There’s a lot to get caught up on…
There’s a lot to catch up on the newest Motorious Podcast after Thanksgiving. Jay Leno’s famous steam engine burn accident is followed up with hitting a police car with his Tesla, a Charger crashes Thanksgiving and nearly takes out a crowd of volunteers, and Uber wants their workers to only drive electric cars. A Corvette driver has a sole accident during a street takeover, Lucid wants to accomplish what Tesla couldn’t, and a tragic drunk driving accident kills a father and his son in their classic Mustang. Plus our inventory picks and much more. Watch here:
Jay Leno Seriously Burned In Car Fire
According to multiple reports, comedian Jay Leno has been recovering at a Los Angeles burn center after a serious car fire which ignited over the weekend. The former The Tonight Show host who stars in the hit series Jay Leno’s Garage, said he was “ok” after suffering “some serious burns from a gasoline fire.” Sadly, this can be a consequence of fixing or modifying cars, a risk all of us in the hobby should understand.
The incident in question happed on Sunday at the comedian’s famous garage where he’s filmed many television and web episodes. TMZ cites unnamed sources who claim one of the cars spontaneously ignited, burning the left side of Leno’s face.
Despite his injuries, in an official statement Leno seemed surprisingly upbeat. He claims he will be back on his feet in “a week or two.” Hopefully that is the case, however if he needs more time we doubt anyone would fault him for it. TMZ confirmed his scheduled engagements for the next week have been called off.
Read the full story here.
Jay Leno Hit A Cop Car With His Tesla
By now you might have already read about how Jay Leno hit a hop car while making his first stage appearance after spending a while in the hospital from burns sustained while working on a car. The news is everywhere, but what you might not have seen the best angle of the incident. To help you better understand what happened for yourself, I’ve included two videos from two angles, that way you can better grasp what I’m about to say.
Really, this incident calls into question a lot of things. I’m not a doctor, I don’t know Jay Leno (and don’t claim to, unlike many of my colleagues who got their photo taken with him at an event, which doesn’t count as truly “knowing” someone) so I’m not running cover for a friend or trashing someone I have a personal vendetta against. That said, I know what incompetent driving looks like and Leno displayed it in full during the incident.
First off, for such a hardcore car guy, Leno should’ve easily been able to judge the size of the Tesla he was driving, the position of the parked police Jeep Wrangler, then pulled into the curbside spot without getting even a little too close to the other vehicle. Instead, this was like watching Joe Biden trying to drive his Corvette today – a completely terrifying ordeal.
Read the full story here.
Dodge Charger Crashes In Thanksgiving Day Street Race
For most people, Thanksgiving in the United States is a day for family, but for two drivers in the northwest part of Miami-Dade County in Florida, it was a day for street racing. A Dodge Charger took on another unidentified vehicle, only to crash in a parking lot where volunteers had been feeding the homeless last Thursday afternoon. Three people were injured in the crash and the other driver got away.
According to witness reports, the Charger driver lost control and ran the Mopar onto the median. From there, it hit some bushes, then struck a support column for the Metrorail above. Then the Dodge veered through oncoming traffic, somehow missing those cars, finally coming to rest in a convenience store parking lot after it hit a parked Chevy Monte Carlo.
The owner of that heroic Monty Carlo, Jerry Lewis, told a local journalist he and other volunteers had been barbecuing for the homeless in the parking lot earlier in the day. The activity had finished but they were still gathered together to watch football when the crash happened. Lewis believes his car saved lives as the Charger was headed straight for the group of people.
Still, two individuals in the parking lot were struck by debris from the wreck. Crews had to extricate the Dodge driver. All three were transported to the hospital, but the two innocent bystanders were expected to be okay. The status of the driver was unknown.
Read the full story here.
Uber On Crusade Against Gas Cars, And Most Of Their Drivers
Does anybody remember that whole electric car craze that lasted a good six months before it all fell apart due to the abundantly clear fact that it was mostly just peddled for political reasons? Yeah well apparently Uber remembers it quite well and, you can probably see where this is going, they want to do something about it. Despite having not been an issue of public concern for a couple of months now, Uber has decided to lean fully into the electric car thing again and pretty much kick anybody who doesn’t have an electric car off of their platform by 2030. So how do they plan on doing this? Or more importantly why is it such a bad thing?
First of all you have to understand who actually uses Uber, in terms of being a driver. Most of their drivers or college students or people down on their luck who need some extra cash. You get the odd highly productive person who works multiple jobs, by their own volition, and is abundantly financially successful because of that but that is very rarely the case. So I suppose the better question is does that sound like somebody who would be able to afford an electric car anytime soon?
-Uber has decided to lean fully into the electric car thing again and pretty much kick anybody who doesn’t have an electric car off of their platform by 2030.
Read the full story here.
C8 Corvette Trashed During Street Takeover
Street takeovers aren’t for real car enthusiasts and are utterly degenerate – this is a point we’ve made over and over. And the fools who participate in them prove us right constantly. The latest exhibit to make our case comes via an Instagram video of a C8 Corvette driver absolutely thrashing the mid-engine sports car to get some clout.
While we’ve seen other cars doing donuts at the same time take each other out and muscle cars smack into light poles, this is the first time we’ve witnessed a street takeover moron wreck a car by hitting a curb. We thought that kind of maneuver was reserved for soccer moms in their full-size SUVs as they curb rash each wheel multiple times within months.
Many of the people doing these street takeovers have about zero driving skills, which is why they crash and beat the hell out of the cars constantly. A true enthusiast would care more about their ride than to beat it silly just for some likes on TikTok.
As you’ll see in the video, this guy started his ill-advised and illegal donut from the dead center of the intersection his buddies shut down. Obviously, he isn’t too familiar with how tightly the sports car turns under load, because he didn’t have nearly enough room, sending the back end careening into a curb, bystanders jumping out of the way so they’re not part of the carnage.
Read the full story here.
Lucid Sues Texas
Starting a new automaker is pretty tough these days, just ask Elon Musk. Lucid is facing some of the same battles as Tesla as it tries foregoing the established dealership franchises and instead sells directly to consumers. In some states this direct sales model works well enough, however there are others like Texas where Lucid has run into trouble. Because of that, Lucid has filed suit against the state of Texas, accusing the government of engaging in “economic protectionism.”
The suit, which according to Automotive News was filed in Austin, alleges Texas is engaging in anti-competitive activities in an effort to force automakers to sell their vehicles through established dealerships.
Read the full story here.
Road Rager Shoots Denise Richard’s Shelby Raptor
An explosive report from TMZ highlights a problem normal people face every day, but when it involves a has-been Hollywood actress that’s when corporate media starts fiercely paying attention. We are talking about Denise Richards and her husband Aaron being involved in a road rage incident which left a bullet hole in their Shelby Raptor.
The couple were on their way to Popsicle Studio in Los Angeles on Monday when another driver became irritated with how Aaron was driving, according to TMZ. Reportedly, he was having a hard time finding the studio and so we can imagine probably wasn’t going as fast as normal, probably pausing at different roads/driveways, etc. That’s when a guy in a car behind them had enough.
Read the full story here.
Classic Mustang Burns In Horrific Crash
Sadly, every time you get in your car, whether it’s your hobby ride or your daily, you’re risking your life. Even if you drive in an exceptionally safe manner, all it takes is for another careless or reckless driver to end everything in a split second. That was illustrated in especially horrific manner recently in Los Angeles when a man, who allegedly was intoxicated while behind the wheel of a Camry, slammed into the back of a classic Ford Mustang.
The resulting crash pushed both cars out into an intersection where the father and son in the Mustang were waiting for the light to change. Fire engulfed both vehicles. Sadly, Andrea Bullo and his 13-year-old son Marco died. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Kevin Gonzalez was able to get out of his Toyota and seemed to be relatively unharmed.
Read the full story here.
Europe Might Increase Emissions Standards Again
On November 10, the European Commission proposed even tighter emissions standards, a move many automakers found objectionable. The proposal aims to cut air pollution generated by new internal combustion engine vehicles in a bid to meet the European Green Deal’s zero-pollution goal. However, not everyone is a fan of this recommendation.
While some might claim this move will make new cars even within financial reach for the average consumer, the European Commission said in its official statement the aim is to not only restrict pollution but also to keep “vehicles affordable for consumers and (promote) Europe’s competitiveness.” How exactly those objectives are attained through more aggressive regulation isn’t entirely clear.
Justifying these measures, the European Commission says vehicles are “the largest source of air pollution in cities.” It goes on to claim 70,000 people a year die prematurely thanks to vehicle emissions, three times the number of traffic fatalities. Thus, it’s justifiable to mandate automakers must make internal combustion engines even cleaner to help curb the problem.
Read the full story here.
Young People Are Car Theft Magnets: Study
Shocking data provided by AMI Insurance in New Zealand indicates drivers under the age of 25 have their cars stolen “approximately three times higher” than the population average. That’s a concerning bit of information and leads to all kinds of questions. However, AMI says 26% of its car theft claims were filed by people 25 years of age or under, even though they’re under 10% of the company’s customer base, perhaps explaining why they get reamed on insurance rates.
The lazy explanation so many would run to is that the youth of today are stupid. Look, we’re old enough to remember in the 90s when Gen X was constantly flogged for being too rebellious and supposedly lazy. The same thing happened over a decade ago to Millennials.
Now it’s Gen Z’s turn to run the gauntlet of ridicule. But this sort of thinking not only is lazy, it leads to erroneous conclusions.
AMI dug into the data further and found something which should be obvious: younger drivers tend to own older, cheaper cars. This means they have a vehicle which is easier to steal than the new Audi their parents or grandparents might drive.
Read the full story here.
Inventory Picks:
1976 Ford F250
See it here.
1965 Chevrolet Malibu SS
See it here.
