After all the hoopla has died down, D. Randy Riggs wonders, what's the new Corvette like in the real world? Photos by Scott Dahlquist.
We had traveled just a few miles down the freeway in our silver '97 Corvette Coupe, when my passenger muttered sarcastically, "Well, it's already an improvement over the last one. We've gone about five miles and nothing has fallen off it yet." My right seat rider had spoken too soon. As we pulled into a parking space I grabbed the lever to operate the tilt wheel, and the lever fell off in my hand. We stared at each other and then had a good laugh. "Some things never change," I chuckled. "Anyone who buys a first year, new-generation Corvette has to have rocks in their head. Do you remember the '84's?"
"Say no more," said my cohort.
But that was then, and this is now. Since that time the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has made the dramatic transformation from a dirty, disorganized operation to a clean, orderly facility. Though the sign over the entrance, "Through These Doors Walk The Best Auto Workers In The World" is still little more than union hype, Corvette quality has indeed improved over the last few years. But then one might argue that it had nowhere to go but up.
Which brings us to the new car, the Corvette the Chevy gang has referred to as C5 (for fifth-generation model) since rumors of its gestation began circulating back in the late '80s. Since we covered the technical side of C5 previously (SCI, Feb/Mar '97), we'll not rehash what's been reported. Instead, we'll focus on living with the new Vette in the real world.
While it could be argued all day about how many Corvette generations there have been (some say ten, Chevy says five, so five it is), the fourth (1984-96) had been produced continuously since 1983, and a successor was long overdue. The gap between the fourth and fifth generation Corvettes was the longest ever, yet it wasn't the fault of the group of engineers, designers and executives who did everything in their power to keep the mystique, romance and crown jewel of General Motors alive.
Rather, it was the world's largest corporation's flow of red ink that almost buried the icon known around the world as the Corvette, and inevitably, delayed the program to develop an all-new car.
Are We There yet?
By all rights C5 should've hit the streets in 1993 to coincide with the car's 40th Anniversary, but delays moved the introduction back to January of 1997-followed by a 60-day postponement to March when customers finally began taking delivery of new Coupes-the only model offered for the '97 model year. A recall shortly followed to replace a faulty toe-link on the first 1400 cars produced. And in the process of delays and car shortages, our test schedule was also pushed back a couple of times for reasons "undisclosed," something we automatically chalked up to first-year Corvettitus.
Predictably, the enthusiast automotive press pretty much gushed over the new car (SCI included), chomping at the bit from waiting all these years for a new Corvette. The official press introduction took place at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which seems to have become the de facto launching pad for anything new to do with Corvette these days (Go there once, but then give it a rest, guys).
From there, the press flew or bussed to Road Atlanta in Georgia, where the first all-new Corvette in 14 years demonstrated its incredible performance capabilities on the safe confines of a racing circuit.
Both venues played in Chevrolet's favor. For one, most of the roads in and around Kentucky are far smoother than ones found anywhere in the snowbelt, and for another, who doesn't smile when it comes time to run a new Vette around a road course, particularly one as velvety as Road Atlanta? But the real world is different.
No Excuses
Chevy comes right out with it. The new Corvette is faster, easier to drive and more comfortable. It is also better built and more effficient. Having seven years to work on the project, that's exactly the way it should be, for there are no excuses this time around.
But think of the incredible challenges facing the Corvette group as this car went from sketches on napkins to computer screens to clay. How on earth did they do all that needed to be done in a corporate atmosphere that was filled with doom, gloom and turmoil at every turn? This was a team that had to be fueled by enthusiastic passion to push this car through the swamp muck of early '90s GM bureaucracy and budget cuts.
And so, have they created a car in C5 that is that much better than C4? And is it because C5 is really that good? Or is it simply a measure of C4's deficiency that any improvement becomes magnified to match heightened levels of expectation?
Put A Little Boggie In Your...
Styling may have been the biggest challenge in coming up with a new Corvette and remains the most controversial aspect of C5. How do you keep the Corvette stalwarts happy and yet bring converts into the fold? Though the new car is unmistakably a Corvette, it may not have gone far enough on the styling front, for it really doesn't break any new ground. Rather than leading it follows. Without being retro, C5 sticks to Corvette cliches like retractable headlights and a wedge shape, then borrows styling cues from both the RX-7 and Acura NSX, not to mention a heavy influence from GM's F-bodies (Camaro and Firebird).
And despite all the talk of reducing mass, the car is physically larger than the already big car it replaces (Okay. So it weighs 69 Ibs. less than the '96 model. But a lot of Corvette owners I've seen could lose that on a good diet). We think it looks like a Camaro that was stepped on by Godzilla in a sci-fi movie-a squished F-body. And it reminds many too much of C4-the delineation from that car is not that clear or distinct enough.
The standard wheels look unfinished- like something meant to be removed at the dealer before customer delivery. And the very expensive ($3500) magnesium wheel option has been discontinued, making this car a terrific candidate for a myriad of aftermarket wheels.
Though the slippery shape more than hints at the car's ability to cut a razor-sharp swath through the air, its bulbous, sharply creased rear end (that helps contribute to a low Cd number of 0.29) seems to be the focal point of critics' pointed fingers. One of our acquaintances perhaps put it best. He said, "Man, does that car have a big butt. You should name it after my ex-wife."
On the street, people were never too sure about the car's lineage. "Is that the new Corvette?" they'd ask skeptically. And sometimes, just for giggles, we'd look back at them with puzzled expressions and say, "No, just washed it. why?"
The question came up enough that we realized that most passers-by weren't really sure-there was something here that said "different" but not in any conclusive sort of way. And that's what can happen when a car gets run through countless "clinics" in the design process.
From the Driver's Seat
C5's interior features the most welcomed changes of all. Corvettes from 1984-89 had one of the worst instrument panels of the modern era, a cheap plastic-wrapped arcade game that only improved marginally with a changeover to a "hybrid" panel in 1990. Perhaps the most revered Corvette, the Sting Ray of 1963-67 featured a great instrument panel-the dual-pod design good enough that someone saw the light and borrowed on this slice of Corvette's past-C5's version inspired by the old but vastly improved with modern ergonomics and electronic operation. Round, analog gauges grace the driver's instrument cluster in a 3-D, layered arrangement (metric to English at the touch of a button) and at night the panel glows with a unique "black light" effect, something that should bring back warm memories to aging "boomers" who are Corvette's target buyers.
Just below the instruments is a driver information center that offers readouts in four languages. Unfortunately, the scrolling. message that proclaims, "Corvette. By Chevrolet." whenever the ignition is turned on, must be Chevy's digital zealots at work-getting even with us who demanded analog in Corvettes all these years. Perhaps there's a way a dealer could disable this intrusive feature, and kill the Daytime Running Lights at the same time.
The info center provides 12 modes to keep tabs on items like oil temperature, amps, seat memory and even individual tire pressures-given that C5 carries no spare. Goodyear Extended Mobility Tires are the second generation of the company's runflats-and they are a remarkable improvement over the harsh riding first series. Goodyear claims the tires can be driven flat for up to 200 miles.
Corvette owners have long complained about the difficulty of entering and exiting the '84-'96 models, with huge door sills to climb over (obviously, none of these owners ever helped a blonde in a short skirt into the passenger seat, which would quickly silence any complainers). The dreaded door sills are now a thing of the past, making ingress and egress easier, though the fact that the Corvette is very low to the ground means it's still tough on bad backs and aging knees.
Seated inside, there's no mistaking the interior for anything but a Corvette, the impression of "sitting in a hole" along with a high console and shifter-dead giveaways to this car's heritage. Though Chevy's dog and pony show touts a number of improvements, most of them were no-brainers, such as moving the hand brake to the center console, eliminating the heavy and expensive clamshell hood, wipers that wipe above 70 mph, a "dead" pedal, "flash to pass" headlights, right-side control stalk for the wipers, folding outside rear-view mirrors, roof rain channels, a glove box-tons of stuff that should've been there all along in the previous car. Any car-hep teenager would give em a big "dub!" for the effort.
Make no mistake however, such changes needed to happen and comfort-wise C5 will only emphasize how archaic C4 really was.
And even though there's a lot of good in this new interior there is still work to be done. For one, the optional adjustable sport leather bucket seats are flimsy and rock around. They also look as though they were pirated from a Cadillac parts bin-the styling doesn't fit the car or the beautifully-styled cockpit, which, with the exception of the seats, really has harmony. We particularly like the way the door panels flow into the instrument panel and the passenger grab bar, a feature borrowed from Vettes of old that actually helps direct the airbag during a collision.
The shifter is still too high and positioned too far rearward (we still bump our elbow on the lid of the skimpy storage bin), and "retro" here means the same annoying shifter rattle that plagued early-day Corvettes. The lever uses the same poorly-shaped shift knob that's been around since '84. Chevrolet also had the audacity to add the six-speed to the option list at an extra cost of $815. Previously it was a no-cost option.
For years, audiophiles had a street name for late-model Corvette sound systems, "Delco Blows," rather than the proper Delco Bose. In an attempt to remedy the poor rep, C5's audio system features 252 watts of power, active equalizers and signal processing modules and a whole bunch of other stuff which is spelled out in the literature, yet our test car had a perfectly ordinary sounding system-nothing to make us forget our home stereo system.
Most of the plastic inside the cabin has a soft-luster look-quite nice-though the inside door handles feel cheap. Soft-touch switchgear is a bit peculiar and generic. And other than space for a dead pedal, there's not really a greater feeling of roominess than in the old car, with the exception of the passenger footwell. Looking out, sightlines over the hood are improved by a good margin-important because C5 still has a propensity to scrape its lower nose while going in and out of driveways.
Where C5 has really gained useful space is the storage compartment under the rear hatch. It's easier to access since there is less overhang to crawl over and the hatch itself opens wider. The space has room for lots of luggage-even two sets of golf clubs. Our criteria for a sports car has never included room for golf clubs-personally we'd rather be driving the car, not a little white ball. But given the size of this Corvette (we had to rearrange our garage to fit the thing in), it had better damn well hold something.
What's next? Six inches added to the length and room for a walker?
Rubber On The Road
Our test car's rear hatch required a little muscling to get it to close on the right side, and it never quite fit right. However, the silver paint was remarkably smooth on the sheet-molded compound body panels, something one could only get on a Corvette previously if they went to a body shop and had the paint rubbed out.
Though staring at a Corvette in the garage has always been a good thing, climbing in and heading for a favorite back road should always have priority.
And how does this new one stack up? It's a rocket ride, of course. Except for the wimpy years of '75 to '82, Corvettes have always been stout performers, without employing overhead cams or expensive pieces like turbos or blowers.
The new 5.7-liter LS1 version of Chevy's small-block V8 is an all-aluminum charmer, not only for its around-town manners and prowess, but also for its ability to just get with the program when the electronic throttle is firewalled. Rowing the Borg-Warner six-speed gearbox (throws are a bit long) to keep revs between 4000 and 5500 rpm makes the most of the engine's 350 Ibs/ft of torque, which peaks at 4400. Max horsepower comes aboard at 5600-to the tune of 345 bhp. Live in this relative rpm range on a mountain road and you'll be showing your biggest smile.
Dance the mountain road ballet, accelerate-turn-brake, then do it some more, and it's oh-so-obvious that C5 is improved over its predecessor, though we still found it heavy-handed in the steering and twitchy at the limit on the Sears Point road course. We really had to muscle the wheel to get this one to turn-in and head for the clipping point and apex.
Our Coupe was equipped with the Z51 Performance Handling Package, which includes larger stabilizer bars, stiffer springs and Bilstein shocks, well worth the $350 premium for more aggressive drivers.
Over really rough tarmac, the car rides far smoother than C4, but the average driver should stick with the standard suspension, which is gentler yet offers high limits.
Brakes were long a Corvette sore spot, but it appears that C5 has eliminated all the weaknesses of the past-these stoppers are exceptional, though that first inch of pedal travel is typical GM, dead and spongy. On the track the brakes never hinted at fade or grab, simply continuing to haul the car down from triple-digit speeds without fuss.
Enough To Do The Trick?
If you ask Chevrolet Brand Manager Dick Almond what cars are the Corvette's chief competitors, he claims just about anything with two seats. Though we doubt many out there are trying to decide between a Corvette and a Miata, Corvette does have some interesting competition of late.
During the last decade Corvette has had the luxury of a sales "safety net," the near fanaticism of Corvette groupies who have stuck by the car through thick and thin-no matter what warranty headaches, paint problems, poor fit and finish or roadside failure befell them coupled with a "buy American" mentality. It's a devotion that can only be compared to that of a Harley-Davidson owner. The result is that the Corvette has sold in the 20,000 range year after year while strong competitors like the RX-7 and Z-Car fell by the wayside when prices skyrocketed.
And now, with a vastly improved car to offer the consumer, Corvette has a real opportunity for conquest sales-though it remains to be seen if C5 can steer potential buyers away from BMW Z3s, Porsche Boxsters, 911s, and SLKs.
Though the 1997 model year got off to a late and somewhat shaky start, for 1998 Corvette adds a Convertible to the lineup (a notchback Coupe follows in 1999), and addresses its first-year headaches like fuel pump and engine accessory drive noise, the shifter rattle and an exhaust system rumble. Chevy claims to have also improved window sealing, seatback recliner and seatbelt mechanisms. They've recalibrated the Real-Time Damping system option for better wheel control and increased steering caster angle for better tracking.
All for the better, we think.
For us, the new Corvette is physically just too big for a two-place automobile and loses some of its appeal because of it. But Corvettes have always been about big, and about flash-subtle never a part of its personality. Certainly, when it comes to generating performance numbers there isn't any more bang for the buck, the car's $37,495 base price buying a whole lot of sports car.
But that was then, and this is now. Since that time the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has made the dramatic transformation from a dirty, disorganized operation to a clean, orderly facility. Though the sign over the entrance, "Through These Doors Walk The Best Auto Workers In The World" is still little more than union hype, Corvette quality has indeed improved over the last few years. But then one might argue that it had nowhere to go but up. 
And despite all the talk of reducing mass, the car is physically larger than the already big car it replaces (Okay. So it weighs 69 Ibs. less than the '96 model. But a lot of Corvette owners I've seen could lose that on a good diet). We think it looks like a Camaro that was stepped on by Godzilla in a sci-fi movie-a squished F-body. And it reminds many too much of C4-the delineation from that car is not that clear or distinct enough. 
Seated inside, there's no mistaking the interior for anything but a Corvette, the impression of "sitting in a hole" along with a high console and shifter-dead giveaways to this car's heritage. Though Chevy's dog and pony show touts a number of improvements, most of them were no-brainers, such as moving the hand brake to the center console, eliminating the heavy and expensive clamshell hood, wipers that wipe above 70 mph, a "dead" pedal, "flash to pass" headlights, right-side control stalk for the wipers, folding outside rear-view mirrors, roof rain channels, a glove box-tons of stuff that should've been there all along in the previous car. Any car-hep teenager would give em a big "dub!" for the effort. 
During the last decade Corvette has had the luxury of a sales "safety net," the near fanaticism of Corvette groupies who have stuck by the car through thick and thin-no matter what warranty headaches, paint problems, poor fit and finish or roadside failure befell them coupled with a "buy American" mentality. It's a devotion that can only be compared to that of a Harley-Davidson owner. The result is that the Corvette has sold in the 20,000 range year after year while strong competitors like the RX-7 and Z-Car fell by the wayside when prices skyrocketed. 
