Offbeat News

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Dramatic dashcam footage out of New Zealand has captured the moment the driver of a Mitsubishi Galant slammed into a Tesla Model X owned by Geoff Gardiner in a horrifying and bizarre case of road rage.

The video shows the driver of the Model X passing the beaten-up Galant on a road near Auckland Airport. The driver of the Mitsubishi, for some reason, appears upset by this overtake and immediately cuts in behind the Tesla and starts tailgating.

It is reported that the driver of the Galant continued to tailgate the Model X for several miles before he overtook it, cut in front of it, and slammed on the brakes. The Tesla driver took this as an obvious sign that the Mitsubishi motorist was very angry and quickly accelerated away.

Watch Also: Tesla Model X Driver Hits Double-Decker Bus With Open Falcon Wing Door

Despite trying to speed away from the Galant, the driver of the Model X came up to some slow-moving traffic, allowing the Mitsubishi to catch up. Once again, its driver pulled out in front of the Tesla and brake checked them before stopping in the middle of the road. The Tesla driver fled once again.

But that wasn’t the end of it as the driver of the Galant cranked things up a notch and sideswiped the Tesla before pulling directly in front of it, resulting in a heavy collision. The driver of the Mitsubishi proceeded to get out of his car and repeatedly banged on the doors and windows of the Tesla as the two cars sat on the side of the highway. Soon after, police arrived.

Remarkably, the owner of the Galant tried to claim that it was the driver of the Tesla who was at fault. Unfortunately for him, the front, side, and rear cameras of the Model X captured the entire saga and authorities arrested the man on the spot. It is reported that the Tesla suffered $45,000 worth of damage.

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The Dodge Intrepid, also known as the Chrysler Intrepid in Canada, was one of the more intriguing vehicles produced by Dodge/Chrysler in the 1990s and early 2000s. It is remembered for its sleek shape and has served as the basis for a project car that was recently shared to Reddit.

While the vehicle you’re looking at may seem like it originates from the 1950s or 1960s, it is instead an Intrepid that has been extensively overhauled.

Read Also: Someone Kept A 1994 Chrysler Concorde In A Climate Controlled Time Capsule Just For You

Things start at the front end where all signs of the car’s origins have been removed. In place of the Intrepid’s front fascia is a unique chrome bumper, grille, and four round headlights. A custom hood has also been fitted, as have unique wheel arches. There is even a badge at the front that reads “Batmobile” although, when it comes to movie cars, it reminds us more of the 1958 Plymouth Fury that starred in 1983’s “Christine” rather than the ride of Bruce Wayne’s alter ego.

The rear of the car is just as weird as the front and has a pair of massive tailfins inspired by those made famous by American models in the late 1950s. Complementing these fins are round taillights and a chrome bumper. Further adding to the unique character of the car is a matte black paint scheme and black-painted wheels.

The only indication that this is an Intrepid is from the side where the sedan’s unique shape and roofline instantly catch the eye. The side profile is also at odds with the rest of the car’s design but, hey, if the owner likes it, that’s all that matters.

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Targets are known for having big red balls outside of their entrances and they helped to create an unusual sight at a store in Holly Springs, North Carolina.

As you can see in these tweets and video, a Nissan Altima managed to drive on top of one and get stuck.

According to authorities, the car reversed into the ball at high speed and effectively climbed on top of it. This is backed up by the photos, which show the Altima received extensive damage to its rear bumper while the front bumper has also seen better days.

Also Watch: Porsche Taycan Driver Screws Up And Nearly Parks On Top Of A BMW 1-Series

WRAL reports the incident occurred yesterday afternoon and emergency crews were able to stabilize the vehicle as well as ‘free’ the driver. Speaking of the latter, the station said 49 year old Michelle Wright was charged with reckless driving as well as driving while impaired.

Needless to say, those are serious charges as reckless driving is a Class 2 misdemeanor that is punishable by up to 60 days in jail as well as fines of up to $1,000 (£733 / €848). Driving while impaired is far more serious as there are five levels of the offense, which are “punishable by a fine up to $200 (£146 / €170) and a minimum jail sentence of 24 hours and a maximum of 60 days” at Level 1.

The incident is shaping up to be a costly Target run, but thankfully no one was injured.

Lead image credit: @TaurineYeen

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In October, Tesla rolled out its Full Self-Driving Beta software to a handful of owners to test the feature, and this clip offers a glimpse of what the system is capable of.

The Full Self-Driving suite of autonomous technologies is arguably the closest thing currently available to full autonomy, so it’s interesting to see how it performs in a real-world scenario.

During this video, a Model 3 equipped with the system approaches a garbage truck on the road that’s traveling slowly and stopping frequently. The car’s systems soon decide that the best course of action would be to overtake it.

Watch Also: Should You Spend $10,000 On Tesla’s Full Self-Driving System?

As such, the Tesla moves slightly to the left to see if there are any vehicles ahead and if it’s safe to overtake. Before long, the Tesla recognizes that there is no oncoming traffic and overtakes the garbage truck.

On the one hand, this is a pretty impressive demonstration of the vehicle’s abilities. However, it was far from a smooth overtaking maneuver, as the driver did have to intervene at one stage when the Model 3 tried to get back into its lane too soon.

Then, the car stayed in the opposite lane for far longer than it needed to. So, while it did get the job done, the whole process could have been smoother.

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Doing a burnout in a powerful car like the C7 Corvette Z06 is one way to show off. However, just because you can drive a Z06, that doesn’t mean you can actually do a burnout in one, as this video reveals.

This clip was shared online a few days ago and shows someone trying to light up the rear tires. While it’s unclear if it was the owner behind the wheel, the person driving maybe should have tried their skills on something cheaper before doing it in a car like the C7 Z06.

Read Also: Chevrolet Faces Second Class-Action Lawsuit Over Cracking C7 Corvette Wheels

That’s because, as they attempt to spin up the rear wheels, all they do is burn the clutch to smithereens. Smoke can be seen billowing out from the underside of the car for several seconds before the driver decides enough is enough and lets off the accelerator.

One would have thought that, once they tried to do a burnout and realized the rear tires aren’t spinning, they’d let off the accelerator. In addition, most drivers would immediately recognize the smell of the burning clutch and again, let off the throttle. This driver did neither of those two things and kept on trying, destroying the clutch in the process.

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A Tesla’s on-board front camera has captured the moment the EV rear-ended a Honda Civic on highway CA-24 near Lafayette, California recently.

The videos were shared on Twitter by noted hacker and security researcher GreenTheOnly, who is understood to have received it from a salvage yard where this Tesla was sitting.

The standard footage from the front of the Tesla shows it speeding down one of the center lanes of the highway. According to the separate clip that overlays the Tesla’s various semi-autonomous visualizations over the video, it is revealed that the speed differential between the two cars at the time of the rear-end collision was a shocking 63 mph (101 km/h). Blackbox data from the Tesla confirms it was traveling at 136.55 mph (219.7 km/h) at the moment of impact.

Watch Also: Tesla Model S On Autopilot Crashes Into Dodge Police Car, Driver Admits To Watching A Movie

The video cuts out almost immediately after the Civic is hit from behind, so it’s hard to know how much damage was caused to the two cars, although we guess they must have been totaled.

GreenTheOnly notes that Autopilot disengaged roughly 40 seconds before the crash and the Forward Collision Warning chime was triggered.

It is unclear why the driver of the Tesla continued to accelerate after Autopilot had been disabled, the Front Collision Warning alarmed them and still they made no attempt to brake or swerve out of the way of the slower-moving Honda. The most likely explanation is that the driver was distracted but even still, that doesn’t explain why they were driving so fast.

In incidents like this, it would be, you know, helpful to get in touch with a Tesla representative for a comment, but as Jalopnik notes, the Californian electric carmaker doesn’t see the need to have a press department at all.

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TurboZentrum’s heavily-modded Toyota Supra A80 crashed earlier this month during the TTT half-mile drag racing event held at the Lausitzring racetrack in Germany.

According the company, Yalcin Belen, who was driving the 1,500-horsepower dragster, had to swerve to avoid an obstacle while doing around 220 km/h (137 mph) in fourth gear.

Watch Also: Which Sounds Louder, The New Toyota Supra Or The C8 Corvette?

As a result, the Supra lost traction and, moments later, did a 180-degree turn, hitting the right guardrail with the left side. It then hit it again, this time with the right side, and also crashed into the left guardrail.

“The sudden change of lane posed a threat even on the straight stretch of track. This is because the highly specialized drag race slicks are not designed to cope with the forces generated, which caused the car to sway from side to side”, TurboZentrum explained. “This, combined with recently dried asphalt, resulted in a loss of traction – and ultimately caused the tail of the sports car to swing off the track.”

Thankfully, the driver was unharmed and managed to exit the car on his own. The Supra, on the other hand, sustained damages all around, as the aftermath pictures reveal. The engine was undamaged in the accident and it will be “ready to attempt more records” next year, TurboZentrum said, while also hinting at a possible world record attempt.

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When bad luck strikes, there’s little one can do about it but hope for the least harmful outcome possible.

However, nothing can prepare you for a double dose of bad luck administered at once. That’s what a 27-year-old woman rider from northern Brazil experienced when she found herself cut off by a careless driver and thrown off from the saddle of her scooter onto the pavement as a result of the impact.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, she then disappeared completely into a manhole, much to the bewilderment of bystanders. The video uploaded by ViralHog was captured by a surveillance camera on August 5, 2020 in Paragominas, in the Brazilian state of Pará. It shows the exact moment the woman on a scooter is hit by a red Chevrolet Prisma sedan whose driver turned left, cutting off the rider who was going straight.

Watch Also: That Definitely Left Skid Marks – Bikers Almost Get Hit By Flipping Kia

As the woman was hit by the car and thrown on the tarmac, she slid head down into the sewer gallery, completely disappearing from sight. Witnesses quickly rushed to the scene and lifted a big chunk of the sidewalk, which enabled them to gain access to the gallery. As they lifted her out of the manhole, she appeared visibly shaken but was fortunately able to stand on her feet, if only briefly.

The footage also reveals that she emerged from the manhole without the helmet she was wearing when the crash happened. She probably took it off herself, unless it cracked in the impact. Hopefully, it did the job it was designed for. As reported by Brazil’s UOL News, the accident caused Mayara Santos spinal injury and she now needs surgery in order not to risk aggravating her condition and affect the movement of the legs.

As for the culprit, he is willing to provide all the necessary assistance for the victim. What’s mind-boggling is that police was not called at the scene and the woman’s family did not file a report against the Chevy driver as he promised to help as much as he can. Here’s hoping the scooter rider will receive the necessary medical care and get well soon.

Note: The following video contains images that some might find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

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