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Scrapple, Your Guide To The “meh”-Worthy News! This Week: Not A Real Ferrari?


Scrapple, Your Guide To The “meh”-Worthy News! This Week: Not A Real Ferrari?

Halle-freaking-lujah, it’s officially Spring! Break out the bird feeders, allergy medications and the hope that the weather will hold long enough to be enjoyed…and break out the machine when the sun is shining and the roads are clear! That cabin fever can really be a pain, so get out there and enjoy the fresh air. But before you hit the road, how about a quick bite of some lightly roasted leftover news tidbits to fill your belly? This is Scrapple…enjoy!

1. The Cars and Coffee safety feature has arrived!

Better late than never, we guess. Come this November, the Ford Mustang (aka “The Car Show Predator”) will be getting Ford’s new Pedestrian Detection system. Here’s how it works: every second, a camera on the windshield takes thirty images, and compares the shapes it detects against a catalog of “pedestrian shapes”. If it detects a human-like object in the travel path, the driver will first get a warning, then the car will automatically stop if that warning is ignored. And for you fans of other Ford products, don’t feel left out: the system will appear on the F-150 as well.

Remember when you actually drove the car, and people didn’t just walk in front of a two-ton rolling brick? Ah, memories.

2. It’s the perfect accessory for the person who can buy everything they ever wanted!

Bugatti-Palmer Johnson Niniette 66. Only 66 copies will be made. Yes, it’s meant to look like a Bugatti Chiron. It has a “salon”, a fire pit, a jacuzzi, and enough carbon fiber to build a Boeing 787 out of…we assume, anyways. Power comes from one of two MAN marine V8s, one a 1,000 horsepower unit, the other a 1,200 horsepower unit. Price? Three cents short of the soul that you sold to the devil in the deal that made you stupidly rich enough to afford one.

3. We’ll believe it when we see it somewhere other than a car show floor.

This is the H600, a car that was designed by Pininfarina for the Hybrid Kinetic Group, formerly known as HK Motors, a Hong Kong-based deal. Why do we care? Because of the powerplant: this hybrid will use a microturbine engine as a range-extending device for the “800 horsepower” powertrain. The car is supposed to debut at the Shanghai Auto Show in about a month, and if it actually makes it to production, it will be a very interesting answer to Tesla. Outside of the prototype Chrysler Turbine fleet of the 1960s, this would be the first example of a turbine application in a production car, right?

4. You mean I’m not a real boy Ferrari?

Apparently FCA/Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne has an issue with the Ferrari California T. During the Geneva Motor Show, he mentioned that the California T has an identity crisis, and that it doesn’t feel up to par as a Ferrari. And he’s got a point…from the sideview alone, it appears that the California T is the perfect answer to “I want a Miata, but I also want to look down my nose at people less fortunate”. Moving on…

5. Don’t track me, bro.

Christian von Koenigsegg has a unique app on his phone: at any point in time, he can tell you where any and every last Koenigsegg supercar is. Creepy, no? Not as bad as you might think…von Koenigsegg isn’t about knowing where each car is so much as he is interested in customer support, information from the cars, and the performance and metrics information that each car provides. It allows him to track faults to engineer out, for example. But it’s still kind of unnerving to know that one guy on the planet knows where some rich guy’s weekend ride is, isn’t it? Nah…


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2 thoughts on “Scrapple, Your Guide To The “meh”-Worthy News! This Week: Not A Real Ferrari?

  1. jerry z

    Shouldn’t ford produce a “Crowd Detection System”? This way when a Mustang comes in the vicinity of a crowd, the Mustang shuts down. No?

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