Here are the top stories of the week.
A week at Motorious means nearly 100 features, news stories, cars for sale, and videos are covered. With all these content out there, it’s easy to miss some of the major headlines and highlights of the week, so here’s your weekly roundup to make sure you’re in the loop.
Start with this week's new podcast...
This week on the Motorious Podcast, we test how well you know your engine sounds, try to figure out what a mysterious underwater vehicle could be, how whiskey might power your car, and why some people should just avoid driving stick shifts. We also read your comments, revisit the person who killed Mickey Thompson, and reveal this week’s inventory picks.
Georgia Police Department Arrests More Than 80 ‘Street Racers’
We've said this so many times before, but today we have an example for the purely selfish of why you shouldn't partake in dangerous driving on public roads. More than 80 people were arrested just a couple of days ago for what the police called "street racing." If you have been following the events that police have been trying to address recently; then you'll know that this is a growing trend on public roads. It could be due to the closing down of local race tracks, increasing anger against police, or a general drop in IQ among people who claim to be car enthusiasts without actually respecting any faucet of the car community. Our society has taken a dangerous route to a place that no car enthusiast wants to call home.
Read the full story here.
Stellantis Pushes Electrification At Dodge Challenger And Charger Plant
I hate to say it, but the era of modern Mopar muscle looks to be atrophying, if not completely dead. A recent announcement from Stellantis details out an electrification plan for the Brampton Assembly Plant, currently the home of the Dodge Challenger and Charger, plus the Chrysler 300. The announcement was made by Mark Stewart, Stellantis North America Chief Operating Officer, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford at his side.
Many statements were made at the media event which in summary go on about how the future is electrification and so Stellantis is investing in the future of Canadian manufacturing. We hear this stuff all the time with few questioning this myopic view of what’s coming in the next several years or so.
Read the full story here.
Miata Powered VW Rabbit Hits Hoonigan Burn Yard
The build team at Hoonigan has made a reputation for themselves as the creators of some of the world's craziest custom cars. Everything from 1,400 horsepower Mustangs to a 632 ci big-block third-generation Camaro has seen the shop's floor. However, once in a while, the crew will see something that blows them away in one way or another, whether for its performance, style, or competitive driver. This particular vehicle seems to be one of those vehicles as it combines two cars whose names serve as living legends within the automotive industry. So what is this incredible vehicle that stunned the Hoonigan team with its tasteful design and engineering?
Initially, this vehicle was a humble Volkswagen Rabbit pickup truck which would have been a fun little truck to take around the canyons. Under the hood used to sit a diesel engine, but the owner had bigger plans for the tiny towing titan. Nowadays, this vehicle is sporting a 1.8-liter inline-four with 150-ish horsepower which had initially come in a Miata and now serves as the powerhouse for this drift build. As a result, this small pickup truck has been transformed into a sliding champion controlled by the driver as he skillfully whips it around the Hoonigan burn yard. It may seem easy to slap such a small engine into an even smaller truck and call things a wrap, but the powerplant is far from this truck's only thing in common with its Mazda counterpart.
Read the full story here.
Georgia Camaro Thief Tries Hiding In Homeless Camp
On April 23, two guys in a stolen Chevy Camaro convertible led police on a wild chase in Georgia. The pair eventually ended up in Atlanta with both Georgia State Patrol and APD hot in pursuit. The pair lost a wheel after hitting an island coming off I-20, sparks spraying from the chassis in the collision. That wheel bounced pretty far, making its getaway as if the cops were about to bust it. As the muscle car came to a sudden halt and a police cruiser pulled up, both of the men are seen in police helicopter footage jumping out and making a run for it.
The passenger ran down the road. Officers were able to catch up with him quickly. His friend, however, was a little bit trickier.
The driver decided to take a zigzagging path, jumping over a fence, then back over it, crossing the street and into a homeless encampment. At first he tried hiding by laying under a bush. What he didn’t know was the police helicopter overhead was using thermal imaging, so he was fully visible. Eventually, the man walked to the other side of the camp, unzipped a tent, and just climbed inside.
Read the full story here.
Mayor’s Efforts To Recover Son's Stolen Truck Stirs Controversy
A Mayor in the south suburbs of Chicago is coming under fire after he took it upon himself to help locate his son's stolen vehicle. Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz and two police officers attempted to track the stolen Ford F-150 into another city, and people are calling it an abuse of power. On the other hand, the Mayor is saying this is completely blown out of proportion, who do you agree with?
The most prominent criticism comes from the Calumet City Mayor, Thaddeus Jones, who calls the actions of Glotz ‘reckless’ after the vehicle was not found in the location of the ‘ping’ Glotz was pursuing. Jones says the police in his city should have been left to handle it, but with car theft recovery being such a low priority, who wouldn’t follow a lead for their family member’s car if they could.
“Something could have happened to him while he was in Calumet City,” said Jones. “It was a blatant abuse of power and this should be investigated by the state police to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
Read the full story here.
Ford Galaxie 500 Is Powered By NASCAR Engine
The Ford Galaxie 500 is an iconic personal luxury vehicle for its performance, style, and comfort features. Incredibly, this car reached heights in the automotive community shared by vehicles like the Cougar and even some Lincoln vehicles. That's why they are so prevalent in today's classic car collector world and why you've probably seen one or two at a local vintage car meet. However, we doubt you've ever seen a Galaxie with as much power and work as this incredible 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 as it sports one of Ford's most significant Nascar V8 engines.
Under the hood of this wild-looking muscle car is a massive 427 ci SOHC V8 engine, which was initially designed by Ford to compete in NASCAR. However, because the powerhouse was intended for the circle track, they didn't use it in production vehicles which made NASCAR disqualify the V8 for competition. Ford could have then begun producing cars with the motor, but it had 650 horsepower, and they didn't like the liability that the figure carried. That means that this engine was one of the originals built by Ford specifically for NASCAR.
Read the full story here.
Florida Man Leads Cops On 178 MPH Chase
20-year-old Richard St. Leger or Pompano Beach, Florida has been arrested after leading authorities on a car chase that at points exceeded 178 mph. There aren’t many consumer vehicles which can hit 178 mph let alone sustain that kind of speed for long, so this story immediately grabbed out attention. And while we at first assumed the guy was driving a Hellcat, Camaro ZL1, Porsche 911, or something like that, our expectations were subverted.
According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, the agency which helped bring the dangerous pursuit to an end after St. Leger blasted through multiple counties, the man was behind the wheel of a Mercedes SUV. We don’t know what model, but considering those and other such European luxury vehicles are made for traveling on the Autobahn, it makes sense he could hit such breakneck speeds.
Read the full story here.
Ford Gets Hosed By EV Investment
We all keep hearing the mantra that electrification is the future of the automotive industry. While that might be true, such a future could be far off, especially in light of setbacks like the one Ford suffered. The American automaker has lost a considerable sum of money after investing in an EV startup, which really has to hurt.
Ford disclosed that in Q1 of 2022, it posted $34.5 billion in revenue, which sounds great until you get to the part about a net loss of $3.1 billion. According to the automaker, that deficit was “primarily attributable” to the company’s investing in Rivian. The electric truck startup based in California has so far been a huge disappointment.
Read more here.
