- Ford drops next-gen Super Duty same week Chevy debuts 2024 Silverado Heavy Duty
- Tailgate party sparks 11-vehicle fire at Miami NFL game
- The 2024 Mercedes-AMG C 63 swaps the V8 for PHEV setup
- Suspected copper thieves make off with cables from B.C. Tesla chargers
- Tennessee licence plate rules raise questions about potential theocratic policing
Welcome to our roundup 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.
Ford drops next-gen Super Duty same week Chevy debuts 2024 Silverado Heavy Duty
2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD Photo by Chevrolet
There was big news in the pickup truck market this week as the Blue Oval introduced their new generation of F-Series Super Duty pickups, all while Chevrolet debuted its new Silverado Heavy Duty.
Ford added some new engine options to the all-new Super Duty lineup including a 6.8L V8 that will replace the 2022-model-year’s 6.2L V8, and a 6.7L Power Stroke V8 diesel in addition to the 6.7L Power stroke V8. It also tacked on a whole bundle of towing and reversing upgrades like taillights that fill vertically to indicate how much of the potential payload is being towed, a reverse camera on top of the tailgate so drivers can see while backing up with the tailgate down, and a trailer navigation system that will map safe routes based on the size of a haul. There’s a lot going on, including new design inside and out, click the link above if you’re team Super Duty.
If you’re in the Chevy fam, on the other hand, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered, too, because the brand revealed the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD with a newly styled interior and a juicier and twistier LT5 turbodiesel Duramax engine, now offering 470 hp and 975 lb-ft of torque. They also loaded up the HD with trailering goodies such as new trailer blind spot cameras and trailer weight warning. There’s also a new Midnight Edition package with dark chrome finishes.
Tailgate party sparks 11-vehicle fire at Miami NFL game
Several cars burned in the aftermath of a September 2022 NFL tailgate party in Miami Photo by @LakersCanes305 /Twitter
If you’re looking for the score of the past week’s New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins game that took place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, you’ll have to go elsewhere. But if you want to hear about the parking-lot fire that swallowed 11 vehicles after a fan left his BBQ running near one — then you’ve come to the right place.
“We’re standing here, we’re all having a great time, and we see a lot of big, black smoke over there,” a Dolphins fan told local news outlet WSVN. “We’re like, ‘Oh, what’s going on?’ We start looking and, ‘Oh, it’s a fire.’ Next thing we know, we hear a few pops; it’s tires going off.”
By the time firefighters arrived to hose down the situation, the flames had engulfed and ruined a Toyota Prius, Lexus RX, Nissan Sentra, at least one pickup, and, most tragically or at least most costly, a Mercedes-AMG S 63.
The 2024 Mercedes-AMG C 63 swaps the V8 for PHEV setup
2024 Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E Photo by Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-AMG is demonstrating just how fun and appealing progress can be, even when it comes with fewer cylinders. Although the 2024 Mercedes-AMG C 63 is now operating with a turbocharged 2.0L engine complemented by a wall-charged battery and electric motor instead of the V8 of old, it also makes the most power and torque of any AMG C 63 ever. In total, the “P3” hybrid (more on that in our full coverage here) generates 671 horsepower (500 kilowatts) and 752 lb-ft of torque, which is nothing short of game-changing.
Several of the speedy upgrades have come down from on high — not Heaven, F1 — to help the car perform the 100 km/h sprint in just 3.4 seconds. This includes the balance provided by the hybrid system with individually cooled cells that provide quick bursts of energy to the rear-mounted motor. AMG also fitted the new C 63 with a Drift mode with rear-wheel steering that can turn the back wheels 2.5 degrees in the opposite direction of the fronts up to 100 km/h and in the same direction of the front wheels to a maximum of 0.7 degrees, allowing it to simulate the feel of a short wheelbase and long wheelbase vehicle, respectively.
Suspected copper thieves make off with cables from B.C. Tesla chargers
A Tesla Supercharger station in Surrey, B.C. with the chargers’ cables cut Photo by Rick Postma /Facebook
Having a pure electric vehicle may be something of a luxury, but charging it can feel like a chore. Tesla owners in the B.C. city of Surrey may have had to endure longer-than-normal wait times (apologies if that phrase is triggering — we’ve all been on hold) last week after somebody, or bodies, robbed the Surrey Guildford Supercharger station of several of its charging cables. A photo of the aftermath shows a number of the 72-kW Urban Supercharger station’s 20 spots with their cables missing right from the base …and a Tim Hortons cup on top of one of the units, because Canada.
While it’s possible that this was a stunt performed in poor taste by some anti-EV crusader tired of simply ICEing out one spot at a time with their pickup truck, it’s far more likely that the cables were cut and hauled off by thieves looking to trade their copper innards for cash at a metal scrapper. Dirty move either way.
Tennessee licence plate rules raise questions about potential theocratic policing
A 2022 Tennessee licence plate bearing the phrase “In God We Trust” Photo by Tennessee Department of Revenue
Drivers in Tennessee are voicing concerns over a new licence plate design that reverses the order of numbers and letters depending on whether the vehicle insurer has chosen to include the slogan “In God We Trust” or not. So, those without the national religious phrase printed in smaller font included on the plate, which is an option provided by the state’s Department of Revenue, will have plates beginning with letters (ie. XYZ 6789), while those who opt out will have plates with numbers first (ie. 678 WXYZ). Why do people care? Well, some fear that God-fearing police will be able to more easily identify those not on team Jesus and treat them differently.
A reddit post on the topic has garnered some interesting opinions in the comments section. “As a non believer in Tennessee, you better believe my plates have In God we Trust on them. I knew a trap when I saw one,” one comment reads. Other states, meanwhile, have had similar rules in place for years.
Keyword: News Roundup: New Super (and Heavy) Duty trucks, a tailgate party vehicle fire, and more