Have you had a productive week? I hope so. BangShift Mid-West is under repairs, which means that yours truly has been swinging a sledgehammer at a concrete slab that was my front porch for two days straight. At some points, it’s two inches thick and breaks easily. At other points, it’s almost nine inches thick and I’m all but ready to rent a jackhammer and get the job done and over with. And that’s just the start of what’s going on with the house. Then there is car stuff, which you will see plenty of this week, and events coming up quickly. Another week down, plenty more to go. So here’s a quick review of some of the scrappy tidbits from the feed, nuked in the microwave, dusted in cheese and rolled up in a tortilla for you to snack on. It’s Scrapple…enjoy!

1. Um…change it back?

For reasons that are completely lost to us, BMW has decided to change their logo. The familiar blue/white checkered roundel remains, as does the outer ring with BMW at the top. What’s lost is the black background that offered relief to the eyes and made the details of the badge stand out. It wasn’t broke, so why fix it? Oh, yeah, that’s right…it’s “old”, meaning someone in their early twenties decided it was time to make their mark. And apparently, regardless of what you might think, it’s not meant to be a symbol related to aviation, as BMW would like you to believe. Even though old BMW ads had it laid over actual aircraft propellers.

2. Wow. That’s all I’ve got. Wow.

Vehicle: Hyundai Prophecy concept vehicle. This was supposed to debut at Geneva, before the world panicked in one unified cry out for toilet paper. It’s meant to be a potential move for Hyundai’s foray into an EV-heavy market, but good lord, those bodylines.

3. National Protection

So GM has pretty much told Australia to stuff it. We hate it for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere, but it seems that the Australian government is stepping in to make sure GM feels just how pissed-off many are about this situation. In a statement from Paul Fletcher, Australia’s Arts Minister, one line was clear: “The Government expects to see a clear plan from GM about how this significant material (read: historical vehicles, including cars from Holden’s historical collections and concept vehicles) is to be preserved and maintained in Australia.”

Mate, they couldn’t preserve jobs or vehicle production. Do you really think GM is going to give you a clear plan on anything? Just hope that they find a worthy individual or group to care for the vehicles and make sure they don’t wind up at the Port of Newcastle, boxed up and ready to go.

4. Happy birthday, old soul!Outside of a minor facelift or two, the Chevrolet Express is the same vehicle as it was when it arrived on the scene in 1995, when gasoline was about $1.15 a gallon…and I was in the fifth grade. No, that last part isn’t a mis-print, the Express and it’s GMC Savana twin have been around that long. For it’s 26th birthday, the Express will be ditching the 6.0L V8s that have served dutifully and will instead utilize the L8T 6.6L, an iron-block version of the L86 the Silverado and Sierra HD trucks. The L8T has a 98mm stroke and is rated at 401 horsepower and 464 ft/lbs of torque, and will drink 87 octane. It also won’t have cylinder deactivation or start/stop technology. Hallelujah.

5. Sucks to be you, dude.The owner of this Chevrolet LUV pickup truck is probably ready to go into hiding after brake failure caused him to crash into an Easter Island moai statues, destroying it and damaging the ahu, or platform, that it was perched upon. The moai, the large carved head statues, are usually made of tuff, volcanic rock that is easy to work with but is relatively soft and easily damaged. The mayor of Easter Island, which is a Chilean territory, has pushed for anti-driving measures to ensure that the maoi aren’t harmed by vehicles, and without a doubt this isn’t going to help matters any.