It had to happen eventually and what more obvious place than showy Las Vegas for the public to test new vehicles on an unimpeded road course or in the sand? GM is building two driving courses, one a high-performance loop and the other an off-road experience, adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip. The land for the facility will be leased by general motors from the Sahara Hotel & Casino.

GM will also be a marketing and advertising partner of the Las Vegas Monorail Company, including having the only brand presence at the hotel's monorail station.

Consumers will be able to drive either course in the company of a trained instructor. On the road circuit they'll have their choice of a Corvette; Pontiac GTO; 400-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V; Pontiac Solstice, Cadillac STS-V; and a Saab 9-3 convertible. Off-road they can choose a HUMMER H2, mid-size HUMMER H3, Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon Denali, Cadillac Escalade or Chevy Suburban.

GM insists there'll be no pressure to buy, just a chance to have fun in what it calls "a unique 'autotainment' experience." Meanwhile it is helping encourage use of public transit via the Monorail. Though I worry that all those would-be test drivers might suddenly decide to pursue a career as automobile journalists.