Thursday, March 1, 2012

Motor Trend 100% Correct On Grand Sport's Poor Tires

I have had my Corvette Grand Sport for over a year now.  I can honestly say that the decision to only offer the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar Generation 2 tires on the Grand Sports is just plain stupid.  I tried to go with the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires when I purchased my new Grand Sport, but was told that the Goodyeasr were the only options.  If it is below 40 degrees or raining it is like driving on ice.  The notion from Chevrolet that Corvette owners ONLY drive in the summer when it is blue skies is INSANE.

Yes, Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar Generation 2 tires are GREAT in perfect conditions.  Unfortunately, I live and drive on planet earth.

I subscribe to Motor Trend and I was really glad to see the article comparing the Grand Sport to the Porsche 911.  Motor Trend is a great magazine.  I disagree with idea that a car that is almost TWICE the price should compete directly with another car.

Grand Sport $72,130 Porsche 911  $131,760

The one point I do agree with are about the choice of Goodyear tires.  The athor  Jonny Lieberman really nails it when he talks about the stupid choice that Chevrolet made in FORCING Corvette Grand Sport owners to go with the Goodyear tires.
"A quick note about the Corvette's complete and utter failure in the wet: I admire the Porsche greatly, and it shows that Walter Roehrl went up above the Arctic Circle to help Porsche develop it. But I'm an American -- dammit -- and we have to stop making excuses for the Corvette. For instance, I've already heard this a few times since last week, "Yeah, sure, it's undriveable in the wet. But no one drives his Corvette in the winter. They garage 'em until spring." But here's the thing: That's stupid. Beyond stupid, it's not an excuse. It rains in Detroit. It snows in Detroit. I go there every single January, and if the ground isn't covered in snow, it's soaking wet and freezing cold. The Corvette was abysmal in inclement Southern California weather, whereas both Porsches were not only great in the rain, but fun -- and the 991 was downright impressive. And these are the 2WD models! The difference, like the excuse, is inexcusable. And if you're still scratching your head, in the wet, the Corvette was unable to keep up with the Porsche 991 at 42 mph around a sweeping bend. Pathetic."
 I am going to put the $2,000 into new Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires in the next few months since I hear it might rain this summer....

The Current Economics of Manufacturing


Russ Robert's host of EconTalk has a great segment on manufacturing.   Russ Roberts interviews Adam Davidson from NPR’s Planet Money about a article Davidson wrote on Greenville, SC and Standard Motor Products.

This is an hour long podcast really captures the realities of the current state of manufacturing.