MAY 14, 2025

The original - and still our favorite - Autoextremist logo. 

The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG 

(Chevrolet images)

For the 2026 model year, the entire Corvette lineup — Stingray, E-Ray, Z06 and ZR1 — will feature a thoroughly reimagined cabin with larger and more advanced driver-centric displays and fresh interior colorways, finishes and materials. The cabin of the new 2026 Corvette features a new three-screen layout and reimagined console design. The updated driver-centric cockpit includes a larger 12.7-inch diagonal center console display, an expanded 14-inch diagonal driver information center, and an all-new 6.6-inch diagonal touchscreen auxiliary display to the left of the steering wheel. The center console has been reconfigured to place all crucial controls at the driver’s fingertips. For 2026, the drive mode selector has been redesigned and relocated in line with the gear selector. In its place, a new wireless phone charging pad is integrated below the infotainment system, with a cover to keep the phone in place. The volume knob remains a priority in the center console display and is now bigger and features a lit base for better visibility. The HVAC controls have been repositioned under the center display, creating a more open environment between driver and passenger and enabling space for an integrated passenger grab handle. The passenger side also adds a new USB-C2 port strategically placed below the grab handle. The redesigned cupholders include hand-wrapped inserts with ambient lighting, and feature the signature Corvette crossed flags at the bottom. In 2LT/2LZ and 3LT/3LZ trims, the cupholders are highlighted with real aluminum. Standard on ZR1 and available on E-Ray and Z06, a new carbon fiber display hood over the driver information center screen enables further customization and ties into carbon fiber options already offered on Corvette.

The AE Song of the Week

Yeah unh
Get up ow!
Ow!
Knock me out, dead
Woo!

Superhighways, coast to coast, easy to get anywhere
On the transcontinental overload, just slide behind the wheel
How does it feel when there's no destination that's too far?
And somewhere on the way you might find out who you are, ooo

Living in America
Eye to eye, station to station
Living in America
Hand in hand, across the nation
Living in America
I got to have a celebration, rock my soul, huh, aw, huh

Smokestack, fatback, many miles of railroad track
All night radio keep on runnin' through your rock 'n' roll soul
All night diners keep you awake on black coffee and a hard roll, woo
You might have to walk a fine line, say it, you might take a hard line
But everybody's workin' overtime

Living in America, unh
Eye to eye, station to station
Living in America
Hand in hand, across the nation
Living in America
I got to have a celebration, oh

I live in America
Said, I live in America
Wait a minute

You may not be lookin' for the promised land
But you might find it anyway
Under one of those old familiar names like
New Orleans, Detroit City, Dallas
Pittsburgh P.A, New York City
Kansas City, Atlanta, Chicago and L. A.

Living in America
Hit me
Living in America, yeah
Living in America

I live in America
Not yet
I live in America, hey I know what it means, I

Living in America
Eddie Murphy eat your heart out
To the bridge, eh

Living in America
Hit me, I said now, eye to eye, station to station
Living in America
Oh, so nice with your bad self
Living in America
Whoah, I feel good

"Living In America" as performed by James Brown from the album "Gravity" (1985).* Written by Charlie Midnight and Dan Hartman. Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the memorable video from "Rocky 4" here.

*This was written by Dan Hartman ("I Can Dream About You") and Charles Midnight. It was recorded by James Brown at the request of Sly Stallone for his film Rocky IV. Jim Peterik, who wrote "Eye Of The Tiger" for Rocky III and "Burning Heart" for Rocky IV, told us that Stallone was exceptional when it came to reinventing himself for a new audience and had a great sense for how to use music in his films. Stallone could also be very convincing, and was able to put Brown in a position he wasn't familiar with - singing someone else's song in a mainstream movie. The move paid off for Brown, who hadn't charted on the Hot 100 since 1976. "Living In America" became one of his biggest hits and introduced him to a new generation. The movie Rocky IV was over-the-top in its jingoism, as the boxer Rocky fights the evil Russian, Drago. In 1985, the cold war was at a peak, and the underdog Rocky played very well with an American audience. James Brown was used effectively in this context, as this song was used early in the film before American boxer Apollo Creed is killed by Drago in the ring. The song won the 1986 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance. In the years after this song was released, Brown's music became the basis for hundreds of hip-hop tracks that sampled him without his consent. It was the fresh new sound, but Brown felt ripped off. His 1988 album I'm Real both blasted hip-hop and incorporated it, especially the title track. It was his last his last studio album to chart in America (#96), but once the legal issues were worked out, he got paid for all those samples and claimed his place as a forebear of the genre. In 1986, Weird Al Yankovic recorded a parody of this entitled "Living with a Hernia." The original line "got to have a celebration" is replaced with "got to have an operation."The horns were supplied by The Uptown Horns, a New York section that backed the J. Geils Band on their Freeze Frame album and played on "Love Shack" by The B-52s. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG