On the automotive stage, names don't come any bigger than "Corvette." Now marking fifty years as America's sports car, the Corvette has achieved star quality, despite some not-so-memorable performances. The fifth-generation (C5) Corvette restored the luster of the storied nameplate, and the Z06 brought the Vette's abilities up to the level of its legend. For that, it garnered our Automobile of the Year award for 2001.
To find out what this legend is like to live with, we took delivery of a torch-red Z06 twelve months ago. Would its superstar performance still thrill? Would hidden flaws emerge? Would we discover new talents? Would shaky quality shake our faith?
Taking the last question first, the answer turned out to be no. Under our loving, if not exactly tender, care, the Corvette stayed fairly healthy, hanging together with a tenacity that belied the marque's reputation. It did, however, develop a taste for the Mobil 1--two quarts in the first 2500 miles, three more quarts in the next 1100. We twice checked in to the dealer's service department, but they could find no leaks. Finally, at 5810 miles, as we reported in our six-month Logbook update, the Z06 received new piston rings. Excessive oil consumption had been a lingering problem for a small percentage of C5 owners, and eventually it was traced to light-load, high-rpm driving. Under those conditions, ring flutter would diminish the rings' ability to scrape oil off the piston, increasing oil blow-by and raising consumption.... Read full article