Welcome to our weekly round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam. Here’s what you missed while you were away. Elon Musk has hired that dude from the sheep Tweets The photo of the absolute unit shared on the museum’s Twitter page that started the exchange with Elon Musk. The MERL via Twitter Remember recently when Elon Musk traded Tweets including sheep photos and gifs with the Museum of English Rural Life in Berkshire, U.K.? Yeah, that happened. Musk was so impressed with the museum’s social media manager’s humorous social media management, that he’s hired the guy to work for Tesla. So if you want a job with Tesla, just send your application in Tweet form to @elonmusk, apparently. Volkswagen is bringing a new SUV, the Tarek, to North America Volkswagen is expanding its SUV offerings in North and South America with the addition of a compact SUV that’s already on roads elsewhere. It’s called the Tharu in China, but when it reaches Western shores it will be known as the Tarek, this according to details revealed by Volkswagen of Argentina. The small SUV will fit in beneath the Tiguan in Volkswagen’s SUV lineup. VW hasn’t revealed any of their other cards, including how similar the Tharu and Tarek will be in appearance and performance, but don’t worry, we’re staying tuned for you. Lowered VW owner says his Irish town’s speed bumps are ‘discrimination’ Christopher Fitzgibbon and his lowered VW Passat Michael Cowhey / SWNS via the Daily Mail But first, a poem: There once was a lad with a car that he lowered just a little too far so when it smashed a speed bump and he felt like a chump, he cried “I’m not paying, you are!” A 23-year-old man from Limerick, Ireland, who dished out $4,000 to have his Volkswagen Passat lowered down to four inches off the ground, and then damaged it to the tune of $3,400 by driving it over the speed bumps in town, is claiming the city has “discriminated” against him and should be footing the bill. “I feel discriminated against because I’m driving a modified car – it’s lowered, so it’s four inches off the road – and I’m being denied my right to drive on these roads,” he told the Daily Mail. Limerick city responded by pointing out that the speed bumps are in fact less than 75 mm or three inches tall.  All seven generations of the Chevrolet Corvette, ranked They were all great in their own way, but which was the best? Handout / GM In anticipation of the arrival of the C8, we’ve organized all seven gens of the Corvette from best to worst. Driving’s Vette-expert Clayton Seams puts the C5 generation (1997-2005) at the very bottom of the pile for having “the absolute worst interior of any Corvette” among other less redeemable qualities. Up in second place, he’s got the C3 (1968-1982), an undeniable ’70s sex symbol driven by the likes of the Apollo astronauts and Jimi Hendrix. Which Corvette takes the title of best of all time so far? Read on to find out. Couple out $14,500 after accidentally purchasing stolen vehicle that was covered by Manitoba Public Insurance 2015 Ford Explorer Limited Graeme Fletcher / Driving A couple that purchased a 2015 Ford Explorer from an independent seller, had it insured by Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI), and then drove it home, got an unpleasant surprise when police later showed up to seize the vehicle. The SUV was one of 13 vehicles taken from a Winnipeg used car dealership in what appears to be an inside job involving a former sales manager. The reason the Explorer didn’t raise red flags at the insurance desk is because the heist hadn’t been uncovered or reported to the police yet. For the couple, it unfortunately means they’re out $14,000 and a car. MPI says the funds can only be recuperated from the seller of the vehicle. Which is the superior luxury sport-ute, the 2019 BMW X5 or the 2019 Porsche Cayenne? 2019 Porsche Cayenne S vs. 2019 BMW X5 xDrive50i Nick Tragianis / Driving This week, our highly opinionated in-house experts Nick Tragianis and Brian Harper debate the merits and faults of the BMW X5 xDrive 50i and the Porsche Cayenne S with the aim of determining which is the better buy. On the one hand, the Cayenne is a more capable towing rig, and its back seat is roomier. On the other hand, the X5’s interior is utterly lavish, especially with the Premium Excellence package (yes, it’s really called that) providing features like cooled and massaging seats, leather everything and a crystal shift lever. Both SUVs have been refreshed for 2019, and both are plenty bling-y, but one is $20,000 cheaper. Canadians choose manual transmissions more often than Americans do There’s been a lot of news about the manual transmission lately. Brands are releasing their uptake numbers, purists are sobbing for the state of humanity, and we auto journalist are comparing any way we can. For
Origin: News Roundup: Elon hires sheep-tweet guy, VW imports an SUV and more