SEMA, PRI, and the end of the major racing and show season. Just in time to go into the holiday season. You have got all of the gifts together, right? Well, if you haven’t, at least you were smart enough to skip the Black Friday routine, and if you are actually smart, you won’t wait until the last freaking minute to get things done. But if you are really, really smart, you will take a few more minutes with your morning coffee and catch up on some of the more random newsbites that we have slapped together in a pan, roasted, and served up hot and steaming. Here’s the latest Scrapple, fresh and ready for your enjoyment!

1. *Facepalm* ONLY IN CALIFORNIA.

Californian Assembly member Phil Ting (D) is working on a bill for the state that would set a deadline for the ban of engines powered by fossil fuels. The plan would be to make 2040 the cutoff year…at that point, California would only register “clean” vehicles that do not emit any carbon dioxide. In an interview with Bloomberg, Ting said, “Unless you set a deadline, nothing gets done. It’s responsible for us to set a deadline twenty-three years in advance.”

Of note: Ting is currently 48 years old, and would be 71 when the rule would be set.

2. By “uncertainties”, you mean pitchforks and torches, right?

Volkswagen’s diesel troubles are going to be found etched in stone millenia from now. The latest kick in der Sack for VW comes in the form of the T6 van…after an unidentified informant tipped off German magazine Der Spiegel about the T6’s nitrogen oxide emissions being significantly higher than legal, VW ceased delivering the vans and has reported the findings to the KBA (Germany’s automotive supervisory agency.)

Meanwhile, Oliver Schmidt, the Volkswagen executive who was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the Dieselgate tidal wave of bad news, is probably letting out another sigh…

3. I’m BLIND!

Photo: FCA North America, LLC

The 2017-18 Jeep Compass is far and above from what the old “Compatriot” was: instead of just being a set of wheels that moved on it’s own with yawn-worthy styling, it’s now a mini-Grand Cherokee. That’s a very good thing. But what isn’t a good thing turned out to be within the gauge panel: like most new cars, the gauges are lit all the time. But at night, instead of going into a dimmer mode, the drivers of about 10% of the total production so far found that they were getting all of the brightness, all the time. FCA will begin the recall on the vehicles affected on January 10th, 2018, so until then…sunglasses at night?

4. The zombie apocalypse is actually happening!

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (read: Saab without the name) has finally unveiled their take on the second-generation 9-3, which debuted back in 2002. NEVS, which is Chinese-owned, is producing the cars in a factory in Tianjin, and is offering a range of 186 miles, WiFi, vehicle updates like Tesla that are downloaded to the car, and an air filtration system.

Um…best of luck?

5. Be smarter than the guy who you are screwing with.

The fellow pictured is Mats Järlström. He lives in Oregon, and three years ago he got that notice from the state. Basically, he investigated how yellow lights were timed in Oregon after getting ticketed for driving through a red light. That wasn’t the issue. After a two-year investigation, Oregon slapped him with a $500 fine for practicing engineering without a license. Nevermind that Järlström has a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, or that he wasn’t operating in a commercial setting or a professional setting. Per the state Department of Justice, the state violated Järlström’s rights when the Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying unconstitutionally applied state law governing engineering practice when he was operating in a non-commercial setting. The state has reimbursed Järlström the $500 fine. Järlström and his legal team are going after the state again and are working to overturn what they see as unconstitutional state law and administrative rules.

All over a yellow signal light.