Bill and Nancy Griffin along with Donnie and Janice Henson are the proud owners of these four late model Corvettes. Many hot rodders predicted the end of the fun car with the advent of emissions and electronics in the 80's.  Well, these four cars are proof that it just took some time for the car manufacturers to figure out how to build a car that was fun to drive yet still met all of the government requirements.  Granted there are cars out there today that can perform almost as well as the Corvette for less money, there's just something about sitting low down in a Corvette!

The cars in the above picture are, starting from the left, a 1997 LS1, a 2002 Z06, a 2000 LS1 and a 2002 Z06.

The 1997 red LS1 models came with a 345 horsepower V-8 and an automatic transmission. The black 2000 LS1 has 350 horsepower and was upgraded with an aftermarket exhaust system and throttle body.

The other two cars are equipped with the Z06 option.  The main focal point of this option is the 405 horsepower engine and six speed transmission. The suspension is set up for one thing, to handle!  The LS1 cars definitely have a better ride for the long haul, but the Z06 cars can be equipped with a set of race tires and head for the track!  

Janice's 1997 Corvette. This car usually sits safely in the garage and only taken out on those nice days for a cruise! The automatic transmission comes in handy when you hit the stop and go traffic.  

The 2000 LS1 has an even better sound thanks to an aftermarket exhaust system. One trick option on these late model Corvettes is the heads up display. It shines numbers up on the lower windshield in  soft blue light so you can see your speed and other info without having to take your eyes off of the road. When you first get in the car and use the display, you don't think you'll like it. But after a short time, you love it!

Bill bought his blue Z06 in January of 2002. The first time I got a ride in this car I was duly impressed. I had slid behind the wheel and headed for the on ramp of the Loop 101. Time to merge!  I gave the car about 3/4 gas and she just shot forward in second gear. Quick shift to third gear and it just keeps pulling hard. I haven't driven something that pulled like that since I was drag racing my big block Buick GS. Of course, the similarities end when it was time to change lanes or bring this thrill ride back to a stop, This car handles like it's on rails and the binders will stop you on a dime and give back change!

Both of the Z06's came with the optional red accented interior.    

Pop the hood and the first thing that sticks out are the Z06 specific red valve covers!

These factory hot rods are purported to break into the 12's at the drag strip. So one night Donnie decided to give the dragstrip a shot. He had never ran a car on the track before so he was a little nervous for his debut! The hardest thing was getting the car off the starting line with stock tires without sending the tires up in clouds of smoke. The first run was nothing but tire smoke and an engine miss when the car hit the rev limiter. On the second attempt, he did get off the line a little better, but there was still a miss. The clocks stopped in 13.10 seconds at 110 mph. Turns out the miss was the result of a fuel injector that had gone bad  There's no doubt this car can get into the 12's now that the injector was repaired. Add some more starting line finesse and possibly lowering the tire pressure and who knows how low the ET's will go!.