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Why the Corvette is Chevrolet's billion-dollar baby

Edmunds has worked up a piece that tries to figure out just how much the global Chevrolet Corvette economy is worth, a spitballed guesstimate putting the number at more than $2.5 billion with the proviso that the number is probably low. It starts by taking Corvette's new car sales of 14,132 units last year, which would equate to $714,725,900 (including destination) assuming ever car sold was a base coupe with no options. In the final tally, a little extra padding gets that number up to $750,000,000.
But that's not all. Consider this: Many of the almost 1.4 million Corvettes produced over the model's history are still on the road. There are new parts being produced and aftermarket companies like Mid-America Motorworks deaing business, that single Illinois company doing more than $40 million a year in sales. There are the Corvette events large and small, restorers who do nothing but Corvettes, salvage yards that deal only in used Corvette parts and the Corvette magazines where owners find all this stuff.
And then there are the Corvette-themed tchotchkes, every single one of which provides a tiny contribution to the huge licensing royalties that General Motors collects every year. The article admits there's no way to come to an accurate number, but it just goes to show how valuable one specific model can be to a company.

Race Recap: 2013 Indianapolis 500 better than Bollywood; all the emotion, none of the music [spoilers]

If the 2013 Indy 500 were a movie it would be the one expected to win all the little statues come awards season, and if it were an athlete it would have made spectators watch in awe as it broke record after record. And this kind of talk comes after last year's race was considered one of the best ever - the last lap hijinks in 2012 and Takuma Sato's crash leading to a podium ceremony straight out of a Golden Globes tearjerker.
But this year's race delivered more than anyone expected, from the 250,000 fans to the commentators to the IndyCar series itself and, finally, to the guy who hopped through a two-mile window on Lap 197 to take the lead and keep it until the end.

Pushing Back: GM expanding Chevrolet into Korea, Daewoo out

Chevrolet Camaro goes to South Korea - Click above for high-res image
General Motors decided several years ago to begin heavily promoting Chevrolet as its global mainstream brand even in markets where its existing brands like Opel and Daewoo were a dominant force. Today, at the Busan Motor Show in South Korea, GM Daewoo president Mike Arcamone announced that the Camaro would lead the way in GM's efforts to market Chevrolet in South Korea.
For now at least Chevrolet and Daewoo-branded vehicles will coexist in the Korean market. However, while we were in China last week GM officials told us that the Daewoo brand, which has been somewhat tainted by past quality issues, would eventually be phased out in favor of Chevrolet. When the new Aveo launches next year it will likely be badged as a Chevrolet even though GM Daewoo is in charge of engineering the car.