International Post Stories About Volkswagen Day

I probably need to visit autoguide.com more often.

If I'd visited it on April 21st I'd have read this story and learned that April 22nd was Earth Day.

And on Earth Day, but just for that day, VW in Canada made their website more eco-friendly.  Apparently, websites can use up energy (and therefore resources) too so they made it more efficient by using plain text and simple pictures. They reckon that the simpler version "generates an estimated 93% less Carbon Dioxide" than their usual landing page - which they've now gone back to.

I'm not sure how much that day will have compensated for the nitrous oxide emitted as a result of the fiddling by their German colleagues but I'm sure it's a start.

If you want to see the VW Canada page from that day, a neat little website tool called The Wayback Machine  can help - take a look here.

Meanwhile, another "World" Day missed by me but not by Volkswagen was this Wednesday which was "World Design Day". Car+Driver are reporting on a world design whereby VW have chopped the back off a Buzz to make a pick-up.

Here's a copy of what was put onto chief designer Klaus Zyciora’s Instagram profile:

I get what they are going for...

But it doesn't really work for me.

Anyway, I'm going to finish this article here because I need to prepare for National Chocolate Parfait Day tomorrow.

Jog On

 Ooh, look at this exciting car:

Then read today's Autocar headline:

Dacia Jogger is firm's "safest ever" car despite one-star NCAP score

Eek!

Then actually read the article.

It looks like they are being pragmatic about what to spend the cash on in order to make a reasonably-priced, seven-seater people-carrier.  And it doesn't seem too unsafe to me but I wouldn't buy one for other reasons like:

• I don't need a reasonably-priced, seven-seater people-carrier

and

• I'm a badge-snob.

Although when Marc Suss, Dacia’s vice president of engineering, says, "It is far safer than the Logan" then I wouldn't be too happy if I'd bought one of their C-Segment econoboxes - not that I would have because:

• I don't need a C-Segment econobox

and

• I'm a badge-snob.

I also won't be after a Dacia Jogger campervan as touted in this story.

This is because:

• I don't need a future-touted campervan

and

• I'm a badge-snob.

A Cruise in San Francisco

A queer story...

...from NBC.

About a Chevrolet Bolt very much like this one:

Owned by GM subsidiary Cruise, it was an autonomous taxi undergoing testing.  And it was driving about at night with no headlights on.

Which piqued the interest of the local constabulary.

So they pulled it over only to discover that it had no driver.  It then drove off - through an intersection - before stopping again.

Notice that I used the phrase "it was driving" not "it was being driven"

Now a car with no driver might not need lights itself - but other road users and pedestrians might like to see it coming. Apparently, when it got pulled over, rather than calling its lawyer, it alerted staff back at base - or "Cruise Control" and one of them decided to move it to a "safer location".

If you have Facebook and want to see the brilliant Trevor Noah's take on this - click here.

Motorway Astronomy

On Monday, I helpfully pointed out the problem of ladders on motorways.

Today, the BBC are helpfully pointing out the problem of lads on motorways.

A couple of lads were caught lying down on the M1 in Yorkshire in the early hours of the morning doing a bit of astronomy.

OK, they were on the Central Reservation - but even so, one sleepy driver, or perhaps too much excitement over spotting a meteor, and they would have been seeing stars.

I wonder what this guy would have made of it all?

And do we think the boys were hoping to see a Ford Galaxy?

The High Road

So high you need a ladder.

I'm sharing a short bit of dashcam footage today from the M53.

It came not long after the electronic signs were telling everybody to slow down to 40mph.

Not that anybody did.

It was because of a broken-down bus on the hard shoulder - not because of this guy:

Here's a still:

I did a quick search on the Internet just to make sure that nothing untoward had come to him.

It looks like nothing untoward has come to him.

But ladders on the M53 is certainly not a new thing.

This one is from (despite the time-stamp) 2018:

Looks like a bit of sensible driving from the dashcam-owner and another driver has allowed the ladder-loser to safely retrieve it and it is probable that an accident has been avoided.

 

Meanwhile, somebody else lost a ladder in 2020 - the comments under the post on the Motorway Police Facebook Page are brilliant.