From the January 2024 issue of Car and Driver.
The Booty Patrol
Yes, police deputies in DeSoto County, Florida, issued Gabriel Luviano a citation regarding his white Chevy Silverado. No, it wasn't for the graphics, which resemble the U.S. Border Patrol's color scheme but substitute "Border" with "Booty." The ticket was for "violating FSS 316.2397, which pertains to Certain Lights Prohibited." In other words, Florida might have laws, but not one against calling your truck the Booty Patrol. And if you can't appreciate a victory for juvenile humor, that's probably because you smell like bum-bums.
Lee Meyer and Howdy Doody
We've all been in this situation: You need to haul your 2200-pound Watusi bull, and you've got a 1996 Ford Crown Victoria, so you cut off half the roof, reinforce the suspension, and head on down the road. Next thing you know, some nervous Nellie calls the fuzz, who decline to issue a ticket because "improper Panther-platform bovine accommodations" isn't on the forms. That's how it all went down for Lee Meyer of Neligh, Nebraska, and his bull, Howdy Doody—who, based on the looks of the Crown Vic's passenger's-side rear quarter-panel after his highway jaunt, lives up to his name.
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Rimac's Backup Plan
In 2023, Rimac set out to break every record it could think of with the Nevera: quickest EV Nürburgring lap, highest top speed (256 mph) for an EV, quickest production car up the hill at Goodwood. But the silliest record is maybe also the most impressive: fastest car in reverse. At the Papenburg proving ground in Germany, driver Goran Drndak used the rearview mirror to aim a Nevera down the track at 171 mph. To put that in perspective, that's 108 mph faster than the reverse speed we attained with a rented Lincoln Town Car in 2011.
NASCAR's Disciplinarians
Based on the past year, NASCAR's in-house scolds should have excellent job security—what with all the fights. In February, Daytona hosted a race called the "Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300" that foreshadowed a season full of bad blood and fisticuffs. There was the Ross Chastain–Noah Gragson main event at Kansas. A royal rumble erupted among rival crews at a late-model race at Martinsville. And Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton squared up after the truck race at Talladega. At this rate, next year's driver stats will include wins, laps led, and technical knockouts.
Pininfarina
Pininfarina is known for stunning design, and its latest masterpiece is no exception. Witness the ZX5, a single-seater that packs twin motors, all-wheel drive, and tungsten-carbide–studded tires. Pininfarina calls the ZX5 "an embodiment of Italian excellence," and we're inclined to agree. Behind the wheel of a ZX5, the bumps simply melt away.
Car Shippers
In 2022, it was the Felicity Ace. Before that, the Golden Ray. Before that, the Cougar Ace. Now the Fremantle Highway—also the name of the experimental jazz trio that your weird uncle founded in 1977—is the latest casualty in the car-carrying business. In July, the Fremantle Highway caught fire in the North Sea. It was eventually towed to the Netherlands, where salvage operators found that some vehicles on the upper decks were thoroughly melted. Meanwhile, back on land, a freight train derailed in Arizona, crushing a bunch of new Fords. Say, remember how Cadillac used to ship Allantés from Italy aboard 747s? Maybe that wasn't such a wild idea after all.
People Who Are Their Own Marine Engines
Speaking of nautical adventures, most of us would give up if the Coast Guard told us we couldn't run a floating hamster wheel across the ocean. But not Florida man Reza Baluchi, who was picked up in September off the coast of Georgia on his way to England. We'd almost be tempted to put him in the winner category, except this marked the fourth time he'd been nabbed for this exact stunt. Why not attempt to fulfill a more realistic dream? We recommend trying to drive 172 mph in reverse.
Rich Finnish Speeders
Finland is one of the European countries that base traffic fines on personal income. So if, like Andres Wiklöf, you're rolling in cheddar, even a minor infraction can turn into a literal big-ticket item. And in June, Wiklöf was clocked doing 20 mph over the limit, resulting in a ticket for about $130,000. No big deal for the Wikmeister, though, who has paid roughly $300,000 in traffic fines over the past decade.
Tesla Drivers at Superchargers
Well, it was a nice run, Tesla owners. You had Superchargers—the only consistently functional DC fast-charging network in the country—all to yourself. Then Tesla licensed its wares to nearly every other automaker on earth, ensuring that Tesla drivers will soon know the feeling of watching an EV Hyundai Kona charge from 95 to 100 percent at the only plug that might be available anytime soon. Hey, at least you'll be able to send your car out to charge itself any day now. Like next month. Or the month after. Maybe the month after that, at the latest.
The Owner of a Lonely Recall
How much like a total loser would you feel if there were a recall that applied only to your personal car? If not for bad luck, you'd have no luck at all, right? That must be how one person felt last May when NHTSA issued a recall for a single car delivered with a set of potentially unsafe wheels. The car was an obscure French number called the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, and the recall notice said that the incorrect wheels "can have a negative influence on the vehicle airflow and lateral control behavior in the Top Speed mode." Well, that's it. We're never buying one of those!
Ezra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He's now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive.
