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Amelia Island 2013: Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray from concepts to split windows

While this year marks 60 years of the Chevrolet Corvette, the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance focused on one of the coupe's most sought after models, the 1963 Sting Ray. General Motors design boss Ed Welburn was on hand to show off the all-new C7 Corvette, but even the hard-edged styling of the 2014 Stingray couldn't take away from the beautiful 1963 models sitting out on the field.
In addition to the original Sting Ray and the 1959 Sting Ray Concept, some of the other classic 'Vettes included "Big Tank" racecars, an interesting cutaway coupe, a right-hand-drive Z06 and the attention-grabbing 1963 Corvette Rondine by Pininfarina. Another impressive Corvette was the 1964 Corvette XP-819 rear-engine prototype. Owner Mike Yager had the car finished as a driving chassis for this year's show, but promises the car will be back to its original glory in time for next year's event.

Question of the Day: What's the most irritating car name?

You hear a lot about how the Chevrolet Nova was a sales flop in Mexico because "No va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish; in fact, the Nova sold pretty well south of the border, and in any case most Spanish-speakers know that "Nova" means "new" in Latin and Portuguese. However, General Motors doesn't deserve to be let off the hook for bad car names, because the Oldsmobile Achieva— no doubt inspired by the excruciating "coffee achievers" ads of the 1980s— scrapes the biggest fingernails down the screechiest chalkboard in the US-market car-name world. That is, unless you think Daihatsu's incomprehensible choice of Charade was worse. Meanwhile, Japanese car buyers could get machines with cool names like Mazda Bongo Friendee or Honda Life Dunk. It's just not fair! So, what car name drives you the craziest? Related Video: Auto News Design/Style Chevrolet Honda Mazda Daihatsu Automotive History questions car names

Weekly Recap: GM plans massive new paint shop at Chevy Corvette factory

General Motors is laying out some serious green to maintain the Chevy Corvette's expansive color palette. The automaker is breaking ground on a new paint shop this summer that's part of a $439-million investment to upgrade the 34-year-old Bowling Green, KY, factory that builds the Stingray. The massive new structure will total 450,000 square feet, nearly half the size of the current 1-million square-foot facility. Construction is expected to take two years and won't impact Corvette production. The upgrades include new robots that save paint and create a better finish, longer, more efficient ovens to bake in the finish, and LED lighting. There's also a dry scrubbing booth technology with a limestone handling system that eliminates waste. GM has invested $135 million in the factory in last four years for the changeover to build the C7 and to relocate its Performance Build Center to Bowling Green. The improvements continue to modernize the Kentucky factory, which has become a tourist attraction in its own right, as more than 56,000 enthusiasts visited it last year. The upgrades are part of a $5.4-billion investment GM confirmed in April that will remake its US footprint in the next three years. The Bowling Green expansion underscores GM's continued commitment to the Corvette, which sold nearly 38,000 copies around the world last year, an eight-year high. "With this major technology investment, we can continue to exceed the expectations of sports car buyers for years to come," North American manufacturing manager Arvin Jones said in a statement. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Takata recall hits 34 million vehicles The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration expanded the Takata airbag recall to an almost unthinkable 34 million vehicles on Tuesday. The recall is part of an agreement reached by the two sides where Takata admitted some of its airbag inflators have a defect, and the deal compels the company to comply with all future regulatory actions and investigations. Takata's airbag inflators were produced with "a propellant that can degrade over time" and lead to ruptures, NHTSA said. Six deaths have been attributed to the flaw worldwide. Investigations conducted by Takata, automakers, and others have not determined the exact cause of the inflator problem, but NHTSA said moisture appears to alter the propellant's chemical structure. It then ignites too rapidly, creates too much pressure that ruptures the inflator, and blasts shards of metal at passengers.