File this under "News That Effects Me Personally." As in, "Those city hall pricks are taking tacos out of my mouth." Where I live in North Eastern LA, there are– or rather were— six taco trucks with a one mile stretch along the same road. As The New York Time rightly reports, each one offers uniquely delicious fare. Except for that one up on 51st — their tacos suck. But the other five, man… So here's the dirt straight from the hungry horse's mouth. Restaurants are complaining (and have been complaining) that the "roach coaches" are stealing customers because their food is so cheap. My new mortal enemy, county supervisor Gloria Molina, is pushing through the ordinance that will require taco trucks to move every hour. Effectively putting them out of business. Why? Henchman Gerry Hertzberg claims the trucks represent a "big quality of life issue." Whatever that means. Taco truck owner Jose Naranjo puts it best, "We are poor people feeding other poor people." Yeah, and me! The ordinance goes into effect today. This is a total tragedy as one truck in particular serves-up the best carne asada tacos in all of Los Angeles. And trust me, I've looked. Anyhow, I wrote Molina a letter and signed the save our taco trucks petition. Though I fear you can't fight city hall. Tasteless jerks. 

Critics have long maintained that "safety cameras" (a.k.a. no-armed bandits) cause crashes. Unsuspecting drivers stumble upon a camera, hit the brakes hard and BAM! Rear-end collision. This is especially likely for motorists who suddenly catch sight of camera vans (a.k.a. "Talivans"). Well duh. The whole point of these infernal machines is to catch motorists "off guard." Otherwise, well, they wouldn't make any money catch any speeders, would they? But scientific studies and common sense will only take you so far, hearts and minds-wise. What could really turn the tide is a video of a Talivan-caused crash. And the BBC had just such a video. Only they pulled it. Which has pissed off the Association of British Drivers no end. "The video was first shown on BBC News 24 on Monday 21st April when it was bizarrely used to illustrate a misleading story claiming that 'speeding' is by far the biggest cause of accidents. The video later appeared on the BBC News website at this address: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7358372.stm, but by the next day it had mysteriously disappeared." ABD member Keith Jones said Auntie Beeb told him that the video is missing from their website "because of a technical problem." They don't know when it will be fixed and "do not provide feedback on progress." So much for tax-payer funding guaranteeing the BBC's editorial independence, transparency or accountability. Not that it ever did, mind. 

Here's another one for TTAC's new Whisky Tango Foxtrot category… Ontario's new anti-street racing laws were enforced for the first time when a garbage truck was clocked doing about 70mph in a 40 mph zone. The Record reports that the Great Lakes Waste Management truck would be impounded for seven days, and the driver's license suspended for a week– on top of a $2,000 fine for street-racing. The citation has caused the Ontario police to expand its investigations into alleged street racing beyond the initial targets ("young men in cars," surprise, surprise). Their undue diligence now includes commercial vehicles. "The more we apply this new legislation, we're seeing this problem is across the board," says Ontario Police constable Joanna Van Mierlo. That, or garbage truck drivers are far more dedicated to time efficiency than previously thought. Talk about going like stink! [thanks to QuasiMondo for the link]

TTAC slots all its blog posts into categories. I sometimes have trouble figuring-out which box to tick. If I'm stumped, I can create a new category. But then I have to wonder how many posts will fit the new attribution, and the wisdom of creating a drop-down menu that's longer than an E85 producer's list of tax deductions. And then there's the name of the category. For example, this post could go into "We Can't Make This Shit Up," "and "Who Believes This Shit?" Or both. I mean, c'mon. If you wanted to eavesdrop on Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking– as Wendy's in full takeover mode looking to kick some major status quo ass– why would you use a baby monitor for the job? But it's true. Or not. Spiegel [via Automotive News, sub] reports that "a security firm found a switched-on babyphone behind a sofa in the room where Wendelin Wiedeking was going to stay for a supervisory board meeting of Volkswagen." In this brave new world of electronic eavesdropping, where experts can listen to conversation by pointing a laser at a window in the room, where a "bug" can be smaller than the chances of Jalopnik/Autoblog not carrying this story, why would a VW spy use a babyphone (a.k.a. baby monitor or kiddiespy)? If they did, what does that tell you about the automaker's mastery of technology. If they didn't, what does that tell you about Porsche's disinformation efforts? Crime and punishment? High Finance? Sure.

First, we're talking Chrysler Financial Canada. Second, the story in The Windsor Star omits a crucial piece of data (ironically enough): how many Chrysler customers were affected by the missing tape containing customer names, addresses and social insurance numbers. We know there's one, for sure, and he's more than a bit miffed at the delay between the Chrysler's data loss and the heads-up. "Chris Jovanovic, who leases a car from Chrysler, said the company was notified by United Parcel Service about the lost tape on Mar. 12 but a letter from Chrysler Financial dated Mar. 27 didn't arrive in his mailbox until Monday." Said letter assured Jovanovic "The data tape cannot be easily accessed and requires specialized software and equipment to read." So that's alright then. Not according to Jovanovich. "Someone who knows what they're doing could probably access the information. Nothing's that secure these days and it annoys me to think that if the tape never shows up, will we be looking over our shoulders for years waiting for the information to be used." While Jovanovich is seeing red (and a lawyer), Chrysler's no longer using brown. A spokeswoman said "after the tape went missing, internal processes were changed and the information is now sent by secure electronic transmissions. UPS is no longer used." So, bad publicity all 'round, eh?

Wow Volkswagen. Just when I thought you couldn't do anything more to get a VeeDub into the service bay, you really step it up. Right now, I just bring my GTI in every other month when the check engine light illuminates my face with fury. But the new "carefree maintenance program" announced Wednesday is next-generation stupid. For the first 36k miles of ownership, VW will do all your scheduled maintenance for free. What is the scheduled maintenance you ask? Changing the oil (which VW claims is only necessary every 10k miles on 2009s onward, thanks to synthetic oil) and uh, checking a whole bunch of fluid levels. VW's press release [via the great press release funnel otherwise known as Autoblog] touts the new program as a "great way to improve our owner loyalty for the brand, as well as increase consumer consideration." Uh no and no. This isn't going to sell cars, and the opportunity to save $20 bucks on the free oil change isn't going to make up for all the dealer-service department scamming guaranteed to take place. In fact, if I was a VW NA corporate suit (poor sods), I'd be doing everything I could to keep people AWAY from the dealers, to minimize the amount of rip-off-itude.

Malaysia has launched a war on street racing, targeting its hoon-happy citizens. [hoon: 1. lout: a lout or hooligan 2. speeding driver: somebody, especially a young man, who drives fast and recklessly.] Motor Authority reports that the Malay government has proposed a $1500 fine, five-year prison sentence and three-year license suspension for first time road racing offenders. The government threatens to send repeat offenders away for ten years, fine them over $3k and– just to make sure they learn their lesson and indulge S&M-oriented bureaucrats– smack them with a cane three times. The sentences cover all forms of road racing, but they're particularly aimed at Mat Rempits, the step-through scooter hooligans who tear-ass through the streets of the South-East Asian country. We've heard of tank slap before, but this is just ridiculous.

“We are satisfied with the judge’s decision,” Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley told Reuters. “We feel that although the case is without merit and we proved that in court, we also believe the settlement is right for our customers.” Well duh. Some 800k Ford owners and lessees file a class-action lawsuit against the Blue Oval Boyz for lost value– due to the whole Firestone/Explorer rollover deal– and FoMoCo gives them a discount towards the purchase of a new Ford. We’re talking certificates good for $500 off a new Explorer, or $300 off any other Ford, Mercury or Lincoln product. Oh, and the plaintiffs’ lawyers get $25m. Hang on. Say half of those people buy a new Ford. Excluding Ford’s own legal fees (which are probably part of their normal overhead) and the discount itself (as usual), the marketing cost for those “disgruntled customers'” sales will cost Ford just $62.50 each. Given the money to be made on trade-ins and re-financing… Call me crazy, but this class action lawsuit thing sounds a genuine business opportunity. [props to Cammy Corrigan for the link]

In yet another salvo in the UK's ongoing war on speeders, the British government is considering installing motorway cameras which track the average speed of individual vehicles. The move is aimed at those sick, twisted individuals who slow down for cameras only to speed up again after they pass the eyes in the sky. The new cameras would track the speed of a vehicle, and then compute its average velocity between two cameras on a given stretch of road. Although simple in conception, the new approach would be far more effective in convincing Britain's drivers that the smallest violation of speed limits would be instantly caught and penalized. The cameras have already been deployed for testing at road construction sites, and apparently can't be fooled by lane changes and other "evasive techniques." 

"After the arrest of an illegal immigrant in connection with the murder of three students in Newark last summer, New Jersey’s attorney general, Anne Milgram, ordered state and local police to question the people arrested for serious crimes about their immigration status." The New York Times editorial board is down with that, as long as the police "ask about the immigration status of anyone arrested for an indictable crime or drunken driving, but not for minor offenses. They are prohibited from asking about the status of crime victims, witnesses and people requesting assistance."  But OH NO. The Old Gray Lady reports that "Lawyers and advocates for immigrants say that they have received reports that some police departments, especially in rural areas, are routinely questioning immigrants who are not covered by the directive, including some who were simply passengers in cars pulled over for minor traffic offenses. These actions come dangerously close to racial and ethnic profiling." Shouldn't that be alleged actions? Anyway, it's enough for the NYT to call for New Jersey to "scale back police involvement in immigration enforcement." And yes, this is a car story.

We've reported that extended warranty scammers (boiler room operations taking thousands of dollars for zero actual coverage) have invaded the Internet and pissed all over the national "do not call" list (at 4am). According to Automotive News [AN, sub], the extended warranty grift is giving franchised dealers conniptions. "Paul Broome, a Cadillac dealer in Independence, Mo., hears from about 10 customers a month who complain about his dealership's high-pressure sales of service contracts. But Broome has nothing to do with the disputed contracts or their marketing. Instead, some peddlers of third-party contracts tap vehicle registration data to reach customers of dealerships such as Broome's by telephone, e-mail and direct mail." The AN article focuses on Missouri, whose Attorney General is pursuing the miscreants. But the scam is sweeping the nation. Still. Question: why haven't dealers and manufacturers sent a pro-active warning to their customers? 

According to Fox News, police in Houston, TX, are looking for a stripper who stole the identity of an autistic woman from Wisconsin. According to police, the stripper used the WI woman’s identity to buy a pair of sports cars, including a 2006 BMW and a 2005 Maserati. The total value of the two cars comes to more than $113k. The Maserati has been recovered in Fort Bend County, but the BMW is still missing. A warrant for the arrest of one Stacy Marie Oberley, 28, who has “danced” at Houston area men's clubs, was on probation for narcotics trafficking. Oberley is charged with providing a false statement to obtain credit, which is a second-degree felony. Detectives say Oberley may still be in the Houston area, but they're notifying authorities in WI, in case she shows up there. If you see Ms. Oberley, do not lend her your car, credit card or cash register. But do ask which Maser she purchased, and why any criminal would buy such an unreliable getaway car.

In a twist on the "unintended acceleration" debate raging here and elsewhere, a jury has found Chrysler liable for $5m in damages in a case of park-to-reverse transmission malfunction. The Saint Bernards Parish (LA) jury decided that a defect in a Grand Cherokee's automatic transmission caused the Guillot family's SUV to reverse suddenly, trapping the pregnant Mrs Guillot against a carport column, rupturing her uterus and fatally injuring their unborn (en route to a hospital for delivery). The police had considered charging Mr Guillot, who was driving at the time, with criminal negligence. Although Chrysler had sent an investigator to look into the incident, the Guillots found out about the Chrokee's long-standing park-to-reverse transmission defect when contacted by the L.A. Times– more than two years after the accident. "We suffered the worst loss any parent can experience," Mr. and Mrs. Guillot told reporters. "When we learned that Chrysler knew for years that its vehicles had a defective transmission, we were outraged and determined to hold the corporation accountable. We thank the jury for its careful review of the evidence and verdict against DaimlerChrysler."

On April 1st, 2008 significant modifications to road safety regulations in the Canadian provinces of Québec and Nova Scotia went into effect. CTV.ca reports that handheld cellular phones are now verboten while at the wheel, though hands free devices are still tolerated. Nova Scotia will begin ticketing the offense immediately, while Québec has allowed for a three-month grace periods in which offenders will only receive stern warnings and moralizing sermons. The first offense in Nova Scotia will cost $165, while costing $80-$110 and three demerit points in Québec. Still not satisfied, road safety advocate Jean-Marie de Koeninck argues that "[h]ands-free is just as dangerous. (But) by forbidding the hand-held it does send a signal that there is a problem with the cellphone, there's a problem with concentration". Meanwhile, the same traffic safety bill in Québec also doubled all speeding fines , with new suspension of license provisions for those caught traveling at 40 km/h over the limit in under-60 zones, 50 km/h in 60-90 over zones, and 60 km/h over in 100+ zones. All in the name of safety, presumably.

Sales of portable GPS units for use in cars "have skyrocketed," and according to a CNN video, so have the number of thefts. Portable navigation units bring "about $100 on the black market," and in 2007, about 800 of them were stolen from cars in Nassau County near New York City- and while it's still early in 2008, about 450 have already been stolen. Removing the device from your windshield and locking it up in the car may seem an easy way to prevent theft, but Detective Sergeant Anthony Repalone says leaving the mount in place indicates a GPS unit is likely stashed in the center console, glove compartment, or under the seat. He advises that you remove the mount and wipe off the telltale ring its suction cup can leave on your windshield. If your car does get broken into by a thief looking for your GPS unit, Detective Repalone ticks off the potential costs: "The damage to the windshield, couple hundred dollars, stolen device, several hundred dollars, so the person who owns it is now out maybe seven- eight hundred dollars." While you might question his math skills, it's difficult to argue with his logic.