my uncle (technically my second cousin; my mom's dad's brother's son, but its just easier to call him uncle) kurt has been a long time lover and collector of cars. he's had hundreds of cars over the span of his life as a wealthy now-retired computer programmer. i got to spend the summer of 2004 visiting with them, and spent a day with the cars, and that was fun. this year though, he downsized to his favorite 3 "toys" among his other daily drivers. that would be a C6 Z06, Ford GT, and Dodge Viper.

as quickly as i can summarize, the acceleration in the GT and Z06 were about equal, and both were blisteringly fast. in the Z06, everything was light and easy to control except for the slightly clunky gearbox. while entering a freeway onramp, i chirped 2nd and 3rd gear before having to step on the brakes, having well exceeded 100 mph (in just a few seconds, mind you). he said that if you shifted fast enough, theres enough power to chirp into 5th gear. i dont disbelieve that, because the power this thing had was just insane.

the GT was... more like a fantasy than a real car. the inside feels like a spaceship, yet everything is almost easier and lighter than my tC. the only wierd thing is that reverse is left and up, so its easy to confuse with first. it accelerated like lightning with a whirring supercharged soundtrack, and cornered like it was on rails.

the viper was the only repeat that he still had from the last time i visited, and it still remains one of my all time favorite cars. still awkward to get in and out of, still heavy steering, clutch, and gearbox, still hot and cramped interior, and still the most beautiful car ever to come out of american soil. not as quick as the other two, but still perfectly capable of ripping your head off. contrary to popular belief, the viper actually corners very well. he took me through some twisty back roads (yes there actually ARE a few of those in minnesota) and it held its own very well. no fuss no muss. it took a little bit more work than the GT, since everything was heavy, but it could keep up with cornering speeds a lot better than you would think. a very compitant car that recieves much less credit than it deserves.

of the three, i liked the Z06 the best, then the GT, then the viper. if it were my own personal money though, i would buy the Z06 alone. IF i were to buy a second car, it would be the viper. with the power and ease of daily drivability of the Z06, there's really no need for a GT to me. but then again, my uncle has been a long time ford fan, and the nostalgia of the original GT40 lives within him quite a bit.

 

Lucky!!!!

I saw a GT the other day in person, it was amazing.

 

Those cars have some serious horsepower.

 

Awesome...Does the RED run in the family?

 

ford gt is just unaffordable.. glory to the z06!!!

and viper's back looks ugly

 

you sir, is one lucky man. I'd love to drive any one of those cars.. . So, how did it feel afterwards going back to the scion?
________
HARLEY-DAVIDSON XLCH

 

didn't you post some thing like this last year

with a few other cars i think it was?

 

Nice!!

 

Hello!!! Nothing better than a hot guy next to a hot car.

 

i thought: "well, at least i dont get 9mpg!"

 

haha, yeah. at least i know where i get it from