– If you abide by the idea that the Pope is really just a normal dude who gets to wear a robe everyday, then the news that he has augmented his predecessor’s special Mercedes parade car with a Hyundai is, well, not really news. But c’mon, people, this is the Pope, the leader of the Catholic church, globally recognized public figure, and all-around guy you wouldn’t expect to make risk-fraught public
– Hoping to make drunk driving a literal impossibility, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rolled out a prototype drunkenness-detection system for cars that would disallow vehicle operation if the driver is above the legal limit. Working with auto-industry members, NHTSA has been working on DADSS—Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety—and presented its ideas for stopping drunk-driving accidents before they happen before Congress and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. – – Drunk driving
– Stroll any thriving downtown metro area a few years ago, and you’d invariably spy with-it twentysomethings shod with Toms. They’re the sort of product that you’d like to feel good about—the company donates a pair of shoes to folks in need for every pair you, the benevolent first-worlder, purchases—but they have the unfortunate side effect of branding the wearer as the well-meaning, wholly insufferable type. Fundamentally, they’re the foot-borne
– Audi is launching an ultra-limited special edition of its cool and powerful S3, one that’s specific for the U.S. market. First reported by our pals at the Audi enthusiast website Fourtitude, Audi of America has created an Exclusive Edition package that includes colorful paint and interior trim—at a whopping $57,250 or $59,900, depending on the color choice. This pricing will likely keep a lid on demand, which is okay
-RM Sotheby’s auction house is bringing one of the most expensive and eclectic car collections ever to Pebble Beach this August, the contents of which could make for some tough choices among the paddle-wavers in attendance. – The famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which takes place every year in Monterey, California, is a car lover’s delight. There, one sees some of the world’s cleanest examples of classic and exotic cars, and
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– Are the sports car gods in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen listening to our prayers? For years, Porsche has attempted to coax us into giving up manual shifters and accepting the advent of the automatic. Not a profane slushbox, mind you: They have given us the Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe, an ultra-quick, ZF-sourced dual-clutch gearbox that, we are told, is a much faster, better, and a more appropriate arbiter of gears than you. – – But
By Lefteris Papadimas and Paul Taylor ATHENS/GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will resume talks with euro zone lenders in Brussels next week after telling parliament he rejected the creditors’ “absurd” terms for a cash-for-reform deal to keep his country from default. The unresolved Greek debt impasse, which is weighing on financial markets and could hit global economic recovery, will hang over a Group of Seven leaders’
By Megha Rajagopalan and Joseph Campbell JIANLI, China (Reuters) – The death toll from a Chinese cruise ship which capsized during a storm in the Yangtze River jumped to 396 on Saturday, leaving fewer than 50 still missing, as the boat operator apologized and said it would cooperate with investigations. State television showed pictures of workers clad in protective gear and wearing masks prizing open doors with crowbars and using
By Noah Browning and Mohammed Ghobari DUBAI/SANAA (Reuters) – Yemen’s dominant Houthi group and its army allies fired a Scud missile at Saudi Arabia which the kingdom says it shot down on Saturday, in a major escalation of two months of war. The area is home to the largest air force base in southern Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, but there are no oil facilities in the vicinity.
