It’s been a good week. Where’s Lohnes? At a race. Where’s McTaggart? Either at a race or underneath a car he promised to put back together years ago. Where’s Chad? Driving a car he swore he’d put back years ago to a race. It’s a good time in the world of BangShift, and we hope you are out enjoying the shows, collecting the timeslips, or are at least enjoying the content we bring to you from our travels and exploits. It’s been a busy week, but that hasn’t ebbed the flow of news crossing our desk any, so here’s a couple of tidbits that were worthy of a quick roasting before being mashed up into our weekly serving of Scrapple. Enjoy!

1. “Death Wobble” your way to the courthouse.

Have you ever experienced death wobble? It isn’t fun…the whole sensation makes you think that you are milliseconds from the front end vacating the program and that you’re about to hear the sound of bumper and frame on asphalt…if you’re lucky. Many different vehicles can have death wobble for many reasons, but Jeeps, especially JK Wranglers, are notorious for it, usually after front-end components wear out or after it’s been modified. A New Jersey lawsuit is claiming that FCA sold a “defectively designed and/or manufactured front axle and damping system” on JK Wranglers and is seeking a buyback program that sees FCA paying drivers for the vehicles, compensation for loss of value of the vehicles, and to provide replacement vehicles while repairs are pending, plus punitive damages (“…for FCA’s knowing fraud that put drivers and members of the public nationwide at risk”) and for regulators to force a recall.

One question: has anyone put the Jeep of the person who is behind this lawsuit up in the air to see if they…you know…failed to keep up with scheduled maintenance or failed to keep proper air pressure in their tires? You bought a Jeep. Rough and tumble, remember? Go anywhere, remember? It’s not going to off-road like a Jeep and ride like a freakin’ Maybach, you magnificent idiot.

2. Well…merde.

If you live in France and are reading this site, from the bottom of our hearts, we sympathize with you because your government has just put the bullet point down for the end of the internal-combustion engine in your country. Transport Minister Elizabeth Borne made it clear that the banning of the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles in France by 2040 in the push to make France carbon neutral by 2050 will happen, with the government helping manufacturers PSA and Renault make the switch to electric vehicles. There are also discussions on a tax-free €400 subsidy to employees who car-share or bike to work. Sorry.

3. The Good Idea Fairy is alive and well in Britain.

Speaking of fantastically bad ideas from the European area of the world…the United Kingdom’s Department of Transport is preparing to test noise-detecting camera systems across the region for the next seven months in the hopes of catching loud vehicles. What does “loud” mean? It’s illegal to exceed 74 decibels with a new car in the Kingdom. Compare that with California, where the limit is 95 dbA. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling is championing this system for the ability to reduce noise pollution and to help local cops catch…and I quote…”boy racers in souped-up vehicles.”

Are you joking, Secretary? You’re acting like you’re in an early 1950s evil hot rodder movie. Calm down.

4. Tow me now, you sonofa….

Being a repo truck driver already has enough problems involved with the occupation without any help. There is nothing quite like irate people who are learning that due to their actions, their vehicle is about to be returned to the bank by some dude hauling it away. Now, what happens if the car belongs to a New York City detective? Apparently, that’s when cops pull the dude out of the truck, put him in jail for 20 hours, and leave his tow truck booted for two weeks. The car was legitimately repo-qualified…the detective was three months behind on payments. The driver recently got his truck back, and now NYPD’s Internal Affairs is reviewing the case. Who taught who a lesson here? We aren’t sure…

5. A whisper through into the trees.

We love rally cars. Wound up like a chihuahua after it got into someone’s stash of speed, popping and banging like a string of Black Cats on the Fourth of July, and roosting dirt off of all four wheels before flying off of a jump…what’s not to love there? Well, apparently the power, noise and use of fuel is too much for some, because WRC is incorporating a “supplementary hybrid system” with spec components and software from 2022 to 2025, and then the FIA is expected to open op the options for electric vehicles. One key note of this setup is a “power boost” on special stages.

I don’t even have a snarky response to this. Colin McRae, if he was still here, would puke.