[andrews_texas]

My son and I flew to Atlantic City last Friday (10-25) to pick up #4074. (Ordered the first week of August) I thought I'd post my observations made during the 29 hour drive back to Texas, as well as some pics along the way. FYI- I had been to NY and DC back in high school. (They were building the inaugral stands for Jimmy Carter when I was there) My 23 yr old son had a band trip to DC in high school. Other than that, the trip was a new experience for both of us.

First off, Kerbeck had a driver waiting at the gate for us in Philly. I'd always seen those guys in the terminals with the little sign with peoples names. First time mine was on one!

When we arrived at the dealership, I knew there would be a couple of rows of Stingrays outside based on a post earlier last week. What I didn't expect was an inside showroom with a couple dozen more. It was like a kid in the candy store! Only two were not sold. (It was five that morning). Ours was still in make ready, and they sent out for some food for us. We left about 5pm, made a quick lap by the casino's, then began our journey.

All during last week, I was worried that mine might be one of the ones we've seen the posts about. Just the fact that I'd never even touched one and I've bought it sight unseen was scary enough. Five days later, I have yet to find any blemish on the car. Our only issue- the XM radio sound stopped. It displayed the songs etc, but no audio. Perhaps it started after a bluetooth phone call. After the next fuel stop, it worked fine again... I found the gauges were no longer 'linked' to the driving mode yesterday. I may have done it myself while playing with settings.

We had pledged to follow break-in procedures prior to picking it up. That being said- you don't need much throttle to tell how responsive it is and how easy the tires will spin. We had a blast with it the first 500 miles. What followed was sheer excitement! FYI- my son bought a '14 LS1 two weeks ago. He kept commenting how much more 'peppy' the vette is and how it sticks to the road. He also LOVES the clutch on the vette compared to the LS1. He is trying to figure out a way to get rid of his LS1 now and get one himself.

We hadn't spent much time in the car prior to driving it off the lot, and I can tell you there is a LOT of stuff to 'play' with. If you want a car that you will just get in, start it, and drive, then you're in the wrong car. Even after 2000 miles, I'm thinking about taping some cheat notes to the roof. After every freeway 270 degree off ramp, I wish I'd thought to bring up the g-force meter... So much information... I'm at 3.3 million rev's on the engine...

I know, the big question you have is how was it for 1920 miles in 53 hours. One word- Amazing.
Initially, I found myself with restless leg syndrome while as passenger. First I moved the seat forward so I could 'push' the floorboard to keep my rear seated back. (I'm 5'8" with short legs and often find chairs that are too deep.) I later found that when I raised the seat front up, with legs more bent, it was way more comfortable. After several hours on the road, I have to stop and stretch no matter what I drive.

I've seen the posts about all of the attention you get. Don't get startled from iphone camera flashes while you're on the freeway at night! That was a surprise! Also, plan extra time for every fuel/food stop. We met so many people along the way. Kinda wish I'd had some flyers to hand out. Might have saved time. We spent the first night in Washington, unaware that it was the marathon weekend. Fortunately, the streets were all open early Saturday and we were able to get some great car shots in front of some landmarks!

And to the issue of the HUD. Yes the HUD isn't straight. And yes it IS straight. It depends on your position, and because of the curve of the windsheild and angle of the screen reflection, it does vary. My son and I argued about this for at least one day.

My only complaint- Whether a bug or operator error somewhere, I don't know, but the seat position recall is annoying. If auto exit is turned on, it works great. You open the door and the seat moves back. If auto entry is turned on, when you open the door, the seat starts moving forward instantly (to my short leg position). I guess I could jump in fast, but I turned it off. Then the problem becomes that you have to keep the memory button depressed to return to your position. I'm going to leave the auto exit on, but change the exit memory position to a shorter distance back.

Passenger complaint dept- If you're right handed, it's a real pain to try to do anything on the infotainment screen. Especially if there's two 32oz drinks in the cup holders.

New features dept- seems like a lot of wasted space on the infotainment screen. It'd be nice to able to split-screen Music / Nav etc. I know... you give us an amazing car and we want more!

Yes you can change the exhaust sound to always be loud. It's on the infotainment main menu under settings... However, the valve will still close during Eco mode when it drops to 4 cylinders.

Special thanks to Asptroopa1. We met him at the state police HQ for a nice break from some rain, and then some cool pics! (He didn't bring his lady- didn't want her to get wet.

Here's some pics...