Put your bikinis on, we’re jumping into the deep end!
This week, the Motorious Podcast crew discusses an app that encourages drivers to record and report speeders, people in L.A. are using a Challenger to commit assault and robberies, a C8 Corvette gets stuck on the beach, and the only car Marylin Monroe owned was a Ford Thunderbird, let’s dive in:
The headlines…
New App Allows UK Citizens To Snitch On Speeders
If you live in the UK, you already deal with plenty of government surveillance of your driving habits. However, a new app called Speedcam Anywhere allows your fellow citizens to become snitches, turning you in for speeding. They say the best way to force people into submission is to turn them against each other, and this new technology seems like a really great way to do that.
Apparently, all you have to do is take a video of the moving car you suspect is speeding. Software will use DVLA data to identify the make and model, because most people know pretty much nothing about cars. That software will also measure the distance between the front and rear axles, comparing that data to the video footage to determine how fast the car was going. Then the Speedcam Anywhere app will read the vehicle tag, so the person can be reported.
Don’t worry, if you live in the United States and are jealous of all the fun the Brits are having with this technology, it’s reportedly going to be launched here as well.
Read the full story here.
Los Angeles Goes Full Wild West
It should probably be common knowledge that California, particularly the former promised land of Los Angeles, is basically the wild west, only with more homelessness. Thieves of all shapes and sizes have taken to the streets to track down and brutally rob anyone with even an ounce of wealth on their person. This has led to a public outcry at law enforcement's complete inability to protect their citizens. Within the last 48 hours, five separate follow-home robberies have taken place in the city of angels, with one being particularly traumatizing. A woman was run over by a car by eager thieves looking to make a quick buck in this situation. So what was worth endangering the lives of countless bystanders, brutally injuring a woman, and contributing to the growing crime problem in the city?
Two watches were stolen with an estimated value of around $600,000 from an unknown woman. After chasing the resident through the streets, one assailant decided it'd be a good idea to get behind the wheel of his Dodge Challenger and ram into the woman. In the video, two pedestrians try to help her, one by blocking her with their SUV until the Challenger sped up and scared them off. The second was a nearby walker in a pink hoodie who could be seen helping the woman up after she was struck. While neither pedestrian successfully stopped the woman from being hit, the burglars eventually ran away after she threw her watches to the ground.
Read the full story here.
C8 Corvette Beaches Itself In Texas
What we have here is a rare event in nature, a modern American sports car beaching itself in Galveston, Texas. The C8 Corvette in question tried to drive through deeply rutted sand at the beach, getting hopelessly stuck. Why someone would try such a thing in a C8 Corvette, which has precious little ground clearance not to mention absolutely the wrong kind of tires for driving on sand is a mystery.
People do funny things with their cars and they especially do funny things when their cars get stuck. In this case, one of the first instincts of someone trying to help free the C8 Corvette is to kick the sand, we’re assuming in an attempt to smooth it out.
Read the full story here.
Aston Martin Executive Says Electric Cars Aren’t Viable
Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman had some interesting things to say about electric cars and the future of the auto industry lately. In an interview with Drive, the automotive executive opined that electrification is “not the answer” for a zero-emissions future. Normally, such concerns are just dismissed by EV fanboys as “anti-progress” or “technophobia” but Reichman and his comments aren’t so easily dismissed.
Instead of completely writing off EVs, Reichman views them as a bridge to something that’s actually viable. In the interview he pointed out some of the obvious limits of electrification, such as ridiculously long charge times (anything above 5 minutes counts as too long) and the rare nature of minerals used to manufacture batteries. Considering millions of cars are made every year and EVs constitute a small drop in the bucket, he has a point.
Read the full story here.
Some Like It Hot: Marilyn Monroe’s 1956 Ford Thunderbird
These days, we expect movie stars and other high-rolling celebrities to own at least several expensive cars, if not a whole fleet. However, Marilyn Monroe owned only one car during her 36 years of life. That vehicle was a sultry 1956 Ford Thunderbird dressed to kill in Raven Black. In its second year of production, the sporty convertible was red hot, just like the Hollywood actress.
With Monroe’s fame rising like a rocket, thanks in no small part to the recent release of The Seven Year Itch, it seems she saw fit to treat herself. Or, it might have been a way to console herself after her second divorce, thanks to a short-lived marriage to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.
There are rumors the T-Bird was a Christmas gift given to Monroe by Milton Greene, her business partner and photographer. Since it was originally purchased from Westport Motors in Westport, Connecticut by Marilyn Monroe Productions on December 20, 1955 just days before Christmas, it’s possible. But the reality is we’ll never know if those rumors are true. Whatever the reason for the purchase, Marilyn must have fallen in love with the T-Bird and it's easy to see why.
Not only does the ’56 Thunderbird look amazing in Raven Black, which accentuates every curve and makes all the brightwork pop, it pairs excellently with the black and white interior. From the factory, it came with a canvas convertible top as well as the detachable hardtop, which features those iconic porthole windows.
Read the full story here.
Inventory Picks
1968 Chevrolet Nova COPO
See it here.
1990 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE
See it here.
