By Tim Plouff

Summer in Maine is a special time of year in a unique corner of America. Having one of America’s best cars to enjoy the warm sun and terrific scenery just makes the season that much more splendid.

For more than 50 years, Corvette has been exciting passions like no other American sports car. The best selling two-seater of all time, with more than one million sold, the Corvette is far and away our nation’s favorite performance icon.

What else even competes with the Corvette? Chrysler’s SRT-6 lacks the Corvette’s power, interior room, comfortable ride and established pedigree — and then costs almost the same. The Dodge Viper is a fast, powerful and somewhat crude roadster, but its unsophisticated cabin, torturous ride and racecar accommodations make it ill suited for daily use. A price tag of $80,000 also makes the Viper a long shot for most customers, too.

Porsche’s new Boxster has gained some power for 2005, but it is still much slower and more expensive than a comparable Corvette. The new Porsche 911 Carrera is a close rival to Corvette, yet it costs $20,000 more to own this Bavarian all-star, a healthy premium for any driver to ante up when on-road performance is virtually equal.

Like the Boxster, BMW’s Z4 and Nissan’s 350Z are each stellar handling cars, but none of these contemporaries offer the Corvette’s outstanding power, fuel economy or value.

The new C6 is undeniably the best Corvette ever produced. Some critics say that the new C6 is an evolutionary model replacing the similar C5, but there is much more here than meets the eye.

The new body is five inches shorter than last year’s car and one inch narrower, yet rides on a one-inch longer wheelbase. Track width remains at a stable 62 inches while larger wheels front and rear (18-inch rims up front, 19-inch in the rear) give the car near faultless handling.

For the first time since 1962, the Corvette’s headlamps are exposed. Brilliant Xenon headlights are standard plus fog lamps and daytime running lamps are integrated into the automatic arrangement. Functional side vents, a trimmer rear end and a sleeker body with pronounced airflow improvement help the Corvette slip through the air at a low .286 coefficient of drag. Convertible buyers will notice less interior wind turbulence with the top down and a quieter cabin when it’s not. An optional wind-blocker is available for the first time to further reduce chilling winds over the rear cowl and extend your top-down season.

The new C6 also has the most standard power ever (up 50-hp to 400 peak horsepower), making this car quicker and faster on the top-end than any other base Corvette in history. Add more safety features, more interior accoutrements and more options plus a lower price, and you have to better appreciate the Corvette team for the wonderful car it has created. Is this a great country or what?

I have been fortunate to sample several late model Corvettes through the years and the C6 breaks new ground for ride compliance and handling agility. A double-wishbone independent suspension delivers incredible cornering prowess while rendering a supple ride that is impressively composed over all but the roughest pavements. The body is rigid and groan-free, too; the C6 never rattled and the cowl has no shake — zip, nada, none — making it one of the finest convertibles in production.

Huge cross-drilled disc brakes produce stunning stopping power while the re-programmed magnetic steering is calibrated for better driver feedback. To oversee the car’s driving portfolio is an anti-skid/traction control program that gives but never breaks, letting the driver enjoy no oversight (turning the switch off) or allowing the protection of computer aids.

The redesigned cabin reflects a much higher level of refinement perhaps some of the influence of the Cadillac XLR, which is built on the same Bowling Green, Ky., assembly line as the Corvette. The instrument cluster is clearer with trip computer and programmable operations buttons surrounding the gauges. A heads-up display shows speed, engine revolutions and G-meter readouts on the lower windshield. Plastics, fabrics and leathers are more compatible with each other.

A bevy of new features have found a home in the new Corvette. Memory settings for the sport buckets, power telescoping steering column, OnStar, XM satellite radio and a satellite navigation system are all first-time features. The C6 gets GM’s new Keyless Security and Ignition system, too. Keep the keyfob in your pocket or purse and you need not do anything to unlock or lock the car after parking or returning to the car. Just walk up to the door, depress the electric switch inside the handle slot and the door releases for opening. Inside, you touch a small door-mounted button to exit. There are no conventional handles anywhere.

Starting the Corvette is just as simple. Hit the dash-mounted start switch and the C6 rumbles to life without a key. The only caveat to this setup is the requirement that each time you park the Corvette, you must place the manual transmission in reverse. Failure to do so will cause the security system to continue to seek the transponder’s signal, right up to the point where it exhausts the car’s battery. Automatic models will suffer no such fate.

The Corvette’s sport seats are almost perfect. Power side bolsters glide in and out to hug your torso while multiple lumbar adjustments give alternating levels of support. The seat cushion moves separate of the seatback so you can alter your attitude and altitude behind the wheel with the power controls. The only thing missing is moveable thigh bolsters, yet the long bottom cushion provides above average support. With the six-speed manual shifter perfectly placed, a nice thick-rimmed steering wheel ready to your hands, and appropriate spacing and placement of all pedals, including the left footrest, the Corvette is set up for serious driving enjoyment.

For years the Corvette convertible has had one of the easiest manual soft-tops to operate. Lightweight and convenient to move, the top stowed with no stress and still left enough cargo room for two bags of golf clubs in the rear trunk. The new C6 convertible still offers a manual top, but (for $1,995) a power soft-top is available just like in the Cadillac XLR.

I’ve saved the best for last, kind of like dessert. To stay ahead nowadays, you have to be able to produce more power, more efficiently than before. Every carmaker offers more horsepower because everyone wants more power, even Toyota’s second generation Prius Hybrid has more power than the first edition.

Chevrolet upped the Corvette’s base engine from 5.7-liters to a new LS2 6.0-liter V-8 motor that thumps out 400 pound/feet of peak torque to go along with 400-horsepower. A traditional two-valve head design with push rods, the LS2 makes smooth power everywhere in the rev range. There is no power bump at certain revolutions like the sophisticated dual-cam, multi-valve engines produce, just a seamless rush of torque whenever you depress the go pedal. Redline appears at 6,500 rpm’s but the LS2 is pulling so hard, it seems like a low threshold to curtail the excitement.

And does the Corvette ever produce some excitement. Stab the throttle at virtually any speed in almost every gear and the C6 unleashes neck-snapping acceleration. Even moderate action on the throttle pushes you firmly back into the seat. Get serious and the Corvette marches from a standing start to 60 miles per hour in just over four seconds — and almost entirely in first gear. Ply the throttle to the end of sixth gear and Chevrolet claims this Corvette has the fastest top-end of any ever built.

The C6 repeatedly slammed a Boxster S that challenged its “manhood,” leaving the Porsche driver an excellent view of shrinking Corvette taillights. It was never close, as the German speedster just doesn’t have the cajones to challenge this American roadster.

Lest you think that the Corvette is only a powerful beast wearing seductive clothing, check out these numbers. While driving responsibly with the traffic flow from Ellsworth to Rockland in summer-time traffic, the six-speed C6 returned a very respectable 30.2 miles per gallon, with the top down and A/C on during an 85-degree day. Driven more vigorously down the highway from Bangor to Augusta, the Corvette still managed 26 mpg under similar driving conditions. Try to attain those fuel economy numbers with any other 400-hp performance car. You can’t because no one else builds anything like the Corvette.

I previously said “base” engine because Chevy is planning at least one more V-8 for the return of the high performance Z06 coupe this fall. The Z06 will be packing a 7.0-liter V-8 with 505-horsepower that is rumored to produce a 0-60-mph time of 3.7 seconds — exotic car territory. This much fun will cost you though as the retail price is expected to reach $65,000.

Chevy also is working on a supercharged version of the Z06 that has been dubbed the “Blue Devil” Corvette. It reportedly has 600-horsepower and could be shared with Cadillac for a very unique, high-dollar sports car for GM’s luxury marquee.

After savoring the new Corvette, everything else seems quite mundane. It is more than a fast sports car but a very comfortable roadster and a creditable daily driver. The new Corvette is attractive, even to the Porsche and BMW drivers who weren’t quite sure what they were admiring. This is an easy car to lust for, even easier to love.

Nothing beats the Corvette’s combination of value, comfort and performance. As Tina Turner sings it, “You are simply the Best.”