Was He Framed?

Radio 2 have stopped giving out travel news at the moment since the only people on the road network now should be making essential journeys only.

My commute home is getting quicker and quicker every time.

This is good news for those of us who think that there are too many idiots on the road sometimes.

Like the complete and utter tit who the Police stopped yesterday on The M6 as reported by The BBC.

During the current Coronavirus lockdown, he drove from Coventry to Salford to collect some windows he had bought on e-Bay. This left no room in the car for his wife so she had to travel in the boot.

I have to assume it wasn't a saloon car but it doesn't say.

Thing is, if he had bought one of these:

He could have towed it home carrying the windows without attracting so much suspicion.

 

They probably sell them on e-Bay.

Mario Can't

...install door handles properly.

I don't know his real name - I've gone with Mario because it is a popular Italian name but this one rogue employee who has been described as "non-properly trained" has caused the recall of 26 Lamborghini Aventador SVJs - which doesn't sound a lot but does represent 3% of the production run.

That information and this photo showing the offending strip of orange vinyl...

 ...just behind the steering wheel come from this Car+Driver story.

It could lead to persons being trapped inside a car designed for speed rather than comfort as highlighted by this quote from the Autocar Review of the car:

"Should you never have the opportunity to slide aboard an SVJ, you can simulate the procedure by placing a child’s booster seat underneath your kitchen table."

I can't tell if it has opening windows or not -  there is an open-top flavour of the SVJ but even if you are stuck inside the roofed one holding a strip of colour-co-ordinated vinyl, or leather if you believe Autocar, the probability of both handles failing at the same time has got to be pretty slim - as you would need to be to get out assuming those windows do open.

As for Mario, just imagine being his boss having to tell your boss what has happened.

Traffic News

The Coronavirus Saga continues.

Audi have a logo change:

That is from this Car+Driver story.

 

As opposed to this other Car+Driver story...

 

...which is about traffic.

 

And the effect that Coronavirus and the associated lockdowns are having on it.

 

For instance, average speeds in Los Angeles are 48 percent higher because there's so much less traffic on the roads while up in Seattle,

 

"on the key I-5 corridor, heading north-south into and out of downtown, traffic on March 18 was moving at speeds 100 percent faster than typical during the morning and afternoon commutes."

 

I've noticed a small but significant decrease in traffic on my commute.  On the key M53 corridor, heading north-south into and out of Chester, traffic on March 24 was moving at speeds 1 percent faster than typical during the morning and afternoon commutes.

 

But that's a guess.

 

There is certainly a notable reduction in worldwide pollution levels.

 

Which is nice.

 

The C+D piece also comments on air travel and subway travel.  Apparently,

 

"New York City, which features the nation’s lowest incidence of car ownership and the current highest number of COVID-19 cases, has (as of March 12) seen subway, commuter train, and bus ridership decline massively, with double-digit drops."

 

The two things I take from that are:

1. I feel sorry for New-Yorkers for two reasons in the first sentence.
2. "Ridership" can't be a real word can it?

What do my readership think?

How to Post about Cars in the Middle of a Pandemic

I've nicked that title from Sharon Silke Carty, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver.  She has written this excellent piece about the situation we find ourselves in with the news media completely taken over by Coronavirus.

Car+Driver's own news stories today feature:

Drive-Through Coronavirus Testing Added to New York
Elon Musk Downplays COVID-19 Danger in Email to Space-X Employees
Hyundai, Genesis Offering Payment Aid during Coronavirus Pandemic
Ford, GM, FCA, UAW Have Created a Coronavirus Task Force
Ford Rolls Out Payment Assistance as Part of Coronavirus Response
Uber, Lyft Are Suspending Pool and Shared Ride Services
Tesla’s Fremont Factory Stays Open while Bay Area in Quarantine

The helpful
10 Automotive YouTube Channels to Watch While You're at Home

...and the unhelpful
Retired NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki Got His Mercedes Metris Van Stuck

I also touched on the dreaded virus last month with

Viral Stupidity and St. David's Day has been Postponed

It does seem to be getting worse.

So, to quote Sharon, "stick with us. And for the love of God, wash your hands."

Volvos Involved in Pile-Up

Car+Driver have pointed me at a mega-cool advert for Volvo trucks:

It's called "The Tower" and features Volvo Trucks Chairman Roger Alm stood on top of the top one of four Volvo Trucks being driven through a spot of rain.

The Car+Driver item also features a feature on the making of The Tower:

Not sure why Roger Alm looks cool:

But he does.

 

I think it's the Nick Frost vibe: 

False Idol

I refer to Billy Idol - rebel from my youth:

Only now, according to Fox News, he's promoting snitching on people who leave their engines idling when stationary, especially when parked outside schools.

Now I am actually in favour of this scheme - although not sure how it is actually policed - you're supposed to get a financial reward for grassing someone up.

But this is Billy Idol!  Not cool.

Meanwhile, in other Fox News, I learned that on Saturday, when I was looking for famous people born on Feb 29th, I could have had one of the greatest American racers of all time - if only he'd born one day later.

I refer to Mario Andretti who turned 80 on Friday:

If you look him up on Google you see he is the Italian-Born American whose birthplace is in Croatia. (But it was in Italy 80 years ago - they moved the border in the meantime)

 

I'd have thought he was even older than that.

 

Not that I need an excuse, but now for a picture of the most beautiful F1 car ever: