Fun Bikes, Thirsty Hovercrafts And Nasty Airplanes In This Week's Beyond Cars Roundup

The Honda Grom is maybe the most fun anyone can have on two wheels. Team Red has managed to make Americans care about small-bore motorcycles again, and after three successful generations, the Grom is getting another reskin for 2025. The pint-sized powersports icon is back for another go-around of ripping up your city at sub-limit speeds. It has proven extremely popular because of its customization and approachable riding, and doesn’t really need much updating after the third-generation revamp was such a massive step forward. The Grom is dead, long live the Grom. - Bradley Brownell Read More

We’re all familiar with cars, planes, trains and boats as being the most popular forms of transport the world over. But while boats and ferries have long proven their worth at crossing large bodies of water, there’s another way of navigating the world’s seas, lakes and rivers: the hovercraft. And for almost 30 years, the largest passenger hovercraft in the world operated between the UK and France. - Owen Bellwood Read More

More than two dozen passengers on a United Airlines from Vancouver to Houston who were previously on a cruise puked so much on the plane that it had to be taken out of service for deep cleaning. No, this isn’t the plot of “Airplane!” - Andy Kalmowitz Read More

A federal jury found that Boeing misappropriated trade secrets from Zunum, a failed electric plane startup. The aircraft manufacturer was a sizable investor in Zunum through its venture capital division, Horizon X. The electric startup claims that Boeing launched a targeted campaign to steal proprietary information to develop its own hybrid-electric aircraft, Reuters reports. Boeing claims it only developed a mock-up to determine the feasibility of Zunum’s planned plane. - Ryan Erik King Read More

Airlines deal with millions of bags a year, so it’s understandable that mistakes happen. Unfortunately for Paola Garcia, though, not all missing bags are the result of a mistake. Local 10 New reports that when her suitcase went missing, she was eventually able to track it down, only it wasn’t at the wrong airport. It was in the home of the airport employee who stole it. - Collin Woodard Read More

So you’re trying to take all your pals to the beach with you, but your approximately six or seven friends won’t fit neatly into your Toyota Tercel. Well, friend, have I got the solution for you: A 25-foot-long moped. Trust me, this is the best solution for all of your problems. - Amber DaSilva Read More

There is a decades-old international operation to eradicate the New World Screwworm from existence, and you’ve probably never heard about it. The dreaded NWS is a fly larva that burrows into its host, tearing flesh as it goes, often killing the animal en route to pupation. The USDA began efforts to remove the NWS from America and end the millions of livestock deaths it caused in the process. The project began in 1957, and largely succeeded in pushing them out of the U.S. within a handful of years. That effort then expanded southward to Mexico, and by the early 2000s, reached Panama. Damned worms. - Bradley Brownell Read More

The British series covering Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s 19,000 mile journey on BMW motorcycles is a great binge watch.

Marking 80 years since Allied troops converged on Normandy, France from land, sea, and air in a pivotal battle, a massive anniversary celebration kicked off this week. British RAF paratroopers (joined by Belgians and Americans) jumped into a rural French field just like they did on June 6, 1944. This time, however, they were met with French government officials and red tape instead of Nazi assholes and gunfire. Upon landing, the American and British drops were ushered to a makeshift passport control station at a folding table in the field, while the Belgians, who are EU citizens, were allowed to continue on without checks. - Bradley Brownell Read More