I rather have a lesser "exotic" car which has a lot better build quality and resale value (no to mention the "intangible" values: presence, finesse, design, motorsport heritage, etc.) than most "muscle" cars (including the Corvette), those cars simply DON'T have such qualities.
True, a Corvette Z06 is an awesome car and its performance (measured by numbers) is smilar to what a Ferrari 360 or Porsche 911 GT3 can do, but even if a Z06 can generate impressive numbers IT WILL ALWAYS BE A CORVETTE, and it will never come near a Ferrari or a Porsche in other many important aspects such as comfort, finesse (yes, finesse defined as the subtlety on how it performs), design, heritage, and lets not forget resale value, etc.
The U.S. Motor Industry has a long list of marketing and sales sucesses, but unfortunatedly doesn't have that same success in international racing (the only notable exception: the Ford GT40 that won Le Mans 4 times in the late 60's, and even if the Ford GT40 was an "american" car, it was designed and built in Europe, mainly in the U.K.).
What is even more, almost all the teams participating in what can be considered to be the "top racing cathegory" in the U.S. (Champ cars, formerly know as CART) race in cars that are designed and built in Europe (be it Lola or Reynard, and the Ford-Cosworth engines) and the only team that actually builds its own cars is Penske which designs and builds their chassis in the U.K. (Swift has stopped racing and building race cars)
What you're buying when you purchase a Ferrari or a Porsche or an Aston Martin, is the racing heritage, the intangible quality, the "prestige" that a particular brand has won over many years of motor expertise, qualities that a traditional American Muscle Car (such as the Corvette Z06) does not have. Having said that, I insist on saying that the Corvette Z06 is an awesome car for the price, and that its performance humbles lots of cars costing (sometimes) two or three times as much, but that still doesn't make it as desirable or prestigious as a Ferrari or Porsche. (only God knows why, right?)
IMHO, it's all about what you want in life: if you want devil-may-care speed at an affordable price, buy a Corvette Z06 and put some sort of forced induction in it, that way nothing (almost) will touch you at the dragstrip or in the event of an impromtu stoplight run. If you want a balanced performance, design, comfort and intangible value package, go save more money and buy a Porsche, Ferrari or similar car.
(I know about this because when I bought mi '02 Audi TT CQ, I had the option of buying a '03 Corvette Z06 for a little over $2,500 USD more, yet I chose the TT. And now, after I've spent almost $6,000 USD in mods fot the TT, I still prefer my car even if it does not come close to the performance of a Z06)
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