jmaatsch

The first warning was for fish tailing the Chevy Silverado SS around a turn or 2. What do you expect for a high horsepower RWD pickup in the rain?!?!?

The final drive was in a Cadillac CTS. It broke loose in a fast corner and slightly drifted and the person watching the course wasn't amused. No spin-out or cone damage. When I parked the car one of the workers informed me that he was asked to tell us to leave. It was the our last drive for the day anyway, so it was no big deal. I just thought it was rather humorous.

I guess the Cadillac traction control doesn't quite work as well as they thought!

rjosey8385

Glad I didn't stress myself out on an already busy weekend to try to make this.... I dunno what they were thinking, though. Presumably they would have gotten our names for their mailing from a driver enthusiast magazine...are they really that out-of-touch with the "grassroot motorsports" segment not to realize that they were sending the invitations out to people who liked to put cars through their paces?

mxt_77

I didn't have any of those problems, because I went on Friday when it was dry... but the guys running the "Trucks" course were kinda jerks. Seems that Farmer Brown, Farmer Joe, and Farmer Jack were all out there test driving the trucks at 2mph, so I wanted to wait at the starting line to give them some space before I started, because I knew that I wanted to actually see how the truck would perform "at speed". Well, as soon as the truck ahead of me rounded the first corner, the starter said "You're all set", which I took as "Whenever you're ready". Then he said, "You can go ahead", which again I took as "At your leisure", but finally he just shrieked "Go!", so I glared at him and put it to the floor. Well, since the previous trucks I had driven were the relatively lifeless Canyon, Ranger and some of the bigger GMC/Chevy trucks, I didn't really expect much to happen... but this time I was in the (apparently more powerful) Titan and it spun the tires for a good 25 feet before I lifted enough to get traction.
Obviously, that got the starter's panties in a twist, and as I came around towards the finish, one of the other course workers came up to me and said "We can't have any tire noise on the course... that includes spinning the tires at the start and around corners."
I just thought to myself, how are you supposed to get a true feel for a car/truck's handling if you aren't pushing it hard enough to scrub the tires? But, whatever... I had already driven all of the vehicles I wanted to drive, so I just left the event. But unfortunately, I left with a bad taste in my mouth.

Other than that, the Vette was a pretty fun drive, as was the new GTO. Those were the only GMC/Chevy cars that "won" in my opinion at their station. The CTS had great power, but the brakes were downright scary. They felt like they needed to be bled or something, because they were really weak. I think the TL won at that station, the MDX won at the SUV station, the Armada won at Large SUV station, and the Titan won at the Trucks section, although the 3500 would probably make for a better work-horse.

marcucci

Go Marcus!!!

When it comes down to it, most people never come close to redline let alone know where their fuel cut is. People like us that drive cars the way the designers meant them to be driven frighten the rest of the driving public.

mxt_77

Too true. In all honesty, most trucks are not designed to accelerate and corner in any impressive manner, but those are still two aspects of the overall performance of a truck. If they would've had a trailer & boat behind them, I would've been just as happy testing their towing ability... but I had to take what I could get.

I'm just disappointed in the guys running that course. Every other course had allowed me to wait as long as necessary to give the people in front of me the space they needed. It's probably no more fun for me to have to slow down before I finish a course than it is for the person in front of me to look in their rearview mirrors and see me barrelling down on them! If the workers allow me to give them space, then it's better for everybody.

Anyway... for the price (free), I couldn't have gotten a better deal. I got to test drive a lot of cars, plus I got a free lunch & a T-shirt! If any of you guys like domestics, but don't have the cash for a Vette, I'd definitely recommend taking the new GTO for a test drive. It had a very fun engine, and the car felt pretty well balanced. You still get the domestic-quality plastics and fit & finish on the interior, though. I'm guessing that's the car that they must really want to sell, because it is one of the few that was more enjoyable to drive than it's competitors.

BLOWNJROCK

i thought the SS was awd?

QUIKAG

I helped a former roommate buy a truck a few months ago and I knew the sales guy pretty well as he's the one I bought my truck from. Anyway, while waiting for my roommate's truck to get detailed, the sales guy let us take a new GTO out for an extended test drive by ourselves. It was an '04 six-speed.

I was really impressed with the car, it rode good, handled good, LS1 engine had a lot of power, and the interior was pretty nice.

The icing on the cake was that you can now get an '04 GTO lease for under $300 a month or buy one outright for around $24k. At that price, the car really is a steal.

Unfortunately, I have zero need for another vehicle right now.