Drifts – The Unmuffled Auto News

Gas is cheap. You’re going to see more classic and high performance cars out on the road because of this. Most of us like to drive. It’s fun. Road trips with family or friends are a lot of fun. You don’t need an exciting, fancy car to road trip. You could go through California in a Kia Rio and still have fun. Here are some tips to make the most out of a road trip. You probably know most of these, but some you probably won’t.

Have travel companions. Whether it’s your spouse, sibling(s), friends, co-workers, or a boyfriend/girlfriend, other people make road trips more fun. Even your dog can make it more fun.
Know basically where you’re going. Unless you have some sort of deadline, or specific place to be, know where you’ll end up within the next couple of days. Let people know where you’re going, and when you expect to be there. Let them know when you arrive.
- That being said, explore some. Don’t stay on the interstate. Take some backroads, explore local towns, and have a good time. If you’re travelling around, say California, and you want to end up in Palm Springs by the weekend, let somebody close to you know, but explore some. The California desert has plenty to offer.
Tell people where you’re going, and when you get there. Don’t be a total loner when it comes to road trips. Call your parents/siblings/significant other/friends/whoever you know well. It’s a simple 2-minute call.
Try out the local delicacies. Most small towns have something that the locals enjoy. For example, Gilroy, California, is the garlic capital of the world. Try garlic-themed food there. You get my point. Try what the locals all recommend. It’s usually in the specials section of the menu. Or, you can ask the wait staff what they recommend.
Check out museums if there are any where you stop. It’s a simple, quick Google search. You’d be amazed at what you can find. Most of the museums are quite interesting.
Talk to the locals. Chat the people who seem nice up. They might tell you where the good places to eat are, or where a fun or scenic road is. It’s worth your time, and most people will be nice enough to talk to you.
HAVE FUN!!!!! That’s what most road trips are meant to be. Make it memorable. Do burnouts, donuts, drifts, or go off-roading if you want. Just make sure you won’t cause trouble when you do it.

We’ve probably seen at least one of the hundreds of thousands Russian dashcam videos that have gone viral on YouTube of just HOW crazy Russian drivers are. I’ve seen a fair share of them. Chevrolet’s software designers must be Russian because of what was just introduced on the 2015 C7 Corvette Stingray.

While there are some great valets out there, there are others that like to “circle the city for parking.” This can make sports car owners quite reluctant to hand the keys over. A good number of sports cars offer a performance-reduction setting for just this situation, but Chevrolet is going the whole 9 yards, and including the 2015 Corvette’s Performance Data Recorder as a Valet Malfeasance Recorder. Valets of the world, beware.

Do YOU really want a valet to go 147 mph in YOUR brand-new Corvette? I didn’t think so either. Most valets won’t ever get a car going that fast, especially in a crowded parking lot or city street. But, never say never.

Should you turn on the unimaginatively named Corvette Valet Mode, and some good things happen to your baby. Every interior storage area is locked, the infotainment system is disabled (that way you won’t sit down and get an earful of Snoop Dogg), and a 720p camera in the headliner (right in front of the rear view mirror) turns on. That high-definition camera is paired with a microphone to record audio. The car’s GPS receiver is turned on to provide vehicle telemetry and location, and 8 gigabytes of SD card storage can capture up to 200 minutes of driving – plenty of time for even the slowest of valets to “find a parking spot.”

That link is a YouTube video of the Corvette Valet Mode.

Should you want to see what happened after you handed the keys over to the valet, you can immediately review the “parking adventure” on the infotainment screen, or download it to your computer later. An overlay shows speed, RPM, current gear, and g-force. That’s pretty much the same thing you’ll get when you turn on the Performance Data Recorder. What Corvette Valet Mode can’t do right now, however, is let you know if the car is being abused (i.e. burnouts, drifts, general hoonage) or let you stream the video remotely to your phone or tablet. However, I think that the streaming part will come soon, as GM has a perfectly good OnStar system, and now has introduced 4G LTE connections.

What I think that the point really should be is this: Corvette Valet Mode doesn’t reduce engine power – an odd oversight, AND a feature that would certainly alleviate more concerns about abuse than watching a video of your Corvette hitting a telephone pole at 40 mph.

Is Corvette Valet Mode useful? Maybe. Chevrolet is pitching this as a baby monitor for a cherished toy that you spent your hard-earned money on. But it doesn’t alert you when your baby is crying, unlike an ACTUAL baby monitor. It may give you some insights when you step outside of the hotel/casino/restaurant and find your Corvette smashed-up against a brick wall.