Car News In the Rearview: Fiat-Chrysler Is Up Emissions Creek Without a Paddle
Hello and welcome once more to In the Rearview, where I bring you a recap of the past week’s top automotive news, seasoned liberally with my own uppity quips.
Wow, Nice: Ever wonder just how many awards Mazda has won?
First up this week, Australia’s ANCAP acted out Nissan’s dream and crashed some Toyota Corollas into each other. This was actually a demonstration of just how good at safety technology we are now, and just how dead you would be in a crash in a ’90s Corolla. Spoiler alert: super dead.
Speaking of suspect safety technology, we take a bit of a look back at the technology of yesteryear, when back in the ’30s, Popular Mechanics featured a product that would keep dog hair off of your car seats – by strapping that yap factory to the side in a canvas bag. Clearly, “animal cruelty” was not something that weighed heavily on the mind in 1935.
On a brighter note, if you like electric cars, then humanity may finally have found the holy grail of EV acceptance: batteries that recharge to full in the same time as a gas fill-up. This tech comes from an Israeli startup, and while my jaded mind tells me to be skeptical until I see it in a real car, my heart holds a little flame of hope.
Ah, Some Day: Check out this automotive object of desire
In motorsports, Formula 1 has also been innovating, as the relaxing of modification regulations for this year has led to aerodynamic changes (read: more wings than a sports bar). Three teams suddenly revealed these changes ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend.
Then, we’ve been kicking around a question about new drivers: “Would it be a good idea to raise the driving age?” The article itself goes more in depth, but I say no – older drivers don’t make for safer drivers. Heck, I started when I was 18, and I almost immediately popped my dad’s headlight on some guy’s bumper and snapped the turn signal.
Finally, Fiat-Chrysler has been swimming upstream against a tide of sewage this week, because not only did the company have to issue a recall of 1.25 million Ram trucks due to safety systems deactivating if there was enough underbody damage in a wreck, but the company is also the subject of the European Union suing Italy over FCA’s possible emissions test cheating, and may shortly be facing a more direct lawsuit from the US Department of Justice for emissions test cheating. I bet this really will ruin Sergio’s chances of getting GM to merge with FCA.
The News Wheel is a digital auto magazine providing readers with a fresh perspective on the latest car news. We’re located in the heart of America (Dayton, Ohio) and our goal is to deliver an entertaining and informative perspective on what’s trending in the automotive world. See more articles from The News Wheel.