I’VE ALREADY CONFESSED TO GLEANING the authoritative Automotive News for tidbits, not for incremental details of following this industry. It’s one of the benefits of ten years’ retirement after 33+ years in automotive journalism.
Here’s the latest collection, in no particular order of priority, just entertainment.
FIAT CARS SEIZED BY ITALIAN GOVERNMENT OVER FLAG. As reported in Automotive News, May 20, 2024, “The Topolino microcars allegedly violate the Made in Italy law for having the national flag on them when they are assembled in Morocco.” (Consider Italian cheeses and wines and their careful appellation.)
A modern Topolino. Image by Fiat from Automotive News.
For a Topolino worthy of the Italian flag, see “Fiat’s Mouse—the 500 Topolino,” here at SimanaitisSays.
Fiat 500 Topolino, 1936. This image by Corsetti from Posters from the Fiat Archives 1900 – 1940, Fabbri Editori, 1991.
My Personal Flag Hassle. As described in “Boxes I Have Known,” my particular flag hassle came when I bought (and autocrossed) a Ford Pinto Wagon in Cleveland, drove it to Miami, and had it shipped over to St. Thomas. This particular car had been built at a Canadian Ford plant and thus was subject to the same (modest) STT import tax that made booze, watches, and other luxury goods so relatively inexpensive there.
EV “Stalls,” Still Wins Pikes Peak Hillclimb. Talk about a high-tension start: Driver Romain Dumas was poised at the bottom of Pikes Peak in his 1600-hp Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck. Then, Automotive News, June 25, 2024, reports, “ ‘I don’t know what happened at the start—just the car switched off completely on its own,’ Dumas said. ‘It never happened before. I didn’t panic. I just looked at all the numbers; everything was looking OK. I made a power cycle … and suddenly it was working again.’ ”
Despite the 26-second delay (I’ll bet it felt like a helluva lot longer!), Dumas made it up the hill in 8 minutes 53 seconds, quickest of the day in class, and about five seconds slower than Ford’s (and his) record a year ago in a SuperVan 4.2 EV. Including that nerve-racking EV reboot.
Cybertruck Blues. Automotive News, June 6, 2024, reports “Tesla Tells Buyer He’s Stuck with Cybertruck.” Nick Bunkley writes, “Blaine Raddon said he ordered the stainless steel pickup when he had a house with ample driveway space. Now separated from his wife, he has an apartment with a parking garage that can’t easily accommodate it.”
Bunkley continues this tale of woe, “When Raddon went back to Tesla’s store in Salt Lake City to discuss his options, the manager disagreed that the change in circumstances merited a buyback or exception to the automaker’s ban on reselling less than a year after purchase. Tesla says it can sue resellers for up to $50,000 and ban them from buying future vehicles.”
Geez, I’ve heard of Enzo Ferrari having tumultuous discussions with owners, but this one sounds ludicrous.
“Raddon said the truck is ‘so much bigger’ than he expected, making it hard to get in and out between other vehicles and the walls of the garage. A Cybertruck is 3 inches wider than a Ford F-150, though its length measures 9 inches less.”
I recall my dad’s similar quandary when he replaced our 1955 Ford with another convertible, an elaborately finned (and wide!) 1960 Chevy. We both learned to back it into our tidy little garage and squeeze out.
I wouldn’t call Raddon’s agreement an amicable one: Automotive News reports, “He said management of his apartment complex has agreed to let the oversized vehicle stay as long as he doesn’t hold them responsible for any damage, and that maneuvering into the spot requires a difficult four-point turn…. Raddon told Business Insider that he plans to go along with Tesla’s decision and won’t challenge it in court. He deleted his posting on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, complaining about the situation.”
At Least No Birds Mentioned. Raddon may be stuck with his Tesla purchase, but he cites no real Cybertruck abuse. In contrast, Automotive News, May 26, 2024, reports “Tesla Cybertruck Buyer Complains of Constant Attention, ‘The Middle Finger.’ ”
Nick Bunkley reports on this one as well: “A marijuana dispensary owner who became the first Tesla Cybertruck owner in Maine says he didn’t realize how much attention he would get driving one of the most unusual-looking vehicles ever made.”
Image by Bloomberg from Automotive News.
Bunkley writes, “Travis Carter says he gets stared at, photographed, yelled at and brake-checked while tooling around Portland in the sharp-cornered, stainless steel pickup. Some people ask questions about the truck. One person spat on it.”
“But the reaction he gets most often? ‘The middle finger,’ he told the Portland Press Herald, ‘in passing, at red lights, people walking by.’ ”
Bunkley reports, “When he started noticing all the stares, Carter tried to leverage it into publicity for his business, Vice Cannabis, by sticking a QR code that links to his website to the outside of the vehicle. But the attention has been overwhelming enough to make him second-guess the purchase at times.”
Geez, it’s enough to give reefers a bad name. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024