Some parts of the country — particularly South Carolina — had a rough weekend. Other parts — like here in New Orleans — were beautiful, giving us our first taste of fall. But everywhere there was news, including lots of news you may have missed. Here are a few of the auto-related stories that caught our eye:
- October 5 is James Bond Day, because the first James Bond film opened on that day in 1962. Fifty-three years later, we’re gearing up for the latest installment, Spectre, which is important for a number of reasons. There’s the drool-worthy Daniel Craig. There’s the theme song, performed by reluctant gay icon, Sam Smith. And of course, there are the cars — always the cars. This go round, $36.5 million worth of Aston Martins, Jaguars, and Land Rovers went up in flames.
- Fully autonomous taxis are coming to Japan within five years, according to the Wall Street Journal. That’s great news for the disabled and the elderly who want to maintain their independence. It should also be fun for folks heading to Japan for the 2020 Olympics. Maybe we’ll have a press pass by then.
- If you’re traveling to France instead, and you find yourself in need of an accessible rental car, check out Wheeliz.com. The name is épouvantable, but the service is apparently très bon.
- Want a Bugatti Veyron but can’t afford the multi-million-dollar pricetag? Bugatti’s certified, pre-owned program that we first heard about in March seems to be getting off the ground. Hope your credit score’s in good shape.
- The Volkswagen diesel debacle just gets worse and worse. Reports now suggest that emissions from lying, cheating VWs, Audis, Seats, and other mendacious members of the Volkswagen family — seriously, it’s like a Tennessee Williams play — have caused up to 20 deaths per year in the U.S. alone. Multiply that by the number of countries where Volkswagen’s diesels were sold, increase it seven-fold to account for at least seven years of deception, and you’ve got a big, unpleasant number. And it’s safe to assume, quite a few lawsuits.
But how do they know who these twenty people were. How can you calculate that? And separate those polutants emitted from every cruise ship on the ocean, cargo carrier and major fishing vessel on the high seas most of which us diesel motors many of which are not routinely checked so in certain countries with more lax entry inspections run their diesel motors on the cheapest, nearly unrefined oil just to save money and maximize profit on their cargo. So will people cancel their cruises? How many people has Carnival Cruise line killed? Sorry. That was with their food. And then we can’t forget jet airplanes which burn jet fuel which, while a very effective fuel, does pass over everyone’s heads leaving sulfur and other airborne contaminants over all of our heads. Apparently National Geographic Estimated more people die each year from airplane pollutant disorders as have died in every commercial airplane crash in recorded history. I am not sure if Malaysia Air counts.