If you can't afford a new Corvette (and who can in this troubled economy) point your browser over to auction sites and used car listings and look at the prices of C5 '98-'04 Corvette Z06s.

Many of these fine low-mileage C5s (some Corvette hobbyists prefer the C5 to the C6) are offered for private sale for $16,000 or lower, with a plethora of dealer-owned cars  under $20,000.

That makes the C5 a great buy for people who think they can't afford to join the Corvette ranks.