This isn’t a “best of” deal for the festivities…no, no…that would undermine the idea behind Scrapple in the first place: finding the most random and barely-worthy tidbits and giving them the half-hearted glances they deserve! No, in the great tradition of the mediocre, we will celebrate by doubling up the portions! Half-Baked News For All! Here’s to the hope that next year won’t be so bad…oh, who are we kidding? Bring on the ridiculous!

1. Elon Musk: CARB should force VW to make electric vehicles!

This is part of a letter that over 45 signatories, including Elon Musk, SolarCity, and the Sierra Club have signed on to that is encouraging the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to alter the punishment for Volkswagen following Dieselgate. I can’t roast this…this is already fried. Quote:

“The solution we propose for VW and the CARB is to, in a legally enforceable form:

1./ Release VW from its obligation to fix diesel cars already on the road in California, which represent an insignificant portion of total vehicles emissions in the State, and which cars do not, individually, present any emissions-related risk to their owners or occupants

2./ Instead, direct VW to accelerate greatly its rollout of zero emission vehicles, which by their very nature, have zero emissions and thus present zero opportunities for cheating, and also do not require any enforcement dollars to verify

3./ Require that this acceleration of the rollout of zero emissions vehicles by VW result in a 10 for 1 or greater reduction in pollutant emissions as compared to the pollution associated with the diesel fleet cheating, and achieve this over the next 5 years

4./ Require that VW invest in new manufacturing plants and/or research and development, in the amounts that they otherwise would have been fined, and do so in California to the extent that California would have been allocated its share of the fines

5./ Allow VW some flexibility in the execution and timing of this plan by allowing it to be implemented via zero emission vehicle credits.

In contrast to the punishments and recalls being considered, this proposal would be a real win for California emissions, a big win for California jobs, and a historic action to help derail climate change.

The bottleneck to the greater availability of zero emissions vehicles is the availability of batteries. There is an urgent need to build more battery factories to increase battery supply, and this proposal would ensure that large battery plant and related investments, with their ensuing local jobs, would be made in the U.S. by VW.

A satisfactory way to fix all the diesel cars does not likely exist, so this solution side steps the great injury and uncertainty that imposing an ineffective fix would place on individual diesel car owners. A drawn out and partial failure of the process will only exacerbate the public’s lack of trust in the industry and its regulators. By explicit design, this proposal would achieve, in contrast, a minimum of a 10X reduction in pollutant emissions as compared to a complete fix.

There is a precedent for this type of resolution. In the industry-wide 1990 diesel truck cheating scandal, the EPA chose not to require an interim recall but instead moved up the deadline for tougher standards to make up the difference. This proposal does the same for VW and ties the solution to a transition to zero emissions vehicles.

We strongly urge CARB to consider this proposal in resolving the VW cheating scandal.”

ARE YOU PEOPLE DELUSIONAL?!!

 

2. Miller Motorsports Park’s sale to MiTime is overturned

 

Short version: Miller Motorsports Park was sold to Chinese investment firm MiTime, which is associated with Geely, the Chinese auto manufacturer who owns Volvo. In their $20 million deal, MiTime promised to build testing facilities and to maintain the track, but a Utah judge blocked the sale due to issues brought up by Center Point Management, a Wyoming-based company who claims that the county commissioners bought into unverified promises in the MiTime deal instead of the $22.5 million deal they offered. Expect this to become extremely nasty next year between MiTime, Center Point Management, the county and other competing bidders who might smell blood in the water.

3. Are those stupid “hoverboards” safe? Apparently this is an issue…

 

This is only here because of the Christmas season. You know those “hoverboards”…also known as the laziest option to the skateboard known to man? Yeah…shocker: there is a chance that the rider might fall and get hurt. Raise your hands if you are shocked. Now, here’s a realistically shocking thing: apparently these toys are also catching fire on their own accord. Maybe that’ll get Junior’s to use the legs and feet instead of having a hoverboard catch fire while struggling under his weight.

4. Operator-level Badass for your trip to the mall!

The Chevrolet Silverado “Special Ops” edition is going to go into limited production. It sports a (swear this is true) “razzle-dazzle” camo paint job and other unique touches, and part of each sale will go to the National Navy SEAL Museum. Our take? We can live without the special edition, but the bed bar, which was featured on a couple of other trucks we saw at SEMA, looks good.

5. What’s Indian for “Red Head”?

The Mahindra Group, after months of issues, have finally bought a 76.06% share of  Italian design firm Pininfarina for $28 million. Mahindra is also guaranteeing $125 million to Pininfarina’s creditors and has plans for $20 million in investments. No word yet on whether or not Pininfarina can make the Mahindra truck any prettier.

6. You can go with this, but can’t go with that: FCA’s Trademark Problems

According to the rumor mills, FCA has been really working the U.S. Patent and Trademark office over some old names and the office has been working them right back. Two specific names from Mopar’s past, in fact, stand out: Barracuda/’Cuda, and Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer. Here’s the reason why anyone is really paying attention: for years now, there has been rumors flying about either a smaller two-door performance car or a shrunken Challenger being sold as a Dodge or Chrysler Barracuda. Problem is, that FCA didn’t get the applications done in time and “Barracuda” is no longer on the table. ‘Cuda, however, is. A similar situation is in play for the upcoming luxury Jeep SUV…they can call it the “Wagoneer”, but “Grand Wagoneer” is out because a RV company owns the trademark now. Here’s a suggestion: How about building either one of these mythical beasts? Hmm?

7. And in “That’s not really news!” news…

I want to like the ELR, I really do. It took the Chevy Volt, made it look sporty and kind of cool, yet kept the positives of the plug-in hybrid system. In other words, it was a hybrid that didn’t make you look like an self-absorbed Prius owner. But Cadillac marketing manager Uwe Ellinghaus held nothing back when he noted that the ELR was “a big disappointment”. Maybe the $75K base price it started with was a reason?

8. California is working to require drivers in driverless cars…

…but the question is “why”? Is it to make sure there is a human to blame in case something goes wrong, or to have someone for celebrities and powerful people to point and laugh at as they drive off in their luxury SUV?

9. (not this again…) SAAB lives! (maybe…probably not…)

Five new models by 2018, promises NEVS.

WHY WON’T YOU DIE ALREADY?!?!

10. Ford F-150 Hybrid.Here’s two crowds that don’t normally play nice together: Hybrid owners and pickup truck owners. What would be a good idea? Blend the two! Ford is looking into a hybrid F-150, possibly a plug-in hybrid type. I really, really want to be a fly on the wall when a “truck guy” figures out that his brand new “no bailout needed” Ford truck is one of those “sissified electric hybrid eco-weenie cars”.