other than that and the 5-speed manual, I see little that is the same as the previous generation.

Now, for the Corvette... the engine changed, technically, although something a bit better than a bump in displacement would've been nice (but I'm not going to argue about it, because I don't care enough to). The styling is basically an update to C5 (better, but nothing that screams "OWN ME" like the Mustang does). What else has changed, really? Not a whole lot. Maybe some suspension tweaks and some chassis improvements, but it's an evolutionary vehicle, not a revolutionary one. The Mustang is very revolutionary under the skin, while the body is more of a proper evolution to the heritage of the 'Stang.

Saying that the C5 and C6 have less in common with each other than the M4 and M5 (dunno any other shorthand for 4th and 5th gen Mustang) is a bit rediculous. The 93 and 94 Mustangs have about as much in common with each other as the C5 and C6 do. I just can't find myself getting excited by the new Vette. Last one that really got me interested was the C4.

 

[TaHoE]

Here are some things to get you excited:

Longer Wheelbase
Higher Performing suspension
More powerful base engine
More powerful Z06
More refined interior
Brand new engine
HID headlights
Do the words BLUE DEVIL mean anything to you??

The Corvette isn't meant to be a retro-pop like the Rustang. Let them have their retro, but I would rather have Evolutionary design then retro anyday of the weak...

 

[dans67firebird]

Hey Tahoe.... Update me what the Blue Devil is? I've heard it mentioned a few times and I would like to know what the details are. Thanks.

 

[bakerna]

I'm not totally understanding the hype about the new corvette...I understand that it's got a new engine, and a relatively new look...but it's styling is just like a viper.....nothing to be that proud of. I have to say that the slingshot looks like a good idea, a small, compact, good handling car that anyone can afford...and it doesn't reek like civic. It was actually designed as a asports car...which kinda excites me. The new mustang is wayyy too retro for my tastes...but ...yeah...just MHO

 

[tantalize9]

Blue Devil:

A LS motor (making over 600 naturally asperated horsepower) currently being tested for a might be made in the near future "supervette" C-6. Think of it as something you would want to sell your soul for :woot2: . That is if the 475-500hp Z06-Z07 *or whatever they call it* in '06 doesn't please people enough. I'm sure the `06 Z06-Z07 will kick the crap out of the Viper and the Ford GT pretty well since it has a 200+lb weight advantage on both cars.

 

[awalbert88]

Originally posted by TaHoE@Jan 13 2004, 09:57 PM
Here are some things to get you excited:

Longer Wheelbase
Higher Performing suspension
More powerful base engine
More powerful Z06
More refined interior
Brand new engine
HID headlights
Do the words BLUE DEVIL mean anything to you??

The Corvette isn't meant to be a retro-pop like the Rustang. Let them have their retro, but I would rather have Evolutionary design then retro anyday of the weak...

Let's break this down for why I don't care:

1) longer wheelbase

What does this matter to me? Give me a shorter wheelbase and I'm more interested.

2) Higher performing suspension

Ok, that's great. Is it enough that it's going to add more than .1mph on the slalom? Doesn't mean a damn thing to me until I drive one.

3) More powerful base engine

Yes, that's always a nice thing to have, but the LS2 does not impress me at all. If you remember many of my posts, you know I dislike pushrod motors. Bumping the displacement up to 6.0L seriously makes me want to laugh. I'm not advocating a 2L 4-banger or anything, but jeez... anybody can make a bigger pushrod motor with more power.

4) More powerful Z06

It remains to be seen what hp rating this will have. If it's 425hp like I expect it to be, then whoop-de-freaking-do. If it's 500hp, that's decent, but if you think it'll beat the Ford GT, you're mistaken. I'm not going to argue about it, so don't bother rebutting against my Ford GT comment.

5) More refined interior

Ok, that's nice, but the interior does nothing for me. The new Mustang's interior appeals to me very much. The C5.5 interior does nothing for me.

6) Brand new engine

Er... see my above comments. And is this a totally new engine, or is it a modified LS1/6?

7) HID headlights

Oh, good, so I can be blinded every time one of these things comes up behind me? Look, the field of view they give you while driving is great, I won't deny it. But around here, the roads are bumpy, and that results in oncoming traffic often times having their headlights move up and down enough to be at an angle that makes them worse than high-beams for other motorists.

Even ignoring that, HIDs are not something that get me excited. Seriously, if you get your jollies from HID headlights, maybe you should go buy yourself an SVT Focus before they go away.

8) Blue Devil

Uhm... yeah, if it ends up being a 6.0L pushrod V8 with twin turbos and a 9k redline, I'd be the first to buy it. Except that it's going to be too expensive for me to get excited about. And it'll still be in that half-assed C5.5 body. With 650hp, it better defeat the Ford GT and Viper, or GM should just not even bother.

I don't think you really understand why I don't care about the new Vette. I'm not alone in my disinterest in it. Line them up in a parking lot, and which one would get more attention? The Mustang. The "new" Vette doesn't deserve to be called C6, and it seems a fair bit of the automotive press agrees with me.

Anyway, if I said anything offensive or rude, please forgive me, as I'm in about the most bitchy mood possible today.

 

[syth82]

:microwave:

Argh.... First off the current vette's wb is pretty darn short, so a longer one dosn't bother me. Stability is good, yeah? Second, I agree its about time the Corvette got past pushrods, but the Mustang's plant is hardly all new either. Next, the 500hp z06 looks to be a given, so yeah... anyway. Fourth, well, I haven't seen either interior upclose, so no comment till after chicago. Brand new engine..... Well, lets move past that one, k? Number seven (almost done, yay!), HIDs. Hey they aren't as bad as all those idiots who put "super blues" in their Exploders. And finally the Blue Devil. How shall I put this? Hmmmm... How about GM never made it before, which can't really be said about the GT(40) and 2005(1968) Mustang.

Ok, I'm done ranting. Sorry about all that, eh? I get cranky when I'm tired.

-Luke