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Driving McLaren's Sports Car and 'The Best Corvette' at the M1 Concourse | AutoblogVR

There's nothing better than a track day. Great cars on a great track are always great fun. Recently, we had the opportunity to check out the new M1 Concourse in Pontiac, MI, with two of the coolest cars in the game; a McLaren 570S and a Corvette Grand Sport. Driving the 570S was Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore, and he didn't hold back. Getting behind the wheel of the McLaren, Greg explains that although this is McLaren's idea of a sports car, "it's all relative." Topping out at 204 miles per hour with 562 horsepower, there's no two ways about it: this thing is a monster. While the 570S was fantastic, we had another sports car we wanted to drive and editor-in-chief Mike Austin was just the man for the job. Enter the Corvette Grand Sport. Mike pushed all 460 horses of the 'Vette to the limit and came away impressed with the car, even calling it "the best Corvette." Comparing it to its more powerful sibling, the Z06, Mike goes so far as to say the Z06 has too much power, while the Grand Sport seems to be the third bear's bowl of porridge in the Corvette family... It's just right. We captured all the action of the day with 360° cameras so you can feel like you're right there in the car sitting shotgun with us! You can check out the McLaren and Corvette laps above, but the best way to view them is through the AutoblogVR app, where you can watch the videos on your VR headset or in a nice swivel-y office chair so you can take in the sights all around you. Each month, new episodes will launch on the AutoblogVR App. We'll be posting them here on Autoblog, but for the best experience, head over to the app, which you can download for free from the App store and Google Play. Be sure to try it with a cardboard viewer, too!

Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf sales show big drops in September

As most readers likely know, it's not just lower gas prices that are affecting plug-in vehicle sales. The two long-time sales leaders in the US - the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt - are getting long in the tooth. First introduced in late 2010, the vehicles have been updated here and there since then, but recent sales figures have been lagging behind where they were in 2014. This trend continued in September, with sales of both vehicles down in a big way compared to last year. Sales of Nissan Leaf totaled 1,247 for the month of September. This is down a whopping 56.7 percent from September 2014, but thankfully the year-to-date sales are not quite as negative. So far this year, Nissan has sold 13,630 Leafs, which is "just" 37.5 percent lower tan the YTD total at this point in 2014 (21,822). This decrease swims against the overall direction of Nissan's September sales, which were up 18 percent over last year and set a new September record. The Volt sold 949 units last month, down 31.9 percent from last September. Year to date, the Volt has sold 9,264 units, which is 36.3 percent lower than the number of Volts that were sold in the first nine months of 2014 (14,540). This downward trend might be coming to an end soon. The new Chevy Volt will go on sale in 11 US states later this fall, and the 2017 model will be available nationwide next spring. An updated Leaf for the 2016 model year also offers more miles – 107, vs 84 in the 2015 version – so potential customers who have been waiting for the latest and greatest will soon not have any excuses. We'll have our broader look at green car sales in the US up soon. Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid ev sales hybrid sales volt

MotorWeek Retro Review revisits 1984 Corvette

MotorWeek's Retro Reviews are always a great glimpse into the cars of yesteryear. However, the newly uploaded look back at the 1984 Chevrolet Corvette is an absolute treasure trove for any auto history buff. This is a full episode of the show from the '80s, and it's dedicated to all of the details about the newest 'Vette to hit the market at the time. Beyond just the usual drive and an in-depth walk around, one of the major highlights here is a brief look at some on the concepts that eventually resulted in the fourth-generation Corvette of 1984. The C4's shape harkens back to sketches from 1978, and there even shots of early clay models that led the way for the design. MotorWeek also takes a tour through the Bowling Green, KY, factory for a detailed inspection of the entire production process. John Davis repeatedly calls the Corvette "the plastic fantastic" during the episode, and he can't find too much negative to say about being behind the wheel of the then-new coupe. See how it stands up to your own memories in the clip above.