#WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot
Stupid Criminals: Hybrid Technology Edition
Shanshan Du and Yu Qin of Troy, MI have been indicted on charges including conspiracy for allegedly stealing GM hybrid technology between 2003 and 2005. According to the Detroit News,
Du, who was hired at GM in 2000 and worked in the company’s Advance Technology Vehicle Group, copied thousands of pages of GM trade secrets onto a portable computer hard drive five days after accepting a buyout offer in 2005. The indictment alleges the theft of secrets dates back to 2003.
GM estimates the value of the stolen documents at $40 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The indictment charges that Du and Qin set up their own company in hopes of transferring technology to the Chinese automaker Chery, but that no technology ever made it to the Wuhu-based automaker. And though this is an obvious opportunity for a laugh at the expense of “Chinese R&D,” the real story here is just how stupid Du and Qin were for targeting The General’s hybrid technology between 2003 and 2005.
What The Foxtrot Is Going On At Nissan?
Like most modern corporations, car companies tend to be extremely opaque. Only rarely do non-insiders like us get a peek behind the PR curtains of a major automaker, and when we do, we have to wonder why we’re getting the show… and what are we looking at, anyway? Just such a moment has arrived, as a tipster has pointed us to coolsprings.com, where an interview with a Nissan consultant based at Nissan North America’s headquarters in Tennessee appears to be literally overflowing with the kinds of juicy scandals, corporate gossip, and inside baseball that we so rarely see in print. But can the self-described whistleblower Sharyn Bovat be trusted? Is Nissan-Renault’s upper management really locked in a global struggle for control of the company? Do Tennessee taxpayers really pay for Nissan executives’ spa treatments? Did Nissan really relocate a number of employees from California to Tennessee, only to try to fire them shortly thereafter? This is The Truth About Cars, so we’ll proceed with caution… but this story is just too juicy to ignore.
Volvo Brakes It Down
What's Wrong With This Picture: Bricklin: The Musical! Edition
What's Wrong With This Picture: Mini Is Cummins To Get You Edition
Piston Slap: The Ten Coolest Engineering Feats of The 24 Hours of LeMons Dallas (pt. 2)
One has to be slightly off their rocker to make a LeMons racecar. But then again, you also have to possess self-awareness not seen in most other forms of motorsport. Simply put, this race series totally rocks. And without any further ado, here are the final five vehicles in TTAC’s Ten Coolest Engineering Feats of The 24 Hours of LeMons Dallas.
Which Is The More Blasphemous Hyundai Ad?
Hyundai’s been getting a bit of flack for a version of this advertisement, which some say makes a mockery of the Catholic faith. Frankly, we think the ad after the jump (which may or may not be real) is simultaneously more blasphemous and funnier. Do you agree?
[The top ad is not the most allegedly anti-Catholic version, apparently. We will post the more offensive version as soon as it shows up, naturally]
Piston Slap: The Ten Coolest Engineering Feats of The 24 Hours of LeMons Dallas (pt. 1)
While LeMons’ Judges Jonny and Phil took a breather to get married (not to each other) I was one of four people with the honor of taking their place. It’s true, there was a quartet of judges needed to do what those two professionals do on a regular basis, no matter what previous accounts may suggest. So I inspected close to 100 crap cars to see if they meet LeMons’ $500 purchase price criteria. And while I did, I found the Ten Coolest Engineering Feats of The 24 Hours of LeMons. So let’s get right to it.
Study: Marijuana Worsens Distracted Driving, And That's About It
On the heels of a Ben Gurion University study showing that drivers under the influence of marijuana are less dangerous than drunk drivers, comes yet another study indicating that driving stoned might not be quite as bad as some think. Published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, the Hartford Hospital/University of Iowa study titled “Sex differences in the effects of marijuana on simulated driving performance,” concludes that:
Under the influence of marijuana, participants decreased their speed and failed to show expected practice effects during a distracted drive. No differences were found during the baseline driving segment or collision avoidance scenarios. No differences attributable to sex were observed. This study enhances the current literature by identifying distracted driving and the integration of prior experience as particularly problematic under the influence of marijuana.
Irie!
What's Wrong With This Picture: Stow 'N Go Edition
Why do drug smugglers use Chrysler’s patented Stow ‘N Go storage system to smuggle $100k worth of marijuana across the Mexican border? Because they can. Or, because Wieden + Kennedy have another Caravan ad to make. But this is hardly the most entertaining shot from the LA Times’ gallery of “Bizarre Border Busts” [Hat Tip: Richard Chen]. No, you’ll have to hit the jump for that one…
What's Wrong With This Picture: Homage Or Parody? Edition
Leaf Jolting Volt In EV Popularity Contest Part Deux: The IPhone Boogaloo
Wait, Steve Jobs is signing up for an EV at the rollout of the new iPhone? Is the zen master of Silicon Valley a Volt guy or a Leaf lover?
World Cup 2010: The Crash Test
World Cup Soccer: the hidden killer. German scientists dispatch their top men to understand exactly how wrong things can go when you celebrate a World Cup victory by piling drunk fans into a car and performing a low-speed victory parade. Of course, this simulation clearly needs some work. Among the obvious missing factors: a keg of beer in the back seat, three inches of oversteer-inducing vomit on the road, and a healthy serving of casual racism. Ah, football!
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