Stingray – The Unmuffled Auto News

Some cars are just born to be demons on the track. The track doesn’t necessarily need to be a road course – it could be off-road also. These are the cars that deserve to be stripped down to the basics for maximum fun.

Audi TT: The Audi TT has always been a decent sports car, but it’s always cried out for more power and aggression. This is why it deserves to have the sound-deadening materials yanked out. Audi being Audi will never do this, but who’s to say that some very smart person won’t? In my humble opinion, I think it is perfectly sized for rallycross, which is like autocross in dirt or gravel. It’s awesome. Just add a vented hood, a spoiler, more power, beefy tires and suspension, and a rollcage, and you’re good to go. Audi has a history of legendary rally cars, so it seems fitting to me to introduce it.
Chevrolet Corvette: Yes, the new Corvette ZO6 is truly a monster at the track, but it also weighs more than it should. I love supercharged engines, but they end up with heat soak after about 20 minutes, and then what? If Chevy put the C7.R endurance race car’s engine in, it would weigh less and have as much power. My idea of a ‘Vette track special would borrow heavily from the C7.R parts bin, and would utilize carbon fiber and titanium. It wouldn’t be cheap, but it would beat just about anything this side of a race car.
Jeep Wrangler: Jeep needs to build a pickup again. Several aftermarket companies will sell you a kit to turn your Wrangler into a regular cab pickup. It’s time for Jeep to do that…from the factory. If Jeep put the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 under the hood, the Wrangler pickup could actually tow and haul. Better yet, Jeep could put the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 under the hood. Now, that would be something that would sell like crazy! It would be big enough to haul dirtbikes, an ATV, firewood, camping gear, and other important off-road items. If Jeep offered a toolbox where you could store stuff, that would be awesome. I’m starting to get carried away with this now. I’m going to let your imaginations continue your dream Jeep pickup.
Chevrolet SS: The Chevy SS is Chevy’s big performance sedan. It has the LS3 V-8 from the Camaro, and it comes with a stick! It’s a stealth tire shredder, but it’s not very fast around corners. If Chevy put the trick suspension and computer electrickery from the Camaro Z/28 or ZL1 in, talk about a real sleeper! It really doesn’t need more power – it just needs less weight.
GMC Canyon/Chevrolet Colorado: The new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon are great little trucks. The Canyon just doesn’t stand out all that much from the Colorado. Here’s my idea: Make a street brawler version of the Colorado available only in 2WD (jam the 5.3-liter EcoTec V-8 from the Silverado in, along with the Corvette’s 8-speed automatic), and make an off-road monster version of the Canyon that would compete with the Jeep Wrangler and Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. It would be about the same size as the Wrangler, yet have more utility. It would also come with the V-8, but it would be the big Duramax diesel V-8 and Allison 6-speed automatic from the heavy-duty pickups. It would be loud, and have the perfect gearing for bombing around the desert or rock crawling, thanks to the big tranny.
Jaguar F-Type: The Jaguar F-Type is already a holy drifting terror. If you go onto YouTube and find hotlap videos of it, you’ll see what I mean. It’s too much engine and not enough tire. Jaguar should start a Formula Drift team with this car. If they put on less-sticky tires, increased the steering angle, and put in super high gearing, they would have a drifting beast. I would buy it.
Ford Mustang: It’s the first mass-produced Mustang to come from the factory with independent rear suspension. Recent reviews haven’t been exactly kind to it, however. They say that it’s chassis is still slightly hairy. Well, let me tell you something, grumpy overworked people: GET OVER IT! This is one of the best Mustangs to come out of the factory doors in recent years. If Ford irons out the suspension kinks, the Mustang will be a much better car. I know, I’m harshly critical too, but the Mustang desperately needs to impress. It’s already got plenty of power from it’s 302 cubic-inch V-8, which I might add, is the second most-popular crate engine sold in America. I would take it out and put out Ford’s 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, which has twin turbos, but turbos do not a car make, Fast & Furious fanboys. The reason I would choose this engine is that it is much lighter than the V-8, can easily be tuned to make as much, if not more power, and meets smog requirements with ease. Oh, and I can mention that it has a race pedigree in endurance racing.

Those are the cars that I think really need a track makeover. They are all amazing cars in their own right – you should own or drive at least one of them before you die. Let me know what you think deserves to give other cars a beating on the track.

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.