In his column in the Times, Clarkson recently examined a couple of contenders for his Car of the Year choice and eventually chose a winner: The Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1. It beat out other new cars like the BMW X6, Audi RS6, Nissan GT-R, Rolls Royce Drophead Phantom, and a couple of others. Why was this car chosen over the others? Why is it such a surprise that he chose an American muscle car over a more sophisticated offering from Europe?

For one, he points out that the Corvette ZR1 has an easygoing demeanor while cruising along but tears it up if the driver choses to do so. The sheer power and cornering ability even made Clarkson forget about a couple of build quality mistakes such as the trunk lock failing to work and the keyless ignition system not recognizing the remote unit. In the end he calls it an “epic car”, partially because of how the pricetag stacks up against another exotic car with the same abilities.

His choice was surprising to fans that have followed his career in automotive journalism because of his known bias against American cars. Too bad the GT-R was plagued with problems with its transmission or it would have been a formidable competitor for the new Corvette.  Besides that fact, it really goes without any competition because of it’s convenience and driveability it offers while being able to run with other exotics that are many times its pricetag. ‘

While there are those that will bash the ZR1 for merely being the fixed up version of a more common car (such as the WRX Impreza and Impreza STI comparison), this is actually a great point for the car. It’s different enough so that most people can see that it is not your run of the mill Corvette, but similar enough to not give the owner headaches when he/she is trying to get replacement parts.Why does it really matter if it shares some interior parts with another car? While the owner of a Ferrari F430 will have to wait quite a while if he needs a headlight fixed, the ZR1 owner will only have to go down to the local Chevrolet dealership for a part that they likely will have in stock.

It’s a great car for the same reason that the Porsche 911 is loved: it gives a fantastic drive while not being outrageously expensive and time consuming to maintain.