Corvette records what the kids, valet do in the car

Corvette owners worry about a lot: Speeding tickets, expensive insurance, theft. But no more fretting over what the kids or the way-too-eager valets do behind the wheel.

The car's Valet Mode, combined with optional Performance Data Recorder, can shoot video of the road ahead, record in-car audio and digitally track the car's movements.

The driver can retrieve the information and display it on the car's eight-inch control screen immediately upon retrieving the car, or download it to a computer for later review.

You can picture it now: Valet returns your Vette, hands you the key, waits for a tip -- and you say, "Hold on, bud, until I check the recordings."

Or Junior brings home the high-power two-seater at 3 a.m. claiming he's been an angel behind the wheel. You slip out to the garage, fire up the data recorder -- which has tallied speed, cornering and braking forces, engine rpm -- switch on the video and audio, notice

the telephone polls seeming to fly past like a picket fence and hear the conversation with the nice police officer, and you start muttering, "Sure you were."

"Think of it as a baby monitor for your car," says Harlan Charles, Corvette product manager. "Anyone who has felt apprehension about handing over their keys will appreciate the peace of mind of knowing exactly what happened" while the new-design Corvette two-seater was in somebody else's hands.

Valet mode's always been on the new-design Corvette. And the Performance Data Recorder has been an option to let race track habitues record their laps and critique their performance -- or share some exciting video with friends.

But linking the two -- allowing the PDR to do its work when the car's in valet mode -- is new for 2015.

Activating the valet mode locks storage areas inside the car and disables the infotainment system. It doesn't do the obvious, though -- alter the performance of the car so the inexperienced youngster or the valet parking attendant can't be naughty in the first place.

The video portion of the PDR can be put to less-edgy uses, such as recording a drive through especially scenic terrain.