One of my biggest pet peeves is when I am listening to a program or song on the radio that I’m really enjoying and either get a phone call, stop for gas, or the like and have to miss a portion or all of what I’m listening to.  For a few years, satellite radio providers have given customers that option with their devices they sell, but the option has yet to be introduced, built in to GM radios.

We don’t have to wait any longer.  Certain GM vehicles offer a Pause and Play Radio feature, which saves up to 20-minutes of audio from a radio (including XM radio) on a vehicle’s hard drive. The best part – this radio save feature can even be activated when the vehicle is turned off!

Now in addition to the certain handful of GM vehicles that offer Pause and Play Radio, GM recently announced this radio feature would also become available on lower-end vehicles as well.  This announcement we find interesting, considering they have higher-end vehicles such as the Corvette lacking the latest, greatest options.

After first debuting on the Cadillac CTS, the feature has been available on the Buick LaCrosse, Chevy Equinox, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX. And now, the Chevrolet Cruze and Buick Regal will begin to offer it too. Others suggest GM will continue to expand this feature onto other vehicles eventually.

Maybe next year’s Corvette will make the cut! If not then, maybe with the release of the Corvette C7 – that is if it doesn’t already come with better radio features!

Stay tuned as we update you on the next batch of GM vehicles that will offer Pause and Play Radio.

[ Orbitcast ]

AutoWeek’s executive edition, Roger Hart, just recently celebrated his 10th year on the job. To commemorate those years, Hart listed his top 10 favorite cars he has had the opportunity to drive.

“In going through my list, I realized some of the cars I loved, while being great cars, are on the list as much for the driving experience and where I drove them as for the actual car itself. But thinking about it, that’s the way it should be,” says Hart.

In no particular order, his top picks were:
1. Ferrari F430 Scuderia
2. Porsche Carerra GT
3. BMW Z8
4. Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 KR
5. Ford Mustang Cobra Jet
6. Rolls-Royce Phantom
7. Nissan Skyline GT-R
8. Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
9. Ford GT
10. Dodge Viper ACR

Why the ZR1? Hart insists it’s the “best performance bargain on the planet” as well as a relatively easy drive for a sports car that produces 600+ horsepower. Not only did the drive train impress him, but also the interior of the vehicle. As he puts it, “an amazing car” whether on the racetrack or for a daily commute.

Do you agree with his listing? 3 Fords? 2 Mustangs? If you had to choose, how would you rank your top 10? Tell us here.

[ AutoWeek ]

General Richard “Dick” Cody, four-star U.S. Army general, lives by this motto.

Now retired, Cody served in six of the Army’s divisions during his 36 years of service. He is best-known as an Apache pilot and master aviator. He also served as the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division – Air Assault and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. In Operation Desert Storm, he led the initial air strike in Iraq as a battalion lieutenant colonel.

Needless to say, Cody’s pure devotion to this great country is obvious.

In furthering this commitment, Cody just recently ordered his TENTH Corvette from the Bowling Green plant – a 2010 Corvette Grand Sport.

When asked about the plant, Cody said he is "absolutely impressed with the workers. Certainly impressed with the quality of how they manufacture the Corvette."

Hearing these remarks come from such a high-ranking retired Army official is truly inspiring.

[ WBKO ]

The biggest Corvette extravaganza is nearly 200 days away! So, mark your calendars now!

Date: Aug. 27 – Aug. 29, 2010
Location: Carlisle PA Fairgrounds
Gate Times: Thurs.-Sat. 7am-6pm & Sun. 7am-3pm

If you consider yourself a Corvette enthusiast, it’d be in your best interest to pack your bags for this long-weekend summer vacation to Pennsylvania. You’ll never witness anything like it!

Corvettes at Carlisle will unite again this year to form an aerial image of the American Flag, a tradition since 2008. However, this year the flag will be even bigger, comprised of 158 Corvettes - 57 red, 51 white, 35 blue and 15 silver.

Homes for Our Troops, a national, non-profit organization committed to helping our disabled and injured soldiers, will receive half of the event registration fee from those 158 individuals who take part in the flag creation.

If you have a red, white, blue or silver Corvette and you want to be apart of the flag creation, visit CarlisleEvents.com to submit your information.

To simply pre-register to attend Corvettes at Carlisle, call (717) 243.7855 or visit Store.CarlisleEvents.com and save $10!

[ CarlisleEvents.com ]

Photo Credit: Richard Prince

It’s official. The two factory-sponsored Corvette C6.Rs have received invitations to join the ultra-competitive GT2 class this June for the 78th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The C6.Rs will battle a who’s who of sports car racing teams and manufacturers including Porsche, Ferrari, BMW and Jaguar in the crowded class featuring 17 entries. [More]

This C6 Corvette ends up precariously balanced on a telephone support wire following a collision with another car. The accident took place in Fountain Valley California last week. There were no injuries but the Corvette was messed up pretty bad. Check out additional photos after the jump. [More]

The first sales report of the new year hit yesterday and the good news is that Corvette sales are up 1.4% over last year. January 2010 deliveries totaled 854 - 12 Corvettes more than the 842 sold in January 2009. Historically, Corvette sales tend to a breather in January anyway so we are okay with this number. The other significant number for the month is the availability of the Corvette ZR1. National inventories of the supercharged ZR1 have grown by 27% to 191 units. [More]

The editorial staff from Edmunds.com have a great perk! They get to travel on long road trips with very nice cars and then write about it in their Long-Term Road Tests blog!

Now after joy-riding hundreds of vehicles of all makes, they have chosen their next culprit… the 2002 Corvette Z06.

Why a 2002 Z06? Well, the crew wanted to find a powerful, used Corvette with reasonable mileage and no aftermarket features all for a relatively low cost.

So, after much searching, they ended up purchasing a Z06 for $20,000 from a man who just couldn’t afford having two cars anymore. The cost didn’t matter much to them when they admit to having seen the “405 Horsepower” badge on the vehicle’s side.

With 41,906 miles on the odometer and an average fuel economy of 14.2mpg, the crew has already begun their 12-month adventure. See where the Z06’s 5.7-liter LS6 V8 engine takes them…

Follow their journey by clicking here.

[ Inside Line ]

Have questions about your recent Corvette purchase – or any GM vehicle for that matter? Now, you have the ability to tweet online with a live person!

General Motors has officially entered into the social media phase, employing six tech-savvy individuals to solely monitor their Twitter account – GMCustomerSvc.

Not only does the team monitor for GM-related tweets, but they are also readily available to answer any of your questions or concerns. Their hours of operation are:

• Mon. – Fri. 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Sunday offline

Now, go tweet with GM!

[ GM on Twitter ]

Here is an interesting unofficial rendering of the C7 Corvette by designer Andrei Avarvarii that takes some of the best features of the Transformer’s Stingray Concept and morphs them with the best features of the C6. From the Stingray concept, we see the reworked grill area, sloping hood and high fender lines. We can’t tell if this rendering has a spilt rear window, but since GM’s Global Design Chief Ed Welburn says is coming, we’ll patiently wait for 2012 when the real C7 is expected to arrive.

Source:

avarvarii via TopSpeed

Related:

GM: Next-Generation Corvette C7 Expected in 2012 as 2013 Model

Motor Authority’s Next Generation C7 Corvette Rendering

GM is cautiously looking to return Corvette and Cadillac brands back to European Showrooms following last year’s bankruptcy of its previous importer, Dutch-based Kroymans, who went belly up during the Summer of 2009. GM had its own financial issues at the time of the Kroyman bankruptcy but a GM spokesperson speaking with Das Autohaus says the automaker is currently in contract negotiations with up to 30 dealers in Germany. [More]

RateItAll.com truly rates it all! From electronics to personal care to fast food, RateItAll has compiled a ten-year study rating more than 70 categories of products based off consumers’ opinions.

More importantly, within RateItAll’s Automotive category, the top Sports Car winners were awarded to:

• Chevrolet Corvette
• Ford Mustang
• Audi TT Coupe

Now you may ask, how legit is this rating process? Well, since 2000, RateItAll has collected millions of opinions from consumers, which have been filtered through a main online database and sorted into thousands of categories. These categories were then filtered down to 150 combined product and cultural categories, based off quality and depth of data.

To be awarded this honor speaks volumes about the Chevrolet Corvette, and what the consumers think as well.

[ RateitAll.com ]

Barrett-Jackson’s Collector Car Auction just wrapped up another successful Scottsdale auction and Corvette sales remain strong. We counted 112 Corvettes that crossed the block and with the 10% commission added, sales totaled $9.19 million. That’s very comparable to 2009’s $9.8 million in sales. [More]

Plain and simple:  last year’s Corvette sales were the worst since 1961.

Yes, this extensive drop may very well be attributed to the current state of the economy (and automotive industry) at large. But, is this decline completely reminiscent of the economy?

After much research, Edmunds’ AutoObserver.com thinks it’s a combination of two things: down economy AND loss of consumer interest in sports cars.

In 2008, the Corvette was one of the best selling sports cars around, consuming more than 6% of the sports car market share.

Just last year, the Corvette declined 43.8% in sales! Yes, the economy didn’t help, but should we also place blame on the close competitor – Chevy Camaro? Not according to Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell, who states, “Over 60,000 Camaros were sold last year, and many of the buyers are unlikely to have chosen another sports car in its place had it not been on the market.”

So, maybe this legendary American sports cars’ sales decline can be attributed to a loss in consumer “flair” after all?  What do you think?

[ Business Wire ]

Here’s another cool episode from “Vette Garage: The Series” where they go behind the scenes to check out Corvette Recycling’s operation in Farmington, UT.

Source:

Vette Garage: The Series

Related:

[VIDEO] Episode 3 of “Vette Garage: The Series”

[VIDEO] Episode 2 of “Vette Garage: The Series”

[VIDEO] “Vette Garage: The Series” Opens With Visit to Pfadt Race Engineering