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Corvette's 'valet mode' is illegal depending on where you live
When we took the Corvette Performance Data Recorder for a spin at CES this year we'd never have guessed that the system could cause a run-in with Johnny Law. As it turns out, the system's audio recording feature that activates when the car's put into valet mode doesn't jive with privacy statutes in a handful of states. In fact, using it could be a felony depending where you live. Chevrolet, for its part, is apparently attempting to skirt any legal issues that may arise by notifying dealerships and giving them letters to pass out to customers. The correspondence alerts owners about the possible privacy issue, as noticed by Jalopnik when a sample was posted to Corvette Forum.
The 2015 Corvette has a video recording of everything the valet did in your car
The human body undergoes some weird physical changes when it hands the keys to a shiny new car to someone else; the pulse quickens, the throat dries out and the palms get unnaturally clammy. If that shiny new car happens to be a Corvette, though, the human body may be able to worry a little less - Chevy kitted the 2015 model out with a Valet Mode to help you lock down your ride when you're not the one driving it. Once you key in your code and fire up Valet Mode (introduced in 2014), the system springs into action: the glovebox and the storage bin in the center console automatically lock themselves and the infotainment system gets disabled completely. There's something new this year though: using the Performance Data Recorder tech, a built-in camera films where the car goes (complete with vehicle data like speed and engine RPM) while a microphone records what's going on inside the cabin. Sure, using the feature may speak to an intense distrust of your fellow man (if you've seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off), but really now -- what have those randoms done to earn your trust in the first place?
