This article on
the Corvette by Edmunds is a trollfest and sure enough it raised the ire of several websites such as
gminsidenews and
the corvetteblogger. The articles main argument is now that the Corvette is lame and the Grand Sport is an example of this new poseur lameness. From the article:
And now to make matters worse, there's the Corvette Grand Sport, a new model recently reviewed by the great Dan Pund on this very Web site. It's basically a standard Vette that looks like a Z06. Market research must have showed GM's product planners that there's an untapped poser market. A big block of gold chainers clamoring for a slower, cheaper, inauthentic version of the Z06.
As a current C6 Corvette owner and since I said the Grand Sport is probably the ideal Corvette for me I should explain why. The Z06 is too much car for me. I don't want to stick shift. I drive in traffic. Not on the race track.
430hp is also enough for me. The standard LS2/LS3 is a pretty solid and maintenance free engine. The LS7 is hand built and basically a racing engine, with it comes the expense of maintaining an engine that is maximizing what a small block can do.
I used to own an 1960s Australian muscle car that was at the absolute edge of what the old 202 (208) red motor could do. It was a pain to maintain as the slightest changes were enough to affect its performance. I don't want to do that again.
The Z06 also has a fixed roof. I have owned and driven three Corvette coupes now and one of the fun parts of the car is the targa top. The Z06 does not come as a convertible either.
The Z06 only comes as a manual. There has been discussions of the Z06 being offered as an automatic as well. It would be a good move, give customers what they want, and if they want 500hp with an automatic, who is Chevrolet to say otherwise. It seems instead that option is coming with the Grand Sport.
There is also little doubt that the wide body looks better on the Corvette. The cars have a better stance with the wide body. It looks good enough that many Corvette owners modify their standard Corvettes to have the wide body arches on the front and rear wheels. If people are going to that expense on their own, there are probably more who will pay Chevrolet for it - hence the Grand Sport.
My vette's have been the Z51 package mainly because I cannot do without the heads up display. The Grand Sport is basically the Z51 performance package from the old Corvettes with a new body.
The article from Edmunds is a trollfest and it got the desired result. But for someone like me who doesn't want the Z06 or ZR1 - which are road legal racing cars, and wants a sports car instead. Then the Grand Sport is ideal.
Phoenix Eats Out is the restaurant review site for
Phoenix,
Scottsdale and
Old Town Scottsdale which lists the modernist and contemporary restaurants, taverns and bars in the greater Phoenix area.
This is the list of the most popular restaurants pages from phoenixeatsout.com that have been viewed the most;
My personal favourite restaurants in Phoenix are
AZ88,
Postinos,
Bomberos with
Grazie,
Humble Pie,
Orange Table,
The Vig,
Fez and others coming close behind. View the complete list with the photo-journalistic style images on
phoenixeatsout.com
Arizona is an outdoor state and has lots of hiking in the city and around the state. Phoenix is unusual for most cities in having several large mountains in the center of the city with great hiking. Anyone who comes to Phoenix has to do the
Echo Canyon trail on Camelback and the
Summit Hike on Squaw Peak or Piesta Peak. The views of the city, suburbs and surrounding mountains are wonderful from Camelback and Piesta Peak.
For more experienced hikers there is the McDowell Mountains in North Scottsdale that has several difficult and strenuous hikes in
Tom's Thumb and
Bell Pass. Alternatively, you can hike the highest mountain in Arizona. At 12,600 feet
Humphrey's Peak is a long and difficult hike.
Between 2004 and 2009 this site,
southsearepublic.org, was a constitutional blog based on scoop which focused on Australian and global constitutional issues.
One of the strongest aspects of it was the development of constitutions by those involved in the blog. These constitutions are the outcome:
The constitutions were built using principles from Montesquieu's separation of powers, the enlightnment's universal political rights and the ancient Athenian technology of sortition and choice by lot.
South Sea Republic started in 2004 as an Australian constitutional blog in 2004 based on scoop software. It was an immigrative outgrowth of Kuro5hin. The archives for each year since then;
The articles are ordered by views.
I am an Australian living in the United States as a permanent resident.
I am a software developer by trade and mostly work in Java and jump between middleware and front end.
I originally worked in the New York area of the United States in telecommunications before moving to Washington DC and
working in a mix of telecommunications, energy and ITS. I started my own software company before heading out to
Arizona and working with Shutterfly. Since then I have joined a startup in the Phoenix area and am thoroughly enjoying myself.
I do a lot of photography which I post on this website, but also on flickr. I have a photo-journalistic website which lists
the modernist and contemporary restaurants in phoenix. I have a site on the
Australian Flying Corps [AFC] which has been around since the 1990s and which I unfortunately
lost the .org URL to during a life event; however, it is under the
www.australianflyingcorps.com URL now.
The AFC website has gone through several iterations since the 90s and the two most recent are
Australian Flying Corps Archives(2004-2002) and
Australian Flying Corps Archives(2002-1999) which are good places to start.
