A fiery crash that killed two California teens is being blamed on batteries, according to multiple lawsuits from the victims families.James B. Riley, the father of the driver, is now suing Tesla for the crash, which the lawsuit alleges should have been entirely survivable, according to the Detroit Free Press.In May of 2018, Barrett Riley and his friend Edgar Monserratt died after he lost control of his fathers Tesla Model S at 187 km/h. Another friend was thrown from the car and survived.The family of Edgar Monserratt had already filed a similar lawsuit against Tesla in January. Both of the suits blame the cars lithium-Ion battery pack for the occupants deaths, since it exploded upon impact with the brick wall. They said and wrote and published that they were going to compensate by putting this fireproofing material in but they never put the fireproofing material in, Riley said. Tesla intentionally removed safety features that engineers intentionally put in those (battery) cells to protect property and protect life.The vehicle originally had a speed limiter installed after Barrett got a speeding ticket for doing 177 km/h. The lawsuit also says the accident occurred because the speed limiter was removed without their consent or permission.According to a statement from Tesla issued earlier this year about the accident, no car could have withstood a high-speed crash of this kind. According to the Rileys, Barrett was uninjured due to the crash, and it was the fire that ensued that killed
Origin: Father sues Tesla, saying son’s fatal fiery crash should have been survivable
should
Quebec Road Rage video on Facebook: They should have called the police…
A video of a severe instance of road rage sparked between two Quebec drivers last weekend was captured on video and is now going viral on Facebook.Last Saturday afternoon, while traveling on the A-40 through LAssomption in Lanaudire, passenger James McKinnel spied some dangerous driving and got out his phone to record what was happening.In those 60 seconds, punctuated by cries of Les esties de jambons! The f**$ing hams! viewers can witness a white Volkswagen Jetta and a black BMW X3 engaged in some reckless manoeuvers on the traffic-dense highway.The video hit the news and found its way to the Sret du Qubec communications office. But it was nothing new, there. Spokesperson Capitaine Paul Leduc says every week the provincial police receive at least one video, if not two or three, involving reckless driving.In Quebec, said offense is subject not only to a $1,500 minimum fine and up to 20 demerits points enough to lose your drivers license but is also subject to criminal sanctions.If that road rage case would have caused a fatal accident and this one was very near to becoming a multiple-collision, says Capitaine Leduc these drivers might have been kept off the streets for a while, and faced up to 10 years of imprisonment.But although theres video proof of these actions and the license plates are easily recognizable, Sret du Qubec cant pursue the file. Without a confirmation of who was behind the steering wheel at the time the owner? Their kids? A thief? it cant investigate, nor send a summation. It means last weekends road rage video will go nowhere, besides on your relatives Facebook Wall unless the amateur cineaste lodges an official complaint and is willing to testify in court about what he witnessed.Only then would police officers have several means to catch these offenders, starting with images from surveillance cameras. In extreme situations, a reconstruction team could be called in to prove, for example, that this or that vehicle was traveling at such and such speed.When you see something like this, call the police. Dial 911 or *4141 and give us the details, emphasize Capitaine Leduc. At this point, we would have sent a patrol car and we would have asked Transports Quebec to turn its cameras toward the action. And believe me, there are a lot of those cameras in Montreals highway belt. We would have been able to collect videos needed for legal proceedings.There is one caveat, of course. Dont put yourself at risk, says Capitaine Leduc. We dont want you to cause an accident while trying to avoid another
Origin: Quebec Road Rage video on Facebook: They should have called the police…
At these “realistic” dates, Quebec motorists should be driving on winter tires
October is LGBT History month, as well as, internationally, Breast Cancer Awareness month and, in Canada, Autism Awareness month. The second-last week of October is Canadian Waste Reduction Week. And this Friday, October 4 is World Smile Day.If CAA-Quebec get its way, Canadians in one province will celebrate another special week at the very start of October its lobbying to declare those seven days Quebecs official Winter Tire Appointment Week.Really? Yes, really, came the reply from the Canadian Automobile Associations Quebec division. Between the labor shortage and the new earlier legal deadline for winter tires (December 1), theres likely to be a mad rush on garages that do tire changes, the organization recently wrote. So the smart thing to do is to take care of it now!CAA-Quebec is not saying motorists should swap their summer rubbers for a set of winter tires right this minute. No, its just telling the owners of the provinces 5.2 million passenger vehicles that now is better than later to book a rendezvous with their mechanic shop. So when specifically should you book that appointment for? We asked The Weather Network and its meteorologist Andr Monette was able to provide realistic dates when drivers in Canadian major cities should make their summer-to-winter tires swap (i.e. when the average temperature drop below the magic 7 C).QuebecKuujjuaq: September 25 Sept-Îles: October 20 Val-d’Or and Saguenay: October 25 Rimouski and Gaspé: October 30 Quebec City, Gatineau and Sherbrooke: November 5 Montreal: November 10 Maritimes and LabradorSaint-Jean: November 7 Fredericton: November 9 Charlottetown: November 10 Moncton: November 10 Sydney: November 12 Halifax: November 12 Goose Bay: October 14 OntarioTimmins: October 26 Thunder Bay: November 1 Sudbury: November 2 Ottawa: November 9 Kingston: November 11 Toronto: November 15 Windsor: November 21 West and PrairiesChurchill: September 24 Yellowknife: September 27 Whitehorse: October 9 Saskatoon: October 27 Edmonton: October 28 Regina: October 29 Winnipeg: October 30 Kelowna: November 9 Prince Rupert: November 16 Vancouver: December 11 Victoria: December 17 Youre already too late if your hometown is Kuujjuaq, but know that for Montreal, November 10 is halfway between the average date of the first snowfall (October 28) and that of the first real accumulation of 5 cm or more (December 3), says CAA-Quebec.Oh, for those who think the first snowfall determines the right time to swap, heres a little news for you: the temperature actually determines when, and the magic number is 7 C.Heres why: Summer or four-season tires start to harden and gradually lose their grip when the mercury drops below 7 C, says Pierre-Serge Labb, CAA-Quebec Vice-President, Automotive Services. These realistic dates, proposed in consultation with The Weather Network, are the dates when the average daily high is below 7 C for each region in Quebec.But remember this: Because those dates are an average, they are the latest you should wait to install your winter rubbers. And now that the summers heat is no longer threatening our costly winter tires, theres no harm in trading them a few weeks earlier.Ask Calgary, just for fun, if there’s a too-soon moment to have winter tires on your
Origin: At these “realistic” dates, Quebec motorists should be driving on winter tires
Hemi V8 or Ecodiesel? Which Ram 1500 engine should you choose?
2019 Laramie Longhorn 4×4 Crew CabDerek McNaughton Many parents before me, and many parents to come, will make the trip the one where mom and dad pack up son or daughter and ferry him or her off to university, setting the kid up in an overpriced student hovel where, the hope is, these young adults become self sufficient enough to soar on their own. And for a lot of parents, that journey involves a long drive.Last year, we made this very trip from Ottawa to Halifax in an F-150 diesel, discovering the joys of great fuel economy that underlined the value of a diesel underhood, even if it does initially cost more to option a pickup with diesel. This year, having just driven Ram’s new EcoDiesel in the 2020 Ram 1500, it seemed obvious to compare Rams diesel with Fords on our same (and final) odyssey from Ottawa to Halifax and back this year, a distance of roughly 3,000 kilometres to drop the young lad at school.But because the new EcoDiesel is only now coming to market, the diesel was not yet available, so instead we chose to see how much different a long trip like this would be with a gasoline engine designed around fuel efficiency. With Ram promising a 10 per-cent improvement on its 5.7-litre Hemi, and bragging it has the most efficient gasoline V8 in the segment, could a gasoline engine equipped with eTorque, aero mode and cylinder deactivation come remotely close to its EcoDiesel alternative? If so, which engine would be the better choice when buying a new Ram, the EcoDiesel or the Hemi? The truck that FCA supplied was no regular Ram 1500. This was a 2019 Laramie Longhorn 44 Crew Cab equipped with air suspension, 12-inch uconnect system, drivers assistance package, 22-inch wheels, Ramboxes, panoramic roof along, 124-litre tank and a bunch of other options to sticker at $86,500 before fees. In other words, about as loaded as they come, and, yes, expensive, but in line with the many other expensive trucks from Ford and GM. And to be sure, the truck was stunning to look at, positively gorgeous inside, an utterly pleasing and rewarding truck to drive in so many ways (the glitchy navigation system notwithstanding.)So how thirsty was the eTorque gas engine? From full, the range to empty on the big tank (a $445 option) showed 956 km to empty pretty close to the roughly 1,000 km usually afforded by a diesel. On the trip out to Halifax from Ottawa, with a payload of about 400 kilograms consisting of my sons life possessions, including a big, fold-out couch, and with a constant speed ranging from 120 km/h to 125 km/h through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia where the speed limit is a more sensible 110 km/h, we averaged 10.9 to 12.9 L/100 km over 1,459 kilometres that took 13.5 hours to complete. On the way back, without a payload and one less person, we scored 11.6 over the 12 hours and 54 minutes it took to travel 1,451 kilometres. The onboard computer for the entire 3,023-kilometre trip registered 11.5.The diesel certainly costs more up front, but it brings more torque. Last year, in Fords F-150 diesel, we averaged 9.9 L/100 kilometres over the course of that same long, east coast trip to Dalhousie. Rams new EcoDiesel is not yet rated, but promises to be better than the last generation engine that averaged 8.8 L/100 km highway and 10.8 overall.That, therefore, makes the 5.7-litre Hemi only 1.6 L/100 km worse in fuel consumption over the Ford diesel, and 2.7 L/100 km poorer over the old Ram EcoDiesel, but likely to be 3.0 L worse off when the rating becomes official for the new EcoDiesel engine with 480 pound-feet of torque.Thats a fuel margin far closer than we thought possible in a gasoline V8 with 395 horsepower and 410 lb.-ft. of torque. Had we stuck closer to 100 km/h, the results would have been even better, closer to the diesel. Score one for the Hemi. Both there and back, we only stopped once for fuel, with a final fuel bill from full-on-departure to full-on-return totalling $478. Gasoline ranged from $1.11 to $1.20 / litre (but diesel was about 10 cents a litre more in Ontario, and on par in Halifax). In the diesel last year, we spent $450 (with diesel ranging from $1.21 to $1.39 per litre back then.) The Hemis Eco mode, which shuts down four cylinders when all eight are not required, definitely helped to make some of the gains, with Eco able to maintain operation even at 110-120 km/h, as long as the road was flat. The trucks aero mode also helped, lowering the truck slightly via the air suspension to improve aerodynamics. Eco mode does give off a strange exhaust note when the engine is forced to run on half of its cylinders, however, and makes the 5.7 Hemi feel far less smooth when its operating, partly because in normal mode, the 5.7 is fabulously silky. Noise cancelling features have been added to eliminate the gruffness of the four-cylinder Eco mode, but some coarseness is still detectable when the switch occurs, especially so when windows are open. Eco can, however, be
Origin: Hemi V8 or Ecodiesel? Which Ram 1500 engine should you choose?
Should e-scooters stay on roads or sidewalks? Calgary, Edmonton pick opposite sides
The e-Scooter program is causing some concerns for motorists and pedestrians in Calgary on Monday, July 29, 2019.Darren Makowichuk / Calgary Herald As the e-scooter craze continues to grip the world, Calgarians have proven they are not immune to the novelty, racking up 300,000 rides since the 16-month pilot project started mid-July.The City of Edmonton, whose own year-long pilot project started last Friday, doesnt have the total number of rides so far but like in Calgary, Lime and Bird are the only two e-scooter vendors.The regulations in each city, however, are vastly different in one specific way: Calgary riders are allowed on sidewalks but prohibited on roads, whereas Edmonton riders are allowed on roads but prohibited on sidewalks.Neither city requires riders to wear helmets when operating the e-scooters and both are allowed in bike lanes. Both cities have capped the scooters speed at 20 km/h.There are currently 1,000 Lime scooters and 500 Bird scooters in Calgary and 200 Lime and 400 Bird scooters in Edmonton.Alberta Health Services said there have been no reported injuries from e-scooters in Edmonton since they were introduced on August 16 and 17. Calgary has seen 200 e-scooter related injuries since their introduction.Nathan Carswell, Calgarys shared mobility program manager, said there have been 185 calls made to the 311 line, and about 70 per cent of them are negative.Allowing sidewalk riding is probably our top complaint, he said. In saying that, its usually people who feel like a scooter sped by them without alerting them and then it evens out below that from people concerned about the speed to improperly parked scooters and general feedback. A Lime e-scooter rider commutes on Riverwalk in Calgary on Monday, July 29, 2019. Azin Ghaffari / Postmedia A spokesman for the City of Edmonton said its decision to allow scooters on roadways with a maximum speed limit of 50 km/h followed a review of collision data and e-scooter projects in other cities.They ensure people with scooters could still have easy access around Edmonton, the province of Alberta mandated e-scooters could be on roads provided they had a headlamp, tail lamp, a rear reflector, a working handbrake and a kickstand, a spokesman said, adding 80 to 90 per cent of Edmontons roads have a speed limit up to 50 km/h.The City of Calgary worked with existing bylaws to expedite the scooter rollout process, Carswell said, whereas Edmonton took its time to create the bylaws that will govern e-scooter use in that city.Im not trying to say one is doing it right and the other is not, I think thats the beauty of having these controlled pilots is that each citys approaching it how they feel most comfortable, he said. We can look at whats worked in Edmonton and Calgary and whats not and work with the province in the long run to regulate and ensure these devices are considered as part of a new transportation option and done the right way.When the snow flies in Calgary, or sometime around the first of November, both companies will be taking the scooters to their local warehouses until weather improves in the spring to bring them back.Carswell said its during this off-season that the city will look at how the project is going, whats working and what could be improved.The purpose of the pilot is to make some tweaks and monitor the project well look at what people are saying, what kind of ability do we have with the companies to curb this a little better, he said. Once we have a better data set and understanding, we can see what the trend
Origin: Should e-scooters stay on roads or sidewalks? Calgary, Edmonton pick opposite sides
Road to regret: the cars we should have kept
Like keen fishermen, Autocar’s writers are often spinning yarns about “the ones that got away”, but they’re not talking about elusive carp. If you’ve been lucky enough to own one of your dream cars, you might be familiar with longing for a machine you once owned. Whether through financial necessity, profit-hunting or just poor decision-making, these are the much-missed motors we let go. Subaru Impreza WRX My dark blue ‘bug-eye’ 2001 WRX stayed only a year, and that pains me. I bought it for three grand in 2011 and sold it for half that. You’d pay a bit more today, but finding a car like mine would be tricky: it was as discreet as a WRX could be and mechanically just as Fuji Heavy Industries had intended. Aside from its over-light steering, it did much of what a Lancia Delta Integrale Evo could do – accelerate, grip, turn and soak up B-roads with ease – with the significant advantages of feeling rock solid and costing buttons. Proof that beauty is skin deep. Richard Webber Triumph TR2 Special Ideally I’d have kept every car and bike I’ve owned, but selling them on has let me afford the next one, so I’ve no real regrets. Well, maybe one. Two. Three at a push. I do miss a Triumph TR2 Special (pictured), which was beautifully crafted, looked like a 1930s racing car, drove quite endearingly and was a one-off, so I won’t find another. It now lives in Germany. But if I’d kept everything I wouldn’t now have a Honda Africa Twin, which, in a ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ way, I’m bonding with immensely. I’ll never sell it Matt Prior Porsche 911 S I’m probably the only person on the planet who sold a classic Porsche 911 and doesn’t like talking about it. With fantastic timing I managed to sell our 1970 911 S just before prices went crazy. Okay, mine wasn’t a perfect example by any means, but values went so high that it would have been worth investing a bit of money on sprucing it up. Doing that and then selling it on would have paid off our mortgage. But never mind. We did 67,000 miles in it, which included a drive to Sicily and back for our honeymoon. Colin Goodwin Nissan Micra Hard to believe a 1.0-litre Nissan Micra Mk2 could make the cut, but when you’ve put blood, sweat and tears (all literal, alas) into turning granny’s shopping car into a rally weapon (all exaggeration, alas), you grow quite fond it of it. All but the welding work was done my myself and mates, from swapping the shocks for Bilstein competition units to various safety upgrades and stripping out as much weight as humanly possible. The car cost £500 and the kit to make it eligible for the Formula 1000 (as in 1000cc – this was a 50bhp beast) Rally Championship another £1000 or so. I do have to admit, however, that the majority of the car you see here wasn’t the one I sold: an unfortunate roll wrote off most of this red devil, necessitating another shell… Jim Holder Jaguar XJS V12 HE I’ve never been a total fan of the XJS, which drives too much like a saloon, but its combination of velvet manners, extraordinary styling (and ever more so with time) and V12 power tempted me to buy a chestnut metallic 19,000-miler in 2007. I put 7000 totally reliable miles on it in nine years and only sold it because of a tax bill. I’ve regretted it ever since. The car’s amazingly original rust-free condition would be hard to repeat and I even liked its oh-so-’80s brown paint, despite my wife’s unprintably disparaging description of the hue. My regret led to some auction bidding for another later, but prices have risen substantially since my foolish sale. Richard Bremner Porsche 911 RS Carrera ‘It’ was a 1995 Porsche 911 RS Carrera. The 993-generation car. Rarer than a Ferrari F40 and probably the best air-cooled 911 of all to drive. I bought it in the early part of this century when such cars were cheap and sold it after two years to buy an old Chevy Camaro race car. It took two seasons of racing for the Camaro to run me out of money, so then I had no Porsche and no racing. Not good. But nothing like as bad as what happened to 993 RS prices after I sold: today my car would be worth at least £200,000. I’m too ashamed to admit in print what I sold it for back then. Andrew Frankel Volkswagen Golf GTI Obviously I should have kept them all. Life happens, though, and with the arrival of our daughter we needed a big, safe second-hand Saab 9000. The 1984 Volkswagen Golf GTI I’d had for almost 10 years had done so many miles, the odometer had gone on strike. It was only an eight-valve and there was no power steering, but it was a truly wonderful way to travel. I got about £800 cash for it, which was pretty good for a tired hot hatch, which is all it was. But it was an iconic one, too, which paid for a cot and lots of nappies. James Ruppert Peugeot 205 GTi After lots of bangers, the first nice car I ever owned was a 1988 1.6-litre 205 GTi, bought for the princely sum of £2500. It gave me 20,000
Origin: Road to regret: the cars we should have kept
Rapid EV chargers should have card payment by 2020 says OLEV
Rapid EV chargers should have card payment by 2020 says OLEV Rapid units should have easier access from next year By Spring 2020, all new rapid EV charge points should offer card payment access for pay-as-you-go usage, as part of the UK Government’s Road to Zero strategy. As part of a roaming solution to allow easier access to EV chargers, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles is encouraging the use of bank card compatibility, to enable EV drivers to use the units without first needing to register with a card or app. The majority of charge points are likely to offer contactless bank card access, allowing drivers to ues and pay for the charge point as they would pay for shopping at a supermarket for example. It brings the process in line with how drivers fill up at a petrol station, with no need for them to sign up with oil companies first. It is a common complaint amongst both those that drive electric vehicles, and those that have looked into buying one, that access to UK charging infrastructure is a limiting factor in EV uptake. Future of Mobility Minister, Michael Ellis, said: “The government’s vision is for the UK to have one of the best electric vehicle charging networks in the world, but we know the variety of payment methods at the moment is a source of frustration for drivers. “It is crucial there are easy payment methods available to improve electric vehicle drivers’ experiences and give drivers choice. This will help even more people enjoy the benefits electric vehicles bring and speed up our journey to a zero-emission future. Business and Industry Minister Andrew Stephenson said: “Initiatives like this are essential as we move towards a net zero economy, making it easier than ever for people to own and use electric vehicles. “Investing in batteries, technology and infrastructure through our modern Industrial Strategy and Faraday battery challenge will ensure the UK leads the world in the global transition away from fossil fuels while supporting the future of our automotive industry.” The announcement comes on the same day as Polar revealed it is adding contactless bank card payment to all new rapid and ultra-rapid chargers going forward, plus retro-fitting existing rapids with the technology. Some networks, including InstaVolt and Engenie, already offer contactless bank card payment on all their rapid charge points.
Origin: Rapid EV chargers should have card payment by 2020 says OLEV
Electric vehicle chargepoints should offer card payment by 2020
All new public charging points should offer contactless payment via credit or debit card by spring next year, the Government has stipulated, as it seeks to address a key issue surrounding electric-vehicle usage. While the requirement is not mandatory, the Government announced today that it “expects industry to develop a roaming solution across the charging network, allowing electric vehicle drivers to use any public chargepoint through a single payment method without needing multiple smartphone apps or membership cards”. It added that if the market is too slow to deliver improvements across the (charging point) network, it is “prepared to intervene to ensure a good deal for consumers by using powers in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act”. With more than 50 charging point providers in the UK, the variety of payment methods required to be able to use a range of charging points has become a major source of frustration for EV drivers. The announcement comes as BP Chargemaster, operator of one of the UK’s largest public charging networks, published plans to introduce contactless card payment to all new 50kW and 150kW chargers. It will also retrofit existing rapid chargers over the next 12 months. However, the firm stated that contactless payment would be for “occasional users” to its charging points, and added that it will “continue to lead with its Polar Plus subscription” service. A BP Chargemaster spokesman told Autocar: “The benefit of contactless payment will mostly be realised by those charging infrequently, who may not have used our network before. Today, the majority of usage on our network is from subscribers, and that market will grow with higher utilisation from fleets and businesses, particularly with the introduction of the BP Fuel Charge card – the UK’s first combined fuel card for liquid fuels and EV charging.” When asked about the comparative costs of contactless payment versus a subscription, he said: “The Polar Plus subscription costs £7.85 per month (with three months free for new users), with the benefits being a usage tariff that is half the price of using contactless, as well as RFID card access, which remains the quickest way to activate a charge point on our network.” The Government’s announcement did not mention pricing or its expectations regarding contactless payments costing the same as existing offerings. Future of Mobility Minister, Michael Ellis, commented: “It is crucial there are easy payment methods available to improve electric vehicle drivers’ experiences and give drivers choice. This will help even more people enjoy the benefits electric vehicles bring and speed up our journey to a zero-emission
Origin: Electric vehicle chargepoints should offer card payment by 2020
BMW grille debate should focus on 7 Series, says design director
Debate over BMW’s ‘over-sized’ grille design should be focused on the BMW 7 Series alone, according to the group’s design director Adrian van Hooydonk. Discussions regarding BMW’s controversial grille designs ramped up this year with the launch of the facelifted 7 Series, and grew louder with the reveal of the BMW X7. However, van Hooydonk believes the criticism – led by UK commentators according to BMW’s monitoring – has now incorrectly put a focus on BMW grille designs as a whole. “I don’t think it should be a BMW brand discussion at all, but rather one of the 7 Series alone,” said van Hooydonk. “All of our other cars are world cars, where the various tastes of the market tastes converge with no discrepancies, but the 7 Series sits separately. “In Europe – the smallest market – the buyers are understated, but in the US and China – where most 7 Series are sold – they are younger and more extrovert. When we launched the new 7 Series (in 2015) it was criticised for not looking different enough, so the message for the facelift was clear: make it stand out. And now we have.” However, van Hooydonk predicted that the separation in global tastes would not last long, pointing to feedback that he is increasingly receiving from BMW’s Shanghai design centre. “I hear from them that design tastes in China are developing rapidly,” he said. “Yes, they still want a modern look that pushes boundaries, but they are increasingly calling for subtle too. The gap is narrowing down, so I see the 7 Series design coming together with the rest of the range in a short time.” Asked about the X7’s grille design van Hooydonk argued that it was in proportion to the car and smaller than those found on rival brands, including Range Rover, the Audi Q7 and Mercedes GLS. “Yes, the X7’s grille is bigger than other BMW’s – but so is the X7 bigger than any BMW before it. That one is in proportion. “Don’t worry, I don’t want the brand to turn into an oversized kidney grille brand – but I believe we understand the reasons for what we have done with the 7 Series and that the issue will solve itself thanks to evolving tastes in the markets for which the grille was
Origin: BMW grille debate should focus on 7 Series, says design director
All about car 