Cummins Gets Fined, George Santos Gets Car Burgled And More

Cummins, an Indiana-based company that manufactures and sells engines, has been hit with a $1.675 billion penalty for intentionally selling defeat devices that could bypass emissions sensors, a direct violation of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Department of Justice writes. It’s set to be the biggest ever penalty for a violation of the Clean Air Act, and it’s the second-largest environmental penalty. - Elizabeth Blackstock Read More

California’s fast food workers are set to get a nice bump in pay in 2024. Starting in April, California’s FAST Act kicks in and raises the state’s minimum wage for fast food workers to $22 an hour. It’s got the industry up in arms, because, you know, paying people a living wage is world-ending stuff to them. - Lawrence Hodge Read More

Edward Scott Rock, a Philadelphia used car dealer, was arrested last week by federal authorities on charges of mail and wire fraud. Rock is accused of accepting payments from around 120 buyers across 36 states but failing to deliver a vehicle. Most of the vehicles involved were accessible for seniors, wheelchair users and people with disabilities, including a 2017 Ford T150 van sold to 13 different people over 11 months. - Ryan Erik King Read More

The dramatic conclusion of a police chase outside of Houston, Texas yesterday involved a SWAT battering ram and a lot of tear gas. The chase began when a Harris County deputy noticed a tractor-trailer stalled on I-10, according to KRIV. When the deputy turned his lights on, the truck’s driver started heading down the interstate and refused to stop. The truck weaved from lane to lane, seemingly attempting to shake the pursuer. - Ryan Erik King Read More

Biking ain’t easy; in fact it can be straight up deadly when faced with giant, speeding cars and infrastructure that focuses solely on those cars. But even parked cars pose a serious risk to bike riders in the form of dooring — or when a car driver opens their door into the bike lane, resulting in a crash. The Los Angeles Times spoke to transit advocates and people affected by dooring, who offered simple solutions to keeping the road safe for everyone. - Erin Marquis Read More

Tesla’s Cybertruck has introduced plenty of manufacturing challenges, from its massive panes of glass to its stainless steel body panels, but there’s another thing holding big-time production back: the “4680" battery set to power the pickups, Reuters reports based on conversations with nine different Tesla workers. - Elizabeth Blackstock Read More

Now that George Santos has been kicked out of Congress and faces a long list of criminal charges, we haven’t heard much from him lately. Which really is too bad since he sure knew how to keep politics entertaining. Don’t you worry, though, he’s not going away quietly. On Wednesday at a little after midnight, he posted a nearly two-minute-long video on Twitter claiming that someone broke into his car and that it was all New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ fault. - Collin Woodard Read More

Right now, the reality for electric vehicles is pretty grim. People are buying EVs, but the growth in sales is cooling. That’s having a ripple effect, from rising EV inventory at dealers to automakers rethinking their EV investments and production plans. Even EV charging companies are taking a hit. - Lawrence Hodge Read More

Turkey’s Interior Ministry announced through an over-the-top sizzle reel that it has converted a fleet of seized luxury and performance vehicles for police use. The cars and SUVs were taken from an international drug trafficker and handed off to Istanbul’s police force as a consequence of his arrest, Motor1 reports. A Ferrari 488 GTB, a Bentley Continental and a Porsche Taycan Turbo in the same motor pool has to be a dream for politicians and a nightmare for motor pool mechanics. - Ryan Erik King Read More

BMW hasn’t even revealed the regular Touring wagon versions of the new 5 Series and its electric i5 variant yet, but just before Christmas the company released new teasers of the high-performance M5 Touring. Not only will this be just the third time the M5 has been offered as a wagon after the E34 and E60 generations, it also could become the first fast BMW wagon to be sold in America. - Daniel Golson Read More