Every generation of Chevrolet Corvette since 1953 has offered a convertible version, and the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray will not veer from history. What's more surprising is that the first supposed images of the droptop Vette appeared online about 72 hours after the car was revealed. Now the debate rages: Is it the real life, or is it just fantasy?

A full one-fourth of Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans roll off the dealer's lot with an all-wheel-drive system, allowing customers in colder climes to enjoy powerful American muscle year-round. But would the extra fuss and weight of a spare driveline neuter America's most popular large, rear-wheel-drive sedans? Chrysler invited me to northern Michigan, where there's still enough snow on the ground, to find out.

Like finding a $20 bill in your pants that you'd thrown into the laundry, Honda pulled out a new concept today well after the Detroit auto show has wrapped up. Called the Honda Gear, the design by Honda's U.S. studios aimed for a fun subcompact, and while the press release talks of the car being inspired by fixed-gear bicycles, there's no other details about what would make this car popular around the food co-ops of Park Slope, Brooklyn. It's a shame, because from what I can see the Gear looks like a sharper take on subcompacts than most of what's available today, and its grille recalls the great mini Hondas of the 1970s. Look for it at today's Montreal Auto Show.

As much as I enjoy my chosen trade, every so often it does produce a public display of scuzzballs. A perfect example can now be found on eBay, where no fewer than ten press kits from the reveal of the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray on Sunday are up for auction.

Aside from the Stingray-shaped paperweight thing and pictures inside, the shoebox-sized kit has some value to Vette enthusiasts; a special limited edition kit by Chevrolet sold in a charity auction for $4,300 on Wednesday. The ten up for sale have bids ranging above $300, which seems like a lot for a cardboard box, foam and USB drive.

The legend goes that Harley Earl, General Motors' chief designer, had the idea for a true American sports car after going to the races at Watkins Glen, N.Y., and seeing a field full of European iron. An advertising assistant, Myron Scott, had the masterstroke of giving the convertible concept a name that "reflected the excitement of a fast World War II war ship named Corvette." When it was introduced on this date in 1953 at the GM Motorama show in New York, the Covette concept was a hit; yet by the end of 1954, GM would be on the verge of killing the car, after a botched launch with underpowered models left sales far below targets. It was up to a young GM engineer, one Zora Arkus-Duntov, to show GM what the Corvette needed to stand for. His letter saved the Vette, and remains the best understanding of why it survives today:

Seldom was heard a discouraging word at this year's Detroit auto show, what with every major global automaker generating solid profits and a forecast for 2013 of an additional 1 million new cars and trucks to sell in the United States. While the new Corvette dominated the headlines, there was more than two dozen new concepts and production vehicles unwrapped, most to good reviews. Yet away from the smoke machines and Cirque du Soleil performances, not every new model stood up to close scrutiny. Here's what we took away as the best and the rest.

One guy in the automotive industry deserving of a pay rise – or at least a beer – is Kia (and Hyundai’s) chief designer Peter Schreyer. He was tasked with the seemingly impossible job of transforming South Korean cars from cookie-cutter imitations into something sleek, sexy and appealing to a worldwide audience. With the success of Kia’s Optima SXL, the way was paved to enter a more premium segment. The car they chose to do it with is the Cadenza.

Usually when an automaker presents multiple models at an auto show, the higher profile car takes center stage, and attendees who come early sit up front for the best seats in the house. But Acura curiously pulled a switcharoo, causing confusion as the company's showstopping Acura NSX concept was unveiled off to the very rear (to the delight of the latecomers) as almost as a side note. In front of them lay the still-shrouded MDX concept, but at that point the SUV seemed irrelevant—even though Acura marketing chief Mike Accavitti futilely insisted it was "the star of the show." I quickly ditched my spot near the main stage and went to the NSX, never looking back.