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Chicago Tribune: No Probation For “Extreme Speeders”
Enforcing laws against victimless crimes is never easy. Limited resources force local governments to constantly assess their law-enforcement priorities, assigning the squad cars and jail beds to the...
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Nixon, Muppets, and an Intrepid: BS Inspections of the Showroom-Schlock...
We’re here at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois, for the first annual Showroom-Schlock Shooutout (we raced here last year, but the race was called the Rod Blagojevich Never-Say-Die 500). The...
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2012 Chicago Auto Show Preview
Our coverage of the 2012 Chicago Auto Show will kick off Wednesday, but preparations begin tomorrow, as our team, headed up by hizzoner Jack Baruth, makes its way to the Windy City. We’ve got a brief...
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Trackday Diaries: He Wrangled ‘Till The Butcher Cut Him Down.
“So, I ordered myself a Jeep.” “Awesome! What did you end up getting?” “Loaded Sahara Unlimited, Gecko Green, tan leather, six-speed manual, just like you suggested.” “Well, that is what I suggested...
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$57 Million Chicago Ford Dealership Delayed As Aldermen Play Politics
FMG Holdings, which operates a number of car dealerships in western Michigan under the name of Fox Motors, had planned on spending $57 million turning an abandoned industrial site on Chicago’s North...
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Court Order May Finally Get Chicago EV Charging Network Fully Operational
After a ruling in federal court, a Chicago area electric vehicle charging network may finally become completely operational. The quick charging stations were installed under a $1.9 million federal...
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Junkyard Find, Crabspirits Editions: Toyota Cressidas, Transformed By Michael...
To preface, this intrusion into the thunder dome that is Murilee’s arena isn’t going to be a regular occurrence. If you’ve ever seen him once-over a suspect entrant at a Lemons race, you know he is...
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Chicago’s Bid To Fleece Motorists Of $90M Falls Short
Don’t you just hate it when you plan to screw your constituents out of nearly a hundred million bucks and you only get, like, half of that? A combination of salesmanship and greed led the city of...
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Chicago’s Yellow Light Intervals Generating More Fines
Ever notice how the traffic lights in Chicago switch from yellow to red quicker than in other cities? That’s because the city changed the formula. FiveThirtyEight reports the formula — yellow change...
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Uber, BYD Sign Deal To Test EV Fleet In Chicago
Chicago Uber customers are the first to take a ride in a Chinese-made EV, thanks to a deal between BYD and the transportation network company. Reuters reports the deal involves a test fleet of 25 BYD...
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Ford Unveils Carsharing Pilot Program For Select Ford Credit Consumers
Financing a Ford and looking to bolster your monthly payments? The automaker has an idea: rent your car to others. Ford owners financing their rides through Ford Credit can rent them out to other...
View ArticleCorrupt Red Light Camera Company Sued By Chicago for $300M
Chicago wants $300 million from the company it hired to photograph, ticket and follow drivers after it was revealed that executives bribed city officials for the contract, the Chicago Tribune is...
View ArticleLast Rides Premium Selects: Getting The Boot
When I write these little features, I always follow a set of self-imposed rules: Rule No. 1: The car is always the main character; Rule No. 2: Avoid using the same personality profile as in a previous...
View ArticleWhile You Were Gorging: A Compendium of Thanksgiving News You May Have Missed
While the rest of the world warms up to our Thanksgiving tradition of football and mountains of potatoes and gravy, we must admit that the world goes on without us some days. Thankfully, the Internet...
View ArticleSURPRISE: Some Bus Drivers, Police in Chicago Not Required to Pay Speed...
A Chicago Tribune investigation has uncovered that the city’s speed cameras have nabbed school bus drivers, police, public employees and city bus drivers more than 8,000 times over the past two years....
View ArticleGunman Arrested Following Shooting of Chicago UAW Officials
The man who allegedly opened fire on two UAW officials last week, wounding both, has been arrested and charged, Chicago police announced late Tuesday. William Cowart, 50, was brought in on charges of...
View ArticleChicago: Where Crime Scenes Increasingly Have Lane Markers
There’s no shortage of ink spilled about the sky-high murder rate in Chicago, but the Windy City’s most overlooked crime scene isn’t a particular neighborhood or address. It’s the freeway. In a year...
View ArticleChicago 2017: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT – Three Rows and Almost 500 Horsepower
If you want to scare your larger-than-average family by surprising them with a round of impromptu autocross through the mall parking lot, you’ll have to limit the size of your brood or risk looking...
View ArticleJunkyard Treasure: 1993 Geo Tracker, Illinois Rust Edition
When The General created the Geo brand in 1989, the idea was that cars designed and/or built by Toyota, Isuzu, and Suzuki could be sold in the United States under the GM flag (Geos became Chevrolets...
View ArticleChicago Considers Congestion Charges, Starting With Uber/Lyft
Chicago is considering sticking ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft with a new tax that would add a few bucks onto each ride. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed a $40-million-per-year tax increase...
View ArticleBronco Spied on Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway
A bronco was being tested on Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway Monday, without camouflage, in full view of commuters. OK, ok, it wasn’t a Ford Bronco. Neigh. It probably wasn’t even a bronco, at all –...
View ArticleChicago Auto Show Delayed Until ‘Spring’
The 2021 Chicago Auto Show will be delayed until sometime in the spring of 2021 because of the COVID-19 epidemic that has forced the entire world to pretty much cancel everything. Of course, we didn’t...
View ArticleChicago Auto Show Set to Return in July
The 2020 Chicago Auto Show was, as far this author knows, the last major auto show to take place before COVID shut the world down. Now, it might be the first auto show to return. Don’t just take it...
View ArticleDriving Dystopia: Speed Camera Rule Change Creates Ticketing Explosion in...
At the start of the year, the city of Chicago announced that it would be changing rules pertaining to traffic enforcement as part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s updated 2021 budget package. But the one that...
View ArticleChicago Mechanic Strike Continues
Technicians at over 50 dealerships in and around Chicago are now in their second week on strike. They’re fighting with the Chicago New Car Dealer Committee, which represents the 56 dealers involved, as...
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