Welcome to our round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.
Here’s what you missed while you were away.
Texas driver rolls coal on cyclist, feels the wrath of the Internet
Another Texas douchebag rolling coal on a cyclist in McKinney from IdiotsInCars
A group of Texas road cyclists and their supporters have formed a digital posse and gone after a Ford Super Duty diesel pickup driver who allegedly filmed himself rolling coal on an individual riding a bicycle down a Texas roadway. The stunt, which involves intentionally spewing a thick cloud of exhaust fumes from the tailpipe of a diesel engine, was first posted by the offender himself. That quickly backfired when his name and place of business — a custom fabrication shop — was shared and started getting tarred and feathered on the Internet. The business seems to have since removed the negative reviews that dropped its Google rating down multiple stars, but you can read some of the highlights here.
Doug Ford’s campaign manager runs red, ruins Ferrari
NEW: The dash cam video footage of Premier Doug Ford’s campaign manager’s 1988 Ferrari 328 GTS being hit by a new Chevrolet Silverado pick-up. #onpoli https://t.co/BQcnNehIme pic.twitter.com/dwRMbUPnW7
— Robert Benzie (@robertbenzie) April 23, 2022
A dashcam caught one of Kory Teneycke’s unluckier life moments at an intersection near Ottawa recently. The campaign manager for Ontario Premier Doug Ford was filmed running a red light in his new 1988 Ferrari 328 GTS and coming violently nose-to-nose with a Chevrolet Silverado towing a trailer. Teneycke admitted to running the light, rightfully letting the Silverado driver off the hook, but hasn’t given an indication as to why he did it. He suffered minor injuries, while the 3.2-L V8-powered Magnum PI sports car was totalled.
Fed extends EV rebates to include trucks, SUVs, and other more expensive models
2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium Photo by Renita Naraine
The Canadian federal government has already doled out more than 141,000 rebates on Canadian EVs since the Zero-Emission Vehicles Program launched in 2019. Now, with the announcement of the rebates being extended to include more expensive EVs such as vans, trucks, and SUVs, that number is sure to climb. As of April 25, vehicles that cost between $55,000 base and $65,000 options-in will also qualify for the rebate, as will a separate category of larger vehicles up to $70,000. The $5,000 rebate also now applies to hybrid vehicles with an electric range greater than 50 km — hybrids with a lower electric range may still qualify for the $2,500 rebate.
Rumour: Toyota cooks up three-row Grand Highlander and Lexus TX SUVs
The Lexus TX is expected to have more third-row comfort than the current RX L, pictured Photo by Lexus
Toyota is rumoured to be stretching the Highlander into a larger three-row SUV called the Grand Highlander, which would spec out under the Lexus label as a TX. Automotive News quotes an unnamed source in its reports that the two new models — which would be more spacious than the existing Highlander and RX L but not as large as the body-on-frame Toyota Sequoia, Lexus GX and X — are on their way and scheduled to go on sale in 2023. Toyota hasn’t confirmed or denied, but the brand did announce a large cash injection in its Indiana plan to build “two all-new, three-row SUVs,” with “only one bear[ing] the Toyota name…” about a year ago.
Rapper fights million-dollar judgment over missing rented Bentley
2021 Bentley Bentayga Photo by Handout /Bentley
An American rapper is heading to court to fight a US$1,000,000 judgement that puts him on the hook for a rented and then stolen Bentley. Offset (legal name Kiari Kendrell Cephus) says he notified L.A.-based Platinum Transportation Group (PML) the moment he became aware that the vehicle, which had been rented under his name for the mother of one of his children, disappeared from its parking spot. But rather than the car being reported stolen to authorities and insurance stepping in, the whole thing got out of control and now, somehow, Offset is being ordered to pay US$1M for a US$177,000 vehicle almost two years later. It was only when his current partner’s lawyer spotted the lawsuit in the L.A. county register that he became aware of it.
Keyword: News Roundup: A coal roller gets canceled, a rented Bentley goes missing, and more