Filed under: Coupes, Sports/GTs, Etc., Supercars, Chevrolet, UK
Jeremy Clarkson's Car of the Year: the Corvette ZR1
Feel free to read that headline as many times as necessary, but yes, it's true: Clarkson-san wrote "Out of nowhere, my car of the year," the Corvette ZR1. The man who pooped on the spearhead of electric cars has given an American high horsepower pushrod V8 the gold and glory. And this is after comparing the ZR1's predecessors to Big Macs: "Cheap, plastic and at the right time, and in the right place, sort of just what you want."
Not only that, but to put the ZR1 on its pedestal, Clarkson went so far as to remove the Caterham 500 he had previously placed there. On the show, he said that the Caterham was the best of the year, but in his article writes, "However, if you broaden the search engine and look simply for the best car of the year, the Caterham isn't in with a shout because it's ugly and geeky and I wouldn't have one even if the option was the loss of my right testicle."
And so the ZR1 reigns, even though "it's not built very well." In Clarkson's words, it is "both docile and extraordinarily savage," looks good, goes fast in a straight line and around corners, "most of the time bumbles about like a forgetful uncle," and costs "lots for a Corvette" but is a bargain for the performance. His only lament about the car was this: "unless the healthcare and pensions company that makes it can be turned around, it will be the last of the breed." The ZR1 - winning hearts and minds... Hat tip to Pdexter!
Gallery: Covette ZR1 burnouts
[Source: Times Online]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Esprit bird 8:09PM (12/28/2008)
Heck yeah, America.
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3seriesisking 8:32PM (12/28/2008)
Hell yeah!
You just can't deny it's a great car. Good pick Clarkson.
Franz 9:39PM (12/28/2008)
Poor Clarkson haters... whatever will they bitch about now? LOL
KeatMP 11:02PM (12/28/2008)
Freakin Amuuriccahh!!!
why not the LS2LS7? 11:59PM (12/28/2008)
Franz:
As a person labeled a Clarkson hater, I can say this doesn't change anything.
It isn't that the guy is stupid. It's that he's a jackass. He's a blowhard. A great example is how he said the car isn't made well, but somehow is car of the year. Let me give you a tip: at least one of those statements (if not both) was just made because he wanted to continue his persona and not because it was true.
My problem isn't so much with Clarkson as the people who believe what he says. Specifically the people who somehow are so brainwashed they can look at something like the trip across the South episode and not notice it is fake.
IK 2:22AM (12/29/2008)
well, he's not kidding. the ZR1 is not built very well
it's made on the same line as the normal Corvettes
you should see some of the posts on the owners forums
the body panels on the ZR1 are all crooked and inconsistent
and it has the same seats as the other corvettes (which were cheap to begin with)
when spending over 100k, it's probably worth sacrificing the extreme performance for some decent quality.
larry a 2:49AM (12/29/2008)
woo!! tits!! football!! yah 'merica!!
why not the LS2LS7? 8:08AM (12/29/2008)
IK:
I have a friend with a 1997 Corvette, his seats are in better shape than those in my 2000 A6, even though he has more miles on his car. I think my car cost more too.
The C6 may not have exactly the same seats, but I'm sure the new ones do fine too.
ambientFLIER 8:39AM (12/29/2008)
"My problem isn't so much with Clarkson as the people who believe what he says."
My problem is with people who take him as something more than entertainment.
mmstowes 10:19AM (12/29/2008)
@ why not the LS2LS7?,
So you have a problem with the car not being well-made even though it's not well-made? Because compared to, oh...say the Germans, it really isn't. Certain concessions are made for that bulletproof engine and those performance stats and there's always a trade-off. But obviously, you've never placed your hand on the rear bumper of a Corvette and watched it sink in if given even the slightest bit of pressure. There's no excuse for that, in the name of "weight-savings".
If Clarkson is a "blowhard", it's fair to say you've got some mighty tint on those rosy glasses. Look on the bright side....at least he didn't pick the GT-R.
Mr.Oak 10:28AM (12/29/2008)
Not arguing about how well the ZR1 is or isn't made. However, your ignorance about Corvettes is obvious, when you said
"It's made on the same line as the normal Corvettes"
This is absolutely WRONG, since the Z06 and ZR1 are hand built, and not assembled on the "Standard Corvette" production line.
Please provide links about the "complaining owners". Ah! was that also made up?
why not the LS2LS7? 4:20PM (12/29/2008)
I own an Audi A6. I'll take the Vette any day.
I can't way to get back to my house and try to figure out where my car is leaking coolant from today. It's probably one of the two water pumps.
Don't try to tell me German cars are built better than a Vette. I own a German car.
why not the LS2LS7? 12:32PM (12/30/2008)
For the record, it was the coolant temperature sensor. And the intake manifold gaskets. But I don't think I'll fix the latter. Too expensive.
kzak 8:15PM (12/28/2008)
"unless the healthcare and pensions company that makes it can be turned around, it will be the last of the breed."
... well said.
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Sofa King Fast! 8:56PM (12/28/2008)
I was going to say the same thing. That line is my "car critic comment of the year".
The GT-R is an amazing car at an amazing price but when you consider all the B-S General Motors has to put up with to produce a car I think it is stunning they can actually afford to produce a decent product from time to time.
Here's to the end of unions and the return of quality vehicles from GM.
Artie Lange 8:58PM (12/28/2008)
Pretty much the best sentence ever written about the automobile industry in the last decade.
why not the LS2LS7? 12:01AM (12/29/2008)
Wow, that's a great line from a guy who works for the government. Yeah, you tell us how bad it is to have bloated bureaucracy, Clarkson.
Frank 8:30PM (12/28/2008)
Clarkson lives in the UK and as such never faced being without health care. If he lived in America and worked for a living he may change his views.
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3seriesisking 8:33PM (12/28/2008)
Bitter Frank??
mmstowes 8:39PM (12/28/2008)
Buzzkill much? Have some eggnog and fall asleep away from your computer.