If you followed the race over the weekend, you already know the results of the Indy 500.
To those not used to the strategies of pit stops and plotting fuel-economy, the result must have seemed utterly surprising: in a come-from-behind victory, rookie racer Alexander Rossi squeaked out a win against some of the world’s best Indy car drivers. He ran his car completely out of gas in the process, coasting across the line without power.
Coasting home in an empty car to avoid a fill up? Typical millennial, am I right?
Anyway, Rossi’s surprising win galvanized the press, but the day wasn’t all soaked in glory. James Hinchcliffe ran a tightly contested battle for the podium, leading the race for more than two dozen laps, but running low on fuel and tire grip caused him to slip to a seventh-place finish. Such is the luck and heartbreak of endurance racing.
Still, with the 100th running of the race now over, and nerves still jangling from the ups and downs, perhaps next year will be even better.
RCMP cameras catch texting drivers
The police have long used spotter scopes to watch for bad driving behaviour, but now they’ve got a new tool in the battle against texting drivers. Their latest device, distributed to several locations throughout the Lower Mainland, is a sort of long-range camera, such as a wildlife photographer might use. The idea is to capture drivers on film, such that any protests fall flat against the evidence.
Be warned, this new device doesn’t work to catch you texting while you’re on the move, but when you’re stopped at a stop sign or red light. This is the most tempting time for many drivers to quickly sneak a look at a text, or scan for an email, particularly during the worst of rush hour, when traffic isn’t moving anyway.
So leave the phone alone if you’re in the driver’s seat, even when it seems safe-ish to take a peek at why your phone buzzed. The easiest thing to do is just throw it in your glovebox so you aren’t tempted.
Tokyo police get 370Z patrol cars
Nissan and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department have had a long relationship, stretching all the way back to when the former supplied the latter with Z432 patrol cars — a Datsun 240Z with the straight-six out of a GT-R. Think your souped up Sunny can outrun the Japanese cops? Guess again, 1970s miscreant.
Traffic in Tokyo is mostly very well-behaved, but for those speed merchants who might be tempted to sneak out for a couple of 1990s-style highway runs, the cops have a trio of 370Z police cars, fitted out in that iconic black-and-white Japanese cop-car livery and V-shaped light bar.
It’s likely that the Zs will be used more for promotional activities, rather than actual pursuits. Like most police forces, the Tokyo police know that speeders can’t outrun a radio signal, nor a helicopter if it comes to that. Still as a link to the past, there’s something neat about a Z all dressed up in its police uniform.
Apple considering making EV chargers
According to Reuters, mega-corporation Apple is looking at working together with several companies that make chargers for electrical vehicles. The speculation is that the tech giant is looking for a way to charge their own autonomous car, which may or may not exist. It’s all very secretive.
However, what a horrible vision of the future. Picture this: you’re being piloted through downtown traffic when suddenly your car makes the bing-bong noise that it’s about to run out of batteries.
“What the heck?” you say, “I was just on 45 per cent five minutes ago.”
Still, not to worry, you’ll just direct the car into the local Apple fuelling station, right? A guy with giant holes in his ears wearing a polo neck that says “Genius” shakes his head sadly.
“Sorry, dude,” he says, “That’s an iCar4S you’ve got. We just upgraded all our connectors to iCar5. You’ll need to update your software and buy a new connector.”
$150 later, you’ve got a new plug, but the software update has deleted all your music and replaced it with a new album released by U2, who are all now just heads floating in jars. What a kick in the dongle.
The Fast and the Furious turns 15
Simultaneously the worst car movie ever, yet also super-quotable and lots of good fun, The Fast and the Furious has a lot to answer for. It spawned a whole new generation of car enthusiasts and a multi-million dollar franchise, but it also glamorized street racing and bad dialogue. I know the former is far worse, but man, some of that dialogue. ...
To celebrate 15 years of “Danger To Manifold,” the film will be briefly re-released in theatres on June 22. Check your local listings, and take your primered Civic with a bodykit and stock steel wheels on down.
