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Best sports car: Chevrolet Corvette
Already great, the latest Corvette is even better in every regard.
November 15, 2004: 1:38 PM EST
By Lawrence Ulrich, Money Magazine

NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) - An American sports car that goes fender-to-fender with Ferrari and Porsche for 45 grand? Have we been sniffing Armor All? Hardly.

For more than a half-century, the 'Vette has been a uniquely American object of desire. That patriotic lure gets cranked up a notch with this sixth-generation model, thanks to a neat trick: It performs better than the last version, yet raises its already lofty standards of everyday driveability.

Scaled-down proportions and a tailored body continue the car's welcome evolution from veiny bodybuilder to streamlined athlete. Even the pop-up headlamps, a fixture since the '63 Sting Ray, have been jettisoned to boost aerodynamics and top speed while reducing wind noise.

That top speed, by the way, jumps to 186 mph, thanks to a bigger 6.0-liter V-8 with 400 horses under the hood, up 50 from the previous model. The car snaps off 0 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds -- thankfully, massive disk brakes halt it with never a trace of fade. But juicier numbers tell only half the story.

For all those people who are tired of having their belongings squeezed and butts bruised by sports cars, the Corvette asks no such sacrifice. Coupe and convertible models handle better and ride smoother than ever, especially with their optional Magnetic Selective Ride Control, which employs high-tech sensors and magnetic-fluid shock absorbers to smooth bumpy surfaces and straighten nasty curves.

Best Cars
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Chrysler 300
Chevrolet Corvette
Honda Odyssey

Cargo space remains huge and fuel economy surprisingly high at 20/28 mpg with the slicker-shifting six-speed manual. Inside, there's a quieter cabin and richer fittings that, finally, won't leave owners mumbling excuses to passengers for a cheapo look.  Top of page




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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.