New cars offer parental controls over teen driving

New technology may offer parents peace of mind when putting their teens behind the wheel.

The new Chevy Malibu will be the first General Motors vehicle with an optional system made specifically for teen drivers. The model arrives late this year.

"It allows parents to first set parameters in the car and then monitor to see how their kids obey and behave," said Shad Balch, a spokesman for Chevrolet.

When in teen driver mode, the radio won't play until all seatbelts are buckled, the volume is limited and top speeds are capped.

Ford actually got a jump on the teen driving issue with its MyKey system five years ago. Parents are able to give teens the special key for a car that automatically turns on in restricted mode.

Ford says they put 9 million cars on the road with the MyKey system.

The General Motors system is similar, but goes further by recording when safety systems are activated and then issuing a report card.

"The parent gets to see exactly how their teen drove and see if they broke any rules," Balch said.

But what about adding other monitoring devices?

For example, the new Chevy Corvette can record video of what's going on when someone else is in the car.

"I'm not sure we'd be able to sell cars to teens at that point!" Balch said.

Teens may not get revved up about the new features, but, for parents, the technology could be a must-have item.