I wouldn't have. I have left GM's customer fold because of all the issues with their QC. My WS6 was all but falling apart around the driveline when I traded it in. I would love a new Z06--if the valves weren't breaking due to heat and oiling issues, and I would like a new Corvette LS3 if it came in hard-top and didn't have oiling issues as well when tracked. I went and looked at GMs show-room at one of the dealerships here and the trash in the paint, misaligned body-panels (deck-lid un-evenly shut, not flush on one corner by a good margin, headlight fascia off by 1/3" side to side comparison, etc.) on a $50K car just turned me off. I mean, really? Trash down to the metal in the paint? THe car looked like a bad front-end collision repair job new on the floor. GM's failure to deliver a quality vehicle is exactly why I am now a member of this forum and considering a modded 370Z as my next large purchase.

Show me a GM vehicle and I will show you some form of electrical and chassis alignment issues.

How can there be trash down to the metal on a vette? All I know is on my 350z, I had to have the engine replaced for oil consumption, the trans replaced for grinding, and seat covers replaced for premature wear. Th vette only had the power steering rack fail.

What is your definition of "high end"?

What is your definition of "sports driving"?

Those aren't rhetorical questions; the definitions make a difference.

There are plenty of "high end" cars (and I would suggest that all likely cost considerably more than a Z) that will do some things better and in some cases, do some things much better than a Z but so what???

If someone has the the money for a GT-R or a ZR1 or perhaps a Lambo or Ferrari or GT2 then they, by all means, they should go out and buy them and enjoy them but comparing them to a Z that costs thousands (sometimes tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands) less seems rather pointless.

Down to the 'glass, sorry. BTDT with GM, and I'm not doing it again, or pulling any punches. The 'vettes have issues (LS3 when driven hard, and LS7 when driven at all).

Yes, electrical issues are big on GM. My WS6 had its fair share. TC would randomly turn off (fixed by replacing TPS), fuel would randomly shut off (fixed by replacing ground mounting screw under driver-seat, was stripped from the factor, IAC would hang (fixed by replacing IAC), Driver power seat would randomly stop working (never fixed), the speakers sucked (got tired of replacing them, and no, I was sensible with the 7-way and volume), the fog-lamp housings were cracked b/c they were not designed to hold up to the heat of the running lights (I replaced turn-signals every time it rained), the rear-end blew up backing out of the shop one time (at idle, pinion-bearing spun), the A/C crapped out after 10K miles of horrible racket, the water-pump went at 75K miles (Dexcool gets another...), The window motors on both sides of the car went out.

I am sure I forgot something, but there was GM's top of the line "pony" car for 2001 for you. I lived next to a guy who had a 2000 and it randomly died at stop-lights, had all sorts of issues. Both of our cars were OEM stock. NO mods, right down to the paper air-filter.

Also, the 350Z is not the 370Z, from what I understand.

Now the good about my WS6....

It killed NSX's, it killed Challenger R/T's, it was dead = to a C5 on the highway, it killed mustang GT's (not the new 412bhp ones), it was within 1 yard of being dead-even with the new 426bhp Camaro SS 6-speeds (based on 2 Camaro SS's that on numerous runs I was dead-even with except for the 1 yard or so they got on the hit. Up to any speed you want to discuss.). It got 27.5 OBXSERVED mpg one time on a road-trip at 80, AC and sterio on.

your the one that said "I doubt there is any car at any price that could do much better." and I just said yes there are.

Ah...Seems you are stuck in the past here...The WS6 was a POS when new (as was its brother Camaro). How you can compare that to anything, I don't know. Sure GM made crap back then....Everybody knows that and these were two of the worst.

My '08 LS3 (built the 2nd day of the '08 production start) was faultless over the 14K miles I owned it. Cosmetically and mechanically. Mike here, and others can vouch for Corvette reliability. Hang around any car forum for a few years and it's essentially no different than here. A fair number of Whiners, anal retentive types, and conspiracy theorists hang out on all of them.. You need a good BS filter if you're gonna play on the intraweb...

Assuming that you owned the car from new 0-14k miles and didnt get it pre-owned, I wouldnt exactly claim 14k faultless miles to be an accomplishment. If I purchased a $15,000 car and something significant broke after 14k (~1 year national average) I would be pissed.

Ive only read the last 3 or 4 posts in this thread and have never owned these cars so Im not credible to comment on anything else, just sayin.

Don't worry...Lottsa guys here have strong "opinions" and have never owned the cars being discussed.

My buddy with an '06 vette and another with an '05 with 36K on it had no issues either...Just sayin..

Don't know. We had a 01 Trans Am that had 112k on it. Aside from the window motors having been replaced once and showing signs again of needing to be done right before we got rid of it; the car was perfect. Ran strong as hell and never had any problems. Owned the car for 9 years.

Also had an 06 Vette that we owned for 3 years. Had 22k on it but never any problems. No gaps in body panels or pain issues. Actually the paint seemed better than my 370z.

I too had a stigma about domestics but these two cars really proved me wrong. Maybe we just got lucky or maybe not.

My "opinion" wasnt a strong or abrasive one, just saying that no matter what car youre talking about 14k miles isnt a significantly long enough time to say it was built with quality. Im not saying your argument is wrong, Im saying that piece of evidence supporting it was weak. That being said, others have presented better evidence supporting both sides which boils down to my strong argument: that the most influential factor on any cars longevity is how the owner treats it.

I wasn't aiming that at you in particular. There are tons of Keyboard experts here that have weighed in with no experience other than what they've read on the internet..

I'd be happy to discuss any of the 57 cars I've owned, plus another 25 Honda Company cars..Major issues on all of them I can count on one hand, and yes I take good care of my cars....:tup:

Damn 57!? 1-57 where do you rank the 370?

I wouldn't even count the power window motor going out. Its ultra common on that era pontiac. A friend of mine has 45,000 miles on his car and has replaced the power window motors 4 times.

Summing up and ending this entire thread:

All cars have some sort of problem. If you are cross-shopping two and you truly do your research, you will find issues with literally every car out there. They are not perfect.

Seeing people say "well X had a problem with this car and X didn't have a problem with this car" is utterly silly. Just because one person has (or doesn't have) a problem doesn't mean you will be in the same situation.

Just buy a car based on how it feels to you and what you think -you- can handle. Do your own research and stop being a keyboard/magazine jockey who tattoos brand on their arm like a badge of honor.