Yaris versus Corvette

[Idahotom]

I was up in Montana and needed to rent a car, on short notice. As there was a big rodeo in town I was initially told none were available, a few more calls and I found one. All along I had stressed I wanted a cheap econobox, the one I found, and that Hertz gave me for the econo price, 40 bucks a day, was a 2008 Yellow and black Corvette! They have my future rental car business, forever.

A couple impressions: The Yaris is much easier to get out and into, has better visibility, turns tighter, and doesn't draw the attention of law enforcement. The Corvette was noisier, especially when floored, and it seemed to out perform the Yaris in acceleration I briefly got it up to 90, and quickly backed off, a 1/4 mile later a state trooper came into view so I narrowly missed a ticket. I have a CDL so extra bad deal if I get one.

After that brief high speed run, the rest of my time was in Yaris mode, going 60 on a hwy posted at 65, and getting passed by everyone going 70 and better. I started to notice I was getting funny looks, nobody could figure a Corvette driver going slower then everyone else. The cornering was phenomonal, no body lean at all, so better then the Yaris again
According to the dash display, it got 25 mpg at about 60, at 1200 rpm with that big torquey engine. It was odd to drive, I felt like a geek, and as I am as far from as a typical Corvette guy as you can get, I'm sure others wondered what the hell. At one point two good old boys in a pickup pullup alongside at a light. They eyeball me through the open window (me looking like them, old pickup material), I laughed and told them "it's a rental". They immediately also laughed and then said "well hell, let's see what it can do". The light turned green, I eyeballed for cops, and then floored it. The g force pulls your face back it's so quick, and the sound, oh man.

I was super paranoid driving it, and the rest of the time I drove it the way I drive my Yaris, light duty hyper miling, watching the lights, coasting and generally old ladying it. I did romp on it a few more times, but briefly, so at least I wouldn't get a speeding ticket. 0 to 35 was maybe a second....

A one time thing, but I sure had fun. A satisfied Yaris driver being forced to drive a Corvette, hell that's funny right there. I topped it off before dropping it off: 2.5 gallons total, not bad. Driven normally (real hard to do), it could get 25 to 35 mpg average from what I saw, go figure.

[eTiMaGo]

You forgot 2 very important metrics for comparing a car to a Yaris:

How many cupholders does it have?
How many gloveboxes/storage cubbies does it have?

[Yar Is Word]

Corvette owner orders (electric) Yaris!

http://green.autoblog.com/2008/07/05...-technologies/
Must have read your post!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by eTiMaGo

You forgot 2 very important metrics for comparing a car to a Yaris:

How many cupholders does it have?
How many gloveboxes/storage cubbies does it have?

Exactly!

When I got my Yaris, my little cousin had just turned 4 and hadn't had her growth spurt yet. She used to love to open and shut all four of the dash compartments that have 'doors' and to open and close the dash cup holders too. She also loved to pull the lever on the back seat tilt and pull the back seat back and forth, back and forth.....but perhaps the thing she liked most of all was to have the bottom and back of the front passenger seat pushed as far forward as possible and use the handles above the rear side windows like a jungle gym and do summersaults while holding onto the handles (she was pretty little when she was 4). I would only let her do all of this when we were parked on level ground with either me (or her mother) sitting in the driver seat. This is how the nickname that became my Yarisworld screen name came about.

I must admit though, I have a soft spot for Corvettes. When I was growing up my next door neighbor had a silver 1963 Corvette Stingray Coupe that was in amazing condition. He and his wife had two daughters and no sons....so he would let me and all the other guys in the neighborhood help him wash and detail it and then his wife would cook a fantastic dinner for all of us.

[nookandcrannycar]

^^^^^ Sebring Silver with black trim.

Finding one to at least rent is on my bucket list.

[bronsin]

If you rent a Corvette from a specialty car rental place you will pay upwards of $350 a day for the experience.

You got Special Dispensation!

Awesome!

This is mine. Sex on wheels! (thats my neighbor)

[Thirty-Nine]

They're renting 2008s? That's weird.

My dad's got an '06. Great car.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

If you rent a Corvette from a specialty car rental place you will pay upwards of $350 a day for the experience.

You got Special Dispensation!

Awesome!

This is mine. Sex on wheels! (thats my neighbor)

Yours looks as though it is lovingly maintained. Very clean. I like the color combination and the particular wheels as well. I visited the factory and museum in Bowling Green in 2007 and got to see Corvettes and Cadillac XLRs along the assembly line. Great experience.

Also on my bucket list -- www.exoticracing.com -- at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Thirty-Nine

They're renting 2008s? That's weird.

My dad's got an '06. Great car.

No......I mean specifically renting a 1963 Sebring Silver Corvette Stingray Coupe with a Black interior. If I ever came across one where the guy was willing to rent it to me I'd pay more than $350.00 for the day, if thats what it took. I think this is likely a pipe dream as only 10,594 of them were ever made in all colors and I don't know how many of those were Sebring Silver.


1963 was the only year for the split rear window in the coupe. No wonder he loved that car so much. He was such an incredibly nice person. He was a Pharmacist and his wife is an RN. One day, before his girls were even in Kindergarten, he happened to be washing the car by himself and came back in the house and told his wife he wasn't feeling well -- he was tired and losing his balance. He was not to the point of being obese, but he was overweight. She drove him to the hospital. It was an Aneurysm. It ruptured in the emergency room and he died in the emergency room. His wife sold the car, but stayed in the house. She was set financially and wanted to maintain as much continuity as possible for the girls. It was one of those things that reminds you how fleeting life can be and how essential it is to make sure to savour your experiences.

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Yours looks as though it is lovingly maintained. Very clean. I like the color combination and the particular wheels as well. I visited the factory and museum in Bowling Green in 2007 and got to see Corvettes and Cadillac XLRs along the assembly line. Great experience.

Also on my bucket list -- www.exoticracing.com -- at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Thanks I like it too. The color is pewter which isnt made anymore.

A shame!

[Idahotom]

Someone told me Hertz did a special deal and got a batch a while back. $150.00 a day normally where I was, so yeah 40 was a pretty good deal!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Idahotom

Someone told me Hertz did a special deal and got a batch a while back. $150.00 a day normally where I was, so yeah 40 was a pretty good deal!

I drive my Yaris under the speed limit, but I don't know if I would have been able to show the restraint you did during your rental. What really would have been fun would have been to drive a 1990-1995 ZR-1 in Montana before they reinstated a highway speed limit during Memorial Day weekend in 1999.

[why?]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

I drive my Yaris under the speed limit, but I don't know if I would have been able to show the restraint you did during your rental. What really would have been fun would have been to drive a 1990-1995 ZR-1 in Montana before they reinstated a highway speed limit during Memorial Day weekend in 1999.

what would have been really nice is if corvette clubs across the country didn't abuse the no speed limit in Montana so they would not have been forced to put one in.

I had an uncle that always had an old antique Vette around, interesting cars, but not my thing.

[jayeh]

Originally Posted by Idahotom

After that brief high speed run, the rest of my time was in Yaris mode, going 60 on a hwy posted at 65, and getting passed by everyone going 70 and better.

That is one thing that has always shocked me while visiting the US is the number of people driving attentively at or below the speed limit. Here the only people I see driving below the speed limit are people who are screwing around with their phones, or white knuckle drivers that are almost in tears they are so scared of being behind the wheel.

I drove my work truck all over the US and it was governed to 65mph and I'd be passing cars and trucks on roads with a speed limit of 65 or 70! It blew my mind! When I'm home I'll be doing 105-110kph in the right lane and be passed like I'm standing still. I've even had people tailgate me and flash their high beams at me when I'm in the right lane of a multilane highway!

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by jayeh

That is one thing that has always shocked me while visiting the US is the number of people driving attentively at or below the speed limit. Here the only people I see driving below the speed limit are people who are screwing around with their phones, or white knuckle drivers that are almost in tears they are so scared of being behind the wheel.

I drove my work truck all over the US and it was governed to 65mph and I'd be passing cars and trucks on roads with a speed limit of 65 or 70! It blew my mind! When I'm home I'll be doing 105-110kph in the right lane and be passed like I'm standing still. I've even had people tailgate me and flash their high beams at me when I'm in the right lane of a multilane highway!

You ought to come to NJ on the NJTPK. A Honda 600 Ninja blew by me a few years ago doing 150.

[why?]

Originally Posted by jayeh

That is one thing that has always shocked me while visiting the US is the number of people driving attentively at or below the speed limit. Here the only people I see driving below the speed limit are people who are screwing around with their phones, or white knuckle drivers that are almost in tears they are so scared of being behind the wheel.

I drove my work truck all over the US and it was governed to 65mph and I'd be passing cars and trucks on roads with a speed limit of 65 or 70! It blew my mind! When I'm home I'll be doing 105-110kph in the right lane and be passed like I'm standing still. I've even had people tailgate me and flash their high beams at me when I'm in the right lane of a multilane highway!

it depends where and when you are. When gas is as expensive as it is, people value their money over their time. There are many places in the US too where the speed limit is more of a suggestion, and the average speed is in the 90's.

There are also many areas where people just don't feel the need to go fast, and the journey is just as important as the destination.

[david_827]

Originally Posted by why?

it depends where and when you are. When gas is as expensive as it is, people value their money over their time. There are many places in the US too where the speed limit is more of a suggestion, and the average speed is in the 90's.

There are also many areas where people just don't feel the need to go fast, and the journey is just as important as the destination.

agree 100% with this, here in MA the speed limit is more of a suggestion. Then i've been places further south (what isnt south of MA???) and they tend to drive alot slower......

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

You ought to come to NJ on the NJTPK. A Honda 600 Ninja blew by me a few years ago doing 150.

I wonder if the '150 guy' got a ticket. I was telling my neighbor about an incident on the NJ Turnpike from the Fall of 2009. He told me that NJ State Troopers see violations when they (the troopers) aren't visible to motorists because of the proliferation of cameras they have access to. He moved to Texas after decades of living in Clifton, NJ.