Yahoo Autos Weekend News Roundup June 15, 2024
Newer Honda Fits Are Basically Depreciation-Proof
We miss the Honda Fit. We really do. It was an inexpensive subcompact, sure, but it was also so much better than it had any right to be, and it more or less made the competition irrelevant. There were less-expensive alternatives, but they just didn’t havethe level of charm, practicality and refinement of the Fit. And it’s not like it was that much more expensive than, say, the Toyota Yaris. As late as 2020, a new Honda Fit started at around $17,000 and topped out in the low-$20k range. Fast forward to today, though, and you can pick up one of the later Fits for... about the same price. - Collin Woodard Read More
Ford CEO Says He Mortgaged His House To Buy A Vintage Sports Car
Ford CEO Jim Farley is a genuine car fanatic, which is something of a rarity among car company c-suite execs. It’s about more than just the numbers with this guy, because he understands where enthusiasts are coming from. He gets that the financial decisions we make as car enthusiasts aren’t always advisable, because he’s made those same decisions in his own life. Like mortgaging his house to buy a barn-find Shelby Cobra for $100,000. This was, of course, in his pre-CEO days, before he was bringing home a $26.5 million compensation package. - Bradley Brownell Read More
Infamous Charger Hellcat Owner Still Terrorizing The Streets Of Seattle Despite $80,000 In Fines
It seems as if nothing will stop “Belltown Hellcat” owner Miles Hudson from doing burnouts and causing havoc in and around Seattle. Seattle’s Fox 13 reports that tire marks and social media posts over the weekend confirm that Hudson’s Charger Hellcat is still being a nuisance. - Lawrence Hodge Read More
Gas Price, Weather Apps Are Reporting Your Driving Habits To Insurers So They Can Raise Your Rates
Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? Like no matter where you go, what you do, there’s a corporation tracking it to sell the data to someone else? Well, according to a New York Times report, you’re right: Even the apps on your phone are tracking the way you drive, just to sell it to your insurer. - Amber DaSilva Read More
One Person Is Behind Thousands Of Silicon Valley Bike Thefts And He's Selling Them In Mexico
There’s an ongoing surge in bicycle theft that struck even before the pandemic arrived in 2020. The resulting uptick in cycling and retail bike sales that year served as an accelerant to thrust bike-related crimes to all-time highs. Wired sought the expertise of a bike hunter to learn what was happening to all these bicycles after they were taken off the street or out of warehouses. - Ryan Erik King Read More
Seaplane Plows Into Boat During Takeoff Before Immediately Splashing Down
A seaplane lifted off directly into the side of a boat while setting off on a Saturday sightseeing flight from a harbor in Vancouver, Canada. The pilot and five passengers onboard De Haviland DHC-2 Beaver escaped the crash uninjured, CBC News reports. Those on the boat weren’t as lucky, with two people being sent to the hospital with injuries. - Ryan Erik King Read More
School Bus Maker Blue Bird Is Maybe The Most Successful EV Company In The World Right Now
Most electric vehicle manufacturers have seen their stock prices decline across the first half of 2024, but one comparatively tiny company that builds comparatively massive EVs, Blue Bird, the school bus company, is outperforming expectations. Thanks to a $5 billion government incentive program, the company has a 500-unit backlog, and shifted 210 electric kid transport tubes in the first quarter of the year. According to the long-serving bus company, electric school buses now account for nine percent of revenue, and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. - Bradley Brownell Read More
Donald Trump Says Electric Boats Will Sink Because They're Heavy, And Then You'll Have To Decide If You Want To Get Electrocuted Or Face A Shark
Former president and convicted felon Donald J. Trump held a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada this week in over-100-degree weather. During this event the MAGA man told a crowd of 2,000 gathered supporters about a recent conversation he claims to have had with the owner of a boat manufacturing operation. Specifically, Trump shared his thoughts on electric-powered boats and sharks. If an electric boat were sinking and you had to choose between being electrocuted and getting eaten by a shark, Trump (whose fear of sharks has been well documented) says he would pick electrocution. Surely these are topics that will resonate with land-locked Nevadans living in the largest metropolitan area in the Mojave Desert. - Bradley Brownell Read More
Pennsylvania Senator Fetterman Was Driving 'Well Over The Posted Speed Limit' Just Before Crash
Democratic senator and Carhartt hoodie enthusiast John Fetterman crashed his Chevrolet Traverse into the back of an Impala in Maryland on Sunday morning, landing himself, certified baddie Giselle Fetterman, and the driver of the Impala in the hospital. Nobody was seriously injured, Fetterman was treated for a bruised shoulder and released. Neither driver was tested for drugs or alcohol, and no citations were issued at the time. Fault for the crash was assigned to the senator, with speed and the back bumper of the car he hit as evidence. - Bradley Brownell Read More
Titan Sub Prototype Got Lost Off Seattle Bay, Used iPhone To Reorient Itself
It’s been nearly a year since OceanGate’s Titan submersible imploded as it descended to the Atlantic Ocean’s floor to view the wreck of the Titanic. Stockton Rush, the company’s CEO, and four other people were killed instantaneously when the vessel was crushed. Wired revisited the sub’s troubled development and the warning signs that were ignored. - Ryan Erik King Read More
