HOT GARBAGE
If you’re using it properly, Google Street View can deliver hours of fun. After all, Google’s map car drives all over the world daily— they’re bound to capture some wacky situations. That’s exactly what happened in West Vancouver back in April when a Google Street View vehicle captured a burning garbage truck along the Trans- Canada highway. You can view a stop-motion-esque rundown of the event by clicking along the road in Street View. At first, all you can see is a plume of flames atop the truck before a good Samaritan approaches the operator, who is seen climbing the truck’s side ladder, armed with an extinguisher in hand.
While the cause of the fire is unclear, Jeremy Crawford, the general manager of Waste Control Services Inc., told CTV News Vancouver the fire broke out on one of their trucks on April 20 and an employee was able to extinguish the flames.
WIND IN YOUR SHINS
Jeep appears to be toying with some tasty new design patents, as the Stellantis-based automaker released some sketches this week, featuring a Jeep sporting “donut doors”. Jeep filed patents for the experimental transparent half-door design back in 2017, which prior to the release of the sketches, had only been seen on prototype Jeep Safari and Switchback models that were shown off at auto shows around that time.
As of yet, Jeep has provided no comment on the sketches, however, Ford notably teased donut doors on the re-introduced Bronco last year, but ultimately scrapped the design.
A $35 million, 3.5-kilometre, 16 turn racetrack is currently under construction north of Calgary in Carstairs, Alberta.
RACER OASIS
Can you hear that? Is that a crowd of teenagers chanting, “Let them race?” But this isn’t an 80s ski movie and there is no one in a top hat and monocle in sight. It’s simpler and somehow more compelling than that. Calgarians just want somewhere to show off their modded cars. Calgary’s councillor for Ward 10, Andre Chabot, was fervent on making that happen. In opening a legal option for racers and other auto enthusiasts, Chabot sees the potential to reduce danger and anxiety in communities where illegal street racing is already prevalent. “Speaking to some of the young folks who tend to congregate in certain areas with these done-up vehicles, they have no venue,” said Chabot. Calgary’s sole racetrack, Race City Motorsport Park, closed in 2011 and the city has yet to see a replacement. He envisions a model where drivers can pay for access to closed roads and industrial parks. Chabot’s notice of motion was put on ice by Calgary’s executive committee in mid-December, however, dismissed by a 6-2 vote with sole support coming from Ward 7’s Terry Wong. Mayor Jyoti Gondek said that she remains unconvinced that this proposal would in any way curb the majority of illegal street racing. As it stands, the motion will not reach city council, however, Chabot is free to revise his motion and re-introduce it later.
POLLY WANT A DISCOUNT
Some automotive businesses have fish tanks in their front offices; others have loyal Fido-like friends that greet customers when they walk up. Then there’s Bill Mathews Autobody in Springfield, Illinois, with its trusty macaw mascot, Seaweed. A well-known parrot to Springfield locals, Seaweek first got her start greeting customers at a car wash owned by JoAnn and John Cravens, who said the bird came with their purchase of the business in 2004. The former general manager of the car wash, Dale Abbott, quickly grew close to Seaweed—just like the many customers who worried where she’d go when the business shut down. Dale had heard that another local automotive business, Bill Mathews Autobody owned other birds and kept them in-house, so he reached out. Seaweed now spends her days greeting customers alongside two other birds and a dog at what most customers refer to as ‘Mathews Petting Zoo’.
Seaweed has a long life of greeting customers before her—she’s just 30 years into her 100-year lifespan.
