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Chevrolet planning low-cost Corvette under Stingray?

If you're burnt out on musings about the Chevrolet Corvette, you'll want to go ahead and skip this post. Motor Trend reports General Motors is hard at work on a low-cost version of the seventh-generation sports car for 2015. Rumored to be called the Corvette Coupe, the car will forgo the Stingray and skip the 450-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 engine in favor of a 5.3-liter V8 with under 400 ponies. If you're keeping track, that's a shade of the same engine found behind the headlights of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.
The report also suggests the Coupe will receive a number of aesthetic tweaks to separate it from the Stingray, including different front and rear fascias as well as new front fenders and a rear diffuser. Motor Trend says the point of all this is to cut the car's price tag, which means we may see a Corvette on showroom floors for less than $50,000 if this car comes to fruition.

OnStar to offer 90-day driving assessment, possible insurance discount

General Motors has announced a brace of new features for OnStar, two of which could help you save money assuming you're willing to sign over some (more) personal details. The first is a driving assessment program in which OnStar takes note of certain driving parameters for 90 days, then provides the driver feedback on their driving, both individually and when compared to other drivers in the program, as well as driving tips. Think of it as OnStar's ICE version of the Nissan Leaf's CARWING feature that compares how efficient your electric driving is compared to other BEV drivers. In this case, though, certain drivers will have the chance to share their assessment with Progressive Insurance, and if the numbers are right they might get a "driving-based" discount from the insurance company. The assessment program is voluntary, and requires opting in. It will be available this summer on all new GM cars and some GM vehicles back to 2013. In case this sounds like Big Brother, let's not forget that Big Brother is already here and moved in so long ago that he's a member of the Kiwanis club and is hosting neighborhood block parties. Progressive already has a million enrollees in a program called Snapshot that tracks OBD II data to offer usage-based insurance to provide annual pricing based on how much you drive your car, with discounts of up to 30 percent. The OnStar effort is just another way to do that. The second feature is proximity offers through AtYourService, which notifies drivers to deals and information on their driving route and provides coupons from RetailMeNot and Entertainment Book. Beyond that, a deal with Priceline will let OnStar agents book hotels for you starting this year, there's a tie-in with Dunkin' Donuts, too, but we're fuzzy on those benefits, and third new feature lets Chevrolet owners know when certain parts need replacing. News Source: Detroit NewsImage Credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio Chevrolet GM Technology

Here are your 2016 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year finalists [w/polls]

The 2016 Detroit Auto Show will kick off with the announcement of the annual North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards, and the three finalists in each category have just been revealed. Following this announcement, the jury – which includes Autoblog editor-in-chief Mike Austin – will re-evaluate each candidate before casting a final vote for the winner. This year's finalists are: Car of the Year Chevrolet Malibu Honda Civic Mazda MX-5 Miata Truck/Utility of the Year Honda Pilot Nissan Titan XD Volvo XC90 The 23rd annual awards will be announced on the morning of Monday, January 11. For now, we want to know where you stand. Let us know which vehicles you think should win, by voting in the polls below. Chevrolet Honda Mazda Nissan Volvo north american car of the year NACTOY