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Our favorite mid-engine Corvette theories and rumors

The mid-engine Corvette! We just saw blurry photos through the foliage, and are hearts are all aflutter because it means that this car is real. And it's the most " never before" Corvette since 1984. Which leads us to all kinds of wacky theories and speculation. Everybody knows something or heard from a guy. None of those guys (or gals) from GM are talking to Autoblog, to be clear. But that won't stop us from stirring the pot. Let's go over a few point-by-point. The pushrod engine will be replaced by an overhead-cam V8 Car and Driver has repeatedly reported that an overhead-cam engine will come after the mid-engine Corvette's debut with an old-school pushrod. We've heard the same thing firsthand, albeit from a source with no connection to the development of the Corvette or powertrain. "At some point two valves can't pass future emissions regulations," said the guy we know. While the pushrod engine is compact, the design makes it difficult - if not impossible - for sophisticated variable valve timing (and lift) systems that control combustion with more precision. Hasty conclusion: The pushrod engine has a finite life in front of it. This one's a lock, it's a just a matter of when. Bowling Green's new paint shop is really the mid-engine assembly line Credit to Reddit for this one. Like we said, everybody knows a guy. But let's look deeper. The new paint facility costs $439 million dollars and adds 450,000 square feet, almost half the size of the existing plant. Plus GM announced another $290 million in upgrades at Bowling Green Assembly. That sure sounds like a lot of money, but you can actually spend that much on a paint booth. Porsche spent 500 million Euros (about $561 million dollars) to add the Macan assembly to its Leipzig, Germany plant in 2014. Chrysler shelled out $850 million for a paint shop in Sterling Heights, Michigan. GM spent $600 million for a new paint shop at the Fairfax (Kansas City) plant. Honda, on the other hand, is working on a thrifty $210 million project in Marysville, Ohio that includes a 300,000 square foot expansion, and the low-volume Acura NSX facility only cost $70 million. Hasty conclusion: The square footage and cost could easily mean a new assembly line instead of (or in addition to) a paint line. And if the NSX plant was really that cheap, GM could have hidden a similar sum in its existing announcements.

Which of these five plug-ins should win the 2017 Green Car of the Year?

It's going to be a competitive race for the 2017 Green Car Of The Year. With a minivan in the running for the first time in ages, the five finalists announced by Green Car Journal today include five very different plug-in vehicles. As Ron Cogan, the editor and publisher of Green Car Journal, said in a statement, "electrification is now considered by most automakers an essential technology for current and future high-efficiency models." Let's check out the list: Toyota Prius Prime, the updated plug-in version of the world's best-selling hybrid. Chevy Bolt, GM's all-new entry into the long-range EV game. Chrysler Pacifica, a family hauler with the ability to go 30 miles on electric power. Kia Optima. The nomination is for the full line-up, but really the hybrid and plug-in hybrid models are the green stars here. BMW 330e iPerformance, one of the automaker's many new plug-in hybrids that bring battery power to models outside the i sub-brand. Green Car Journal will announce the winners at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 17th, along with some, "other green transportation announcements," whatever that means. Last year, the winner was the 2016 Chevy Volt, the first model to snatch up two wins. Which do you think should win this year? Related Video: News Source: Green Car JournalImage Credit: REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian Green LA Auto Show BMW Chevrolet Chrysler Kia Toyota Chevy Bolt chrysler pacifica green car of the year toyota prius prime bmw 330e

Buick Velite is a not-so-Volt-like plug-in hybrid concept for China

Is the Buick Velite a Volt by any other name? That's a question worth asking after General Motors said that the Buick Velite concept vehicle will make its global debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show later this month. GM says the car "will provide a template for upcoming models being launched under the Buick Blue new energy vehicle strategy." Whether that means the Velite is a variant of the second-generation of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in is open to interpretation. Some automotive publications, including Autoweek, are saying that's the case, but GM China doesn't mention the Volt in its press release, only saying that the car is a "high-performance" plug-in hybrid vehicle. As we know, GM doesn't use the "PHEV" descriptor for the Volt, which makes us thing the Velite's powertrain is more like the Cadillac CT6 PHEV. Either way, the concept was developed by the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), which is a joint venture between GM and Shanghai-based SAIC. As far as the name, GM has been shopping the Velite moniker around for a while now. The automaker first used Buick Velite for the convertible concept vehicle it showed off at the 2004 New York Auto Show. More recently, GM in 2014 filed to use the name for the US variant of its Opel Cascada four-seat convertible model, which debuted in 2013. As for the second-generation version of the Volt, that model appears to be gaining favor in the US. Domestic sales of the Volt through October have surged 64 percent from a year earlier to more than 18,500 units. The new version boosted its all-electric range by 40 percent to 53 miles while increasing its power output by 20 percent. Related Video: News Source: General Motors via Autoweek, Automotive News-sub.req. Green Buick Chevrolet Electric Hybrid PHEV buick velite