In my opinion, take it for what it is, Chevy trucks have become under powered, over priced, and their interiors are far inferior to Ford and Dodge. Their engine technology is far behind as well. Cast iron heads? I was told by the Chevy salesman that Chevy just had too many problems with aluminum! Right, that's why my V10 has aluminum heads with 0 problems after 60,000 miles. It also gets annoying because, as much as i hate too admit it, i thought the new half ton crew cab chebys looked pretty good. But what's this business of having to look under the truck to see if it's a 4x4? a 4by should sit high and mighty over the 2wd. Dodge is getting bad about this too. what good does it do to have 4 wheel drive if you don't have enough ground clearance to get to where you can use it?!? but anyway, back to the SS. Cheby knew that that big of a pickup couldn't move down the road too impressively, so they figured it oughtta handle good too.

 

One of my friends has a 2wd ext. cab Silverado this week as a rental car. He was going thru a PARKING LOT

 

What truck does Dodge have that costs $75,000? Certainly you can't mean the $45,000 SRT-10, right?

Either way, I'm not sure I really understand this whole hot rod truck thing. The SRT and Lightning have decent motors and a lot of power, but they're stil trucks. For the kind of money they cost, why not buy a Viper, Vette, or um, well, Ford doesn't make a car that can compete with those two (save for the upcoming GT, which costs 2 and 3 times as much as those two, respectively), but you get my drift.

 

i have seen a couple of the chevy ssr's at some car shows and i have gotten a really close up look at them. they are going for about $50,000 around here and they are clearly not worth that much money. when you get a close look at them they look very cheap and corny. it looks like it should cost more like $12,000.

 

Uh, hmmm didn't realise that last post went thru unfinished. Basicallly he ripped off his lower fascia. went and took my F150 and I cleared by almost 2 inches. You guy's are definatly correct about ground clearance issues. It was kinda steep but still it was a parking lot.

 

Right, they're trucks. But, the Lightning with minimal mods is capable of beating a Vette, and it still tows as much as a regular F-150, something the Vette isn't capable of. I think that sport trucks are awesome, if you're a fan of any vehicle, then you should understand why other people are fans of any vehicles, whether or not you are a fan of those particular vehicles. I do wish that Ford made something comparable to the Vette or the Viper, but I think the new Cobra stacks up better than they have in previous years. I think the Viper is overpriced, too, but it is definitely a beast.

 

chevy has some really cool concepts, but none of them are making it into production. there was one a few years ago that i really wish would have made it into production, sort of a rebirth of the early 90s 454 ss. it would have been cool, regular cab short bed, 6.0 motor, 6spd, vynil floor, rear coils from a envoy or whatever.....it would have been a pretty wild vehicle, and the expected retail was only like 23k. it was basically a stripper with a big motor. im sorry, but i would have bought one of these over the lightning any day. better suspension, bigger motor, and a manual trans. the whole thing was made with production parts too. someone should go to a chevy dealership to see if it can be ordered somehow. the argument covering why the SS is one is covered, but i definately think it could be alot better. i'd like to see one of the new colorodos with a 6.0 and a 6spd. boy that would be fun and probably give the L quite a run due to the power weight ratio. o well. i can only dream. small niche markets dont make a business big, it's satisfying a little of everyone

 

The Lightning is capable of beating a Vette in a drag race with mods, but the converse is true as well. It will never beat or even equal a Vette in a sports car, auto corss, or road race though, and in my opinion, that is the true test of a performance vehicle. They are two totally different vehicles and probably shouldn't even be compared, but there you have it.

I agree, the Cobra is probably the best Mustang built to date, but it still has it's nagging "Mustang Quirks", which I won't get into right now. It looks like the 05 Stang will be much better though.

I bought a new 04 Z06 Vette about a month ago. The 05's will be out soon, and there are great deals on the 04's. Having owned a 97 RT/10 Viper, I can say the Vette is an awsome car for the money. It won't quite perform with the Viper, but it's darn close, maybe even a touch better in a few areas. As far as the Viper being over priced, I guess it's relative. Yes it's expensive, but for your money, you get a car that will run with and beat many foreign exotics that cost double its price. After I get into my new house this fall, I'll be adding another car to the garage, and a SRT-10 Viper is at the top of my list.

 

"Right, they're trucks. But, the Lightning with minimal mods is capable of beating a Vette, and it still tows as much as a regular F-150, something the Vette isn't capable of".

Just to keep facts straight the L only tows 5K. Thats a couple thousand #'s shy of a reg. F150. Still really good for a performance truck.

 

look at the SRT ram compared to that though. you cant even tow with the ram srt according to dodge it said towing is not recomended.

 

On the contrary, several members have no problem beating Vettes in road courses. I think (hope) that the 2005 Mustang will be able to back up it's hype with the power that it should have, but I don't want to talk about cars too much, they're not that interesting. Still, though, the L is the best at what it's designed for, it's a different market, even if it is capable of outrunning some cars.

 

I lurk quite a bit (don't post much), and I don't ever recall seeing any Lightning owners claiming to have beaten a Vette on a Road Course. Some of them with modded L's are claiming to have beaten Z06's in a drag race (which is entirely possible), but that's all I know of. If the Lightnings really are beating Corvettes on a road course, I'm sure it is all about which driver is more capable. With equal drivers, there is no way a Lightning will out turn, brake, or handle a base Corvette, much less a Z06.

 

Not stock, no, it won't, but the Vette can't haul or tow anything. They're two different markets. Whether an L has ever beat a Vette in a road course or not, isn't every race all about which driver is more capable?

 

i am sure if you lowered the L and put good anti sway bars on it might give a vett and run for its money. but heack with the L and vett. lets go with the Z06 and the Ford GT. not thats competition right there.

 

Actually, the GT will probably be the best sports car America has ever seen. I don't like the fact that it's supercharged, that might hurt it's on track durability, but it will be a bad hot rod. Six figures isn't cheap, but to get the best, you gotta pay.