In a desire to showcase its merits, its values and its benevolent sense of humor, upstart European automaker SMART recently planted a bunch of billboard ads that read as follows: "German engineering. Swiss innovation. American nothing."For the record, SMART's PR spokesman assures us that this jesting points only to the SMART's smaller size. He then quelled some of our other advertising suspicions by confirming that KFC truly is "part of a healthy, balanced diet" and that shaving with Gillette razors will ensure waking up every morning next to a voluptuous blonde.But believe it or not, some skeptics out there insist that the ad was a dig at American automobiles. Hmm, come to think of it, flipping through any trans-continental auto journal will uncover lots of, um, constructive criticism at our cars being huge, sloppy, low-quality underperformers; one high-profile British chap colorfully summed up our works as "utter crap." Wow, makes you wonder what the Germans and Italians are saying.But put that translator away, Jimmy, for not all messages are verbal. Just look at how those Euro guys do business: denying cars to the press, denying ownership to willing buyers, banning anyone wearing jeans from public driving events, and quantifying their self-worth with sticker prices like, oh, $650,000. Gee, it's almost as if they think they're better than us.The guys at GM have a different opinion. They may specialize in mass market meat, but they get dead serious when it comes to the Corvette. For 2005 they boldly pushed "America's sports car" (a term to which Ford and Dodge probably don't endear) forward into its sixth generation, mostly by refining the design of the fifth generation that put Corvettes on the map.Refinement, by the way, was a key reason it got there at all: the last Corvette was the first to have a solid structure, an absence of rattles and squeaks, a decent interior, a ride that treated its occupants with respect, etc. The new "C6" Corvette further evolved with its retuned suspension, lighter clutch, shorter and slicker shifter, and an engine that shot up to a nice, round 400 horsepower.All good stuff, but none is the focus of this report. In case you missed the double-spoke wheels, what you see here is the Z06, the Corvette to end all Corvettes and maybe teach a lesson to all those snob cars whose first names end in "I".