Noah Fect

I'd write it off to necessary political correctness on C&D's part. Early reports on the C7 suggest that GM deserves to be thrown a bone. Assigning 20 points to the C7's price advantage is just their way of putting the finger on the scale in a way that will be obvious to anyone who actually cares, while acknowledging that the 911 is the better overall car if the budget permits.

Value does matter (says the guy with the $95K Boxster S) because it means that a wider range of enthusiasts will get to enjoy a really nice car.

mrstep

Is the C7 interior great, or is it just great compared to the old one? Driving feel? [Not that any review has said it feels nicer to drive than a Porsche...] Issues with rattles? Can it draw new customers? I don't think we'll really know for another 6 months to a year, but I'm sure magazines figure they'll sell more copies by hyping the all-new and exciting model than putting out another issue telling everyone how good the 991 and Cayman are (that the majority of readers can't afford?). That part is basic marketing for the magazine - in addition to the political correctness you mention.

In the spirit of new and improved models, I just drove a Chevy Impala a couple of months ago - err, the fleet edition, that is, - and was amazed at how Chevy had brought a 1980's car into 2013 in such great condition, complete with the old-style LED speedometer, cheap plastic everywhere, mushy gas, soft brakes, lack of road-feel, etc. Apparently the new model has been hugely improved. Is it really better than the European or Asian competition? Is there a placebo because testers are mentally calibrating against the old model? I don't know... But the old one was terrible (embarrassing, really) in any case, so I certainly hope GM improved the new one.

Maybe Chevy has pulled off 2 amazing coups, maybe they just have made much needed improvements to models that were way behind the times - either way, they can use it. After watching the US auto industry mostly flounder since the 70's, it would be great news if they actually could get on a bit of a roll.

And I'd still take my Porsche (991 in my case) over the C7.

Dyim

Still not going to make me go out and buy a C7.

clutchplate

The truth is the 991 is overpriced. Even my Porsche salesman said most of his 911 customers just went away with new 911 hitting $140+. Great car, but not a great value.

bccars

Wait for the dust to settle and the hype to die down. We are left with a beautifull 911. C7 owners are left with an ugly *** car.

clembo

When has any Porsche been a great value? Never.

They are great cars, with a dose of compromise thrown in.

In spite of the crazy prices and other oddities, we buy them to drive them, on streets or tracks. Most of us would not consider a Corvette, some of us would. It is great that GM has improved it enough to be a viable option.

The Corvette was chosen over the 997 at C&D eight years ago as well, didn't stop many of us from buying one.

MarcusG

Two totally different buyers.

I wouldn't ever consider buying a new Corvette.

I did dream about owning a 911 up until 3 weeks ago.

Dream no more.

clutchplate

True. But a 3 year old 991 with less than 10k miles may prove to be a good value. Something to look forward to as I won't be buying one new.

rocklegend

Why are Porsche owners afraid to own a Corvette? I never knew people bought cars based on what others thought of them. There seems to be some insecure owners. People act like lap times don't mean anything, if the 991 was faster everyone would be saying look how much better it is than the C7. But when it's slower, a lot of porsche owners just say "I don't get that visceral feel" or "it's fast but the interior in the porsche is a lot better".

PorscheSki89

... or you might say, "a car with an ugly ***."

Noah Fect

It's an interesting question, with more than a little cognitive dissonance for many of us. I usually take pride in how little I give a **** what other people think, but when I had my C5, even I was sometimes uncomfortable with the guilt-by-association with the gold chain set that you get as standard equipment with every Corvette.

I imagine motorcyclists have to deal with that, too.

CarManDSL

Lets put the sand bagging of comparison scores between the 991S vs C7 into perspective.

The 991S model tested with a price of $148k, had pretty much every known luxo option. A 991S with all the options needed to equal the scores in the article would probably be in the $120k range. While this will never alter the fact that a 991 will always be higher priced than a C7, it would change the ridiculous "as tested price" scores enough to place the 991S ahead.

Ironically, the 991GT3 article in the same issue, as tested price of $142k would have obliterated the C7. (C&D managed a 70-0 braking distance of 135 feet and 0-60 of 3.0 seconds!) That said, we can be assured that C&D will match this up to the C7 Z06 some time soon.

I own a Porsche for the engineering, build quality and refinement that no C7 will ever match. My ego is not bruised.

Good for GM to up the ante . . . we are all better off.

kosmo

cognitive dissonance? Rationalization? Hypocritical?

Just J

I am a former Corvette owner (C5 Coupe, C5 Convertible, C6 Z06 w/ engine upgrades) who is getting ready to order his first 911. Why? Well, the 991 is currently the best fit to my requirements - a year-round daily-driven only car that is happy on the track, and I can finally afford one configured the way I want.

Up until now, I have bounced back and forth between M3's (down on torque & power, but fantastic handling and feel - a modified '01 e46 M3 is my favorite out of all the cars I've owned) and Corvettes (gobs of torque/power, but lacking refinement and feel). Both cars have addressed their weaknesses - the Vette has a much better interior (especially the seats) and is better handling than before, while the upcoming M4 is getting a significant torque increase). I'm passing on the C7 because the rear windows and spoiler reduce ease of access to the trunk, they don't offer a dual clutch transmission (but do have stupid steering wheel paddles to control rev matching), and I literally melted the stock brakes on my last Corvette in 1 day at the track. I'm not waiting on the M4 mostly because I lack confidence that BMW will get it right, given the bloating or downright inappropriateness of the recent M models. But having driven M3s and Corvettes extensively, I can see why some folks might prefer them, especially given the price differential.

rocklegend

I would guess most of the forum members on rennlist and corvette forum are the older group (50+) and not really care much what others think about them when buying a certain car. It's usually the younger set that care more about their image. As for your experience owning a C5 did you ever wave to other Corvette owners? And are the porsche owners just as nice?