Clarkson Reviews the Stingray

After his normal bashing on Americans, the outcome is surprising.

http://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/the-clarkson-review-2014-chevrolet-corvette-stingray-convertible/

I'm going to test drive a Corvette and slam in a George Michael CD before stopping by Clarkson's for some buns & tea. None of this would I enjoy. Except maybe the test drive.

Fiberglas??!! Sigh.

Basil Exposition wrote: Fiberglas??!! Sigh.

At least he can spell fibreglass correctly.

LOL that opening paragraph was priceless.

..and this made me literally LOL as it hi tme out of nowhere

But, that said, it has some things you won’t find in any European car. The touchscreen display, for instance, will slide down at the press of a button to reveal a hidden cubbyhole that is easily big enough for a Bible and a small pistol.

Great review.

He said a stingray convertible is £34,000 here in the states... I don't know how that converts to real dollars, but that sounds low... very low..

In reply to novaderrik:

£34,000 is roughly $57,000, MSRP on base vette vert, $58,995, sounds reasonable enough for an approximated exchange rate calculation.

I look forward to the 3-way comparison: Jezza in the Stingray, Captain Slow in the F-type, Hamster in a Porsche of some flavor...

I think that's his only review of an American car that didn't end with "But the plastic interior is rubbish, so you can't buy it."

....... but the Corvette can do something else as well. It can go round corners. Both kinds — left and right.

Trans_Maro wrote:

Basil Exposition wrote: Fiberglas??!! Sigh.

At least he can spell fibreglass correctly.

Not sure if serious...

Fibreglass, fiberglass and Fiberglas are all correct. The first two are common usage and the third is a brand name. The last is what my Fascist auto correct gives me...

I'm not going to read the review, but I can guess:

-- Comment about leaf springs.
-- Comment about pushrod engine.
-- Grudging admittance that, despite being built by fat cavemen, it's not a horrible car. This actually translates to being high praise for an American car in Clarksonspeak.
-- Note that, despite not being horrible, it's unbuyable because it's too wide and too stiff for British roads (as if that's a failing of the car, not a failing of British roads).

[edit] How the berk do you get lists in this place? Nothing I do seems to work.

Duke wrote: I'm not going to read the review, but I can guess: -- Comment about leaf springs. -- Comment about pushrod engine. -- Grudging admittance that, despite being built by fat cavemen, it's not a horrible car. This actually translates to being high praise for an American car in Clarksonspeak. -- Note that, despite not being horrible, it's unbuyable because it's too wide and too stiff for British roads (as if that's a failing of the car, not a failing of British roads). [edit] How the berk do you get lists in this place? Nothing I do seems to work.

Pretty close, but the last point was off. He said it was better than pretty much any car at double the price, even in Britain. But anybody who would drive a Vette' is not welcome in his house.

He has come a long way from the Ford F150 he reviewed. It had been converted quite badly to right hand drive and yet he managed to blame Ford for the fit and finish. He also blamed Ford for the fact that the open bed was prone to theft. Still, he is not the least bit politically correct and always makes me laugh and I forgive a lot for that.

I know that Clarkson is deliberately controversial in order to increase interest in his show. But I've thought for several years that he has taken that too far. This review further confirms it. Chris Harris has eaten Clarkson's lunch.

David

I thought by Clarkson standards the review was reasonably fair, bordering on 'glowing' for an American car.

As an entertainer he's amusing. As a car "expert" I find him lacking. He lost me when he said the Carol Shelby's racing career "didn't work out", suggesting he didn't have much success.

He won the 24 Hours of LeMans for crissakes! How much more success do you want?! He retired due to heart problems, not talent issues. I"m not a big Shelby supporter, but give the devil his due. That mistake was unacceptable on otherwise such a great show.

I also love how he criticizes Americans for being fat----- while he lugs around a 50 lb. spare tire. Maybe he should lay off the tea and crumpets a bit.

Will wrote: I think that's his only review of an American car that didn't end with "But the plastic interior is rubbish, so you can't buy it."

wait until the show airs, he will bash it then when he's in character.

I don't know, I thought it was pretty good. My favorite line was " So, yes, it’s a Silicon Valley software geek, but it still knows how to kill a deer."

He clearly dislikes American cars, but its getting tougher since they are improving, so he makes his articles reflect this.

Pretty entertaining I thought, and in many ways, the way the rest of world views us at times.

DWNSHFT wrote: I know that Clarkson is deliberately controversial in order to increase interest in his show. But I've thought for several years that he has taken that too far. This review further confirms it. Chris Harris has eaten Clarkson's lunch. David

No, just no. Chris harris (from my watching of him) knows E36 M3-all about cars. What the berkeley that guy ever did to get the street cred he has now is beyond me.

And dont bullE36 M3 me with him racing, he's been given media positions on race teams, lots of journalists get that. Chris Harris is the poster boy for car "enthusiasts" who go buy a bmw/porsche and wax poetic about them having only ever done two track days in 4 years.

I grew warry of the communist comments. I found it not very funny overall nor a good review of the car.

Every fiber of my being wants to go order a C7 tomorrow. I'm not sure why I don't..

I guess that he's being entertaining when he complains that Corvette bodies are made from fiberglass instead of carbon fiber. I guess him and other European car reviewers don't quite get that Chevrolet manufactures the Corvette so they can sell maybe double the number of 911s or M3s in the same year.

I'm surprised that creative and beautiful styling on it and the couple other sports cars mentioned are referred to as childish. I suppose the europeans think that a Camry or Altima has mature styling. I also don't like that perhaps the biggest improvement to the car is a quality interior and good seats;he didn't type a word about how those improvements made it better than the C6. I'm also bewildered that he didn't talk about how they improved how good the car feels going around corners. Criticism of the Corvette had been that it doesn't feel as good or fun as other sports cars like the 911. Carlos Lago likes it though.

I always knew speed bumps were communist!

HiTempguy wrote:

DWNSHFT wrote: I know that Clarkson is deliberately controversial in order to increase interest in his show. But I've thought for several years that he has taken that too far. This review further confirms it. Chris Harris has eaten Clarkson's lunch. David

No, just no. Chris harris (from my watching of him) knows E36 M3-all about cars. What the berkeley that guy ever did to get the street cred he has now is beyond me. And dont bullE36 M3 me with him racing, he's been given media positions on race teams, lots of journalists get that. Chris Harris is the poster boy for car "enthusiasts" who go buy a bmw/porsche and wax poetic about them having only ever done two track days in 4 years.

Woah. Harris may be a bit overly wordy and poetic, but he does one thing really well. Is the car any fun to drive? Thats the bottom line for most sports cars anyways, is it fast and is it fun. Chris does a great job explaining if and why he thinks a car is fun. Sure, hes a bit eccentric, but I think he does a great job.

Now for the thread topic, Clarkson always was more for the masses, and not so much the real enthusiasts. I'm ok with it though, Topgear always was a show to bridge the gap between enthusiasts and every day folk. It was decent at bringing everyone together in the interest of cars. So that said, if you read his review from the viewpoint of your standard guy that doesnt know much about cars, its a decent, comical review.

Mr_Clutch42 wrote: I guess that he's being entertaining when he complains that Corvette bodies are made from fiberglass instead of carbon fiber. I guess him and other European car reviewers don't quite get that Chevrolet manufactures the Corvette so they can sell maybe double the number of 911s or M3s in the same year. I'm surprised that creative and beautiful styling on it and the couple other sports cars mentioned are referred to as childish. I suppose the europeans think that a Camry or Altima has mature styling. I also don't like that perhaps the biggest improvement to the car is a quality interior and good seats;he didn't type a word about how those improvements made it better than the C6. I'm also bewildered that he didn't talk about how they improved how good the car feels going around corners. Criticism of the Corvette had been that it doesn't feel as good or fun as other sports cars like the 911. Carlos Lago likes it though.

the styling of the Vette- and every supercar- is "childish" in the sense that it's the kind of stuff that grabs the attention of 7 year old boys and makes them want to have a poster of it on their wall for the next 10 years... think of what a Countach was to the children of the 80's...