[blakebird]

picked the car up wednesday Oct 1st... and took off Thursday afternoon for a good 'getting to know' road trip.


A quick blast to Santa Fe, NM to visit friends....the next day back roads thru Galisteo, Madrid, Mountainair, Socorro, past the VLA, Pietown - on thru ShowLow, Payson, Cottonwood - Jerome - and Prescott for the night.

Thought I'd do roads I've ridden for decades on bike trips to give the car a good workout.

On the road early down 89A and it's epic curves to Kirkland Jct...and down Yarnell Hill.
Across a bunch of desert...Pearblossom Hwy, 166 to 101. Morro Bay was full (some festival) so to Paso Robles for the night.
Predawn blast on 46 to Cambria and up hwy 1.
Deer are everywhere, so 'blast' is a relative term. The car is amazing fun at legal speeds - it just instills confidence.

A late breakfast on Cannery Row, on to Santa Cruz - then up 9 & 35, a left turn to La Honda and the coast.
Over the GGB, up 101 to116 and west to hwy1 again.

Stopped in Ft Bragg last night, made it to Newport, OR today

Have about 2,800 miles on it and am completely amazed by how good this car is. Comfy, smooth, unflappable on any twisty road - and I picked some seriously tight sections. The grunt is addictive - the way it pulls from down low in fourth gear has become a favorite trait of this amazing engine.

I'm getting amazing mileage ...the car could use a wash but is running perfect and hasn't put a foot wrong once.

Never had much luck getting pics from my camera's SD card to photobucket via my tablet (times out with slow motel wi-fi) - so pictures when i get back in a few days.

 

[rdslon01]

You definitely know some of the cool roads, that is for sure!

That sounds like a really fun trip.

 

[U.S. Marine]

blakebird, it reads like you went on a cool trip, extended break in period. The C7 is very comfortable on long road trips as you well know.

SF
Rick

 

[Ragtop]

Ya got me beat on 1st week miles, I only had 1600 when I pulled into my driveway the first time...it is a great thing having the time to drive the heck out of her the first week and kick-start your relationship!

 

[007's VET]

Blakebird, nice trip. While you are tripping out NW we're getting the SW thing going. Currently in Vegas for a few days then heading east over the Hoover Dam to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon then to Sante Fe back to Golden. Along the way visit what's left of Route 66. Have fun and be safe.

 

[Chip]

...Thought I'd do roads I've ridden for decades on bike trips to give the car a good workout...

For me that's the best approach, and the standard I use.

 

[jsvette]

What a fun trip blakebird! We might have even crossed paths as we were on a Sedona-Santa Fe-Albuquerque trip during the same time to ultimately take in the balloon festival. Your Hwy 1 and trip up the coast must have been spectacular and a blast in your new Stingray indeed. Looking forward to pics when you get back.

 

[blakebird]

I did see torch red w/ silver stripes when i was having dinner Ft Bragg...handsome combo

From Newport - up to Tillamook, then hwy 14 along the WA side of the Columbia River Gorge...crossed back at The Dalles...Pendleton, down 395 to John Day for the night
Crossed southern Idaho, staying in Evanston - think the car is at 3,500 miles (oil life @ 52%)

Will make it back to Denver tomorrow and stop in for an oil change...and buy a bunch of good car cleaning stuff

 

[007's VET]

Good for you. How are the pictures?

 

[blakebird]

Got back to Denver around noon today, stopped and had the oil changed at 4,200 miles - not a bad first week

A few pictures...

outside of Galisteo, NM

Very Large Array

starting up hwy 1 early (hit Cambria before 6am, too early for breakfast at my favorite spot)

from 1 up 9/35 in the Santa Cruz Mtns

twisty climb out of the fog layer just north of Jenner by the sea on 1

southern Oregon coast

Heceta Head on Oregon coast...

Newport

hwy 14 - north side of the Columbia River Gorge

125 miles of great pavement to myself between Pendleton and John Day

 

[mycorvette2014]

Great pictures and very Cool Ride!

 

[jsvette]

Thanks for posting blakebird! Great looking Stingray in some beautiful settings for sure!

 

[blakebird]

Crossing remote stretches of New Mexico early in the trip, I put it in Eco briefly and let it run in AFM just to see what it was like.
I had a Dodge Ram hemi 1500 4wd that had DoD, and it was very similar....breathe on the gas pedal and it goes to 8 cylinders.
Fine on a long stretch of road, but I essentially left the car in Sport mode for the entire 4200 miles, save a few in outback NM.

I was therefore completely impressed by the mileage I got over what can only be called 'normal everyday driving' - which means everything from interstate droning to spirited sections of curvy roads, and everything in between.
Overall trip average was around 25mpg, and the "last 50 miles" section to the right would vary from 26-32mpg, with 27-28 being the number I usually saw.