Each week I bring you the top stories in the auto industry along with my commentary or sometimes amusing thoughts about the craziness that goes on in the world of cars.
Stories you’ll find today:
WHEN YOUR CHECK-ENGINE LIGHT PICKS THE WORST POSSIBLE ZIP CODE
Breaking down is never fun, but apparently there are places where your car can make a bad day considerably worse. Jalopnik looked at some of the least convenient places in America to have mechanical trouble, and Nevada manages to make the list in two completely different ways. Highway 50, famously called “The Loneliest Road,” runs 287 miles between Ely and Fernley and has few gas stations and very little activity along the way. That means a breakdown could leave you waiting a long time for help—and even longer for a tow to someplace capable of fixing the car. Death Valley presents similar problems, with the added concern of potentially brutal weather, making water and emergency supplies particularly important. Then there’s Las Vegas, where civilization is plentiful but repairing your car may hurt anyway. Jalopnik cites data from The Zebra ranking Las Vegas as the worst city for a breakdown, including an average $150-per-hour labor rate for diagnosing a check-engine light, a relatively low ratio of mechanics to residents and a public-transit score of just 6.1 from AllTransit. New York City, by comparison, scores 9.6 for transit. Austin, Texas, and Louisville, Kentucky, were also cited for poor public-transit scores, which can make getting around particularly difficult while your car is sitting in a repair shop. So there are apparently two ways to have the perfect breakdown nightmare: be 100 miles from anybody who can fix your car, or be surrounded by millions of people and discover that none of them can fix it cheaply. Either way, before a long road trip, check your tires, fluids and battery, carry water and emergency supplies, and make sure your roadside-assistance coverage is current. Because when the dashboard suddenly lights up like a Christmas tree, “The Loneliest Road in America” is probably not where you want to admire it.
THE CORVETTE WITH THE ULTIMATE FINAL OWNER
Most Corvette owners hate the thought of ever giving up their cars, but George Swanson made sure that would never be a problem. When Swanson died in 1994, he was buried with his white 1984 Chevrolet Corvette. This wasn’t simply a Corvette parked next to his grave—Swanson’s ashes went into the car and the entire Corvette went into the ground. According to an Associated Press account cited by Jalopnik, Swanson had arranged to be buried with his beloved C4 at a cemetery outside Pittsburgh, but the cemetery tried to back out after his death. Lawyers became involved, and Swanson ultimately got his wish. Making room for a Corvette underground required Swanson to purchase 12 burial plots, and a crane was brought in to lower the car into its final parking space. His wife, Caroline, arrived at the cemetery in her own Corvette, sprinkled her husband’s ashes onto the driver’s seat, and Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Release Me” played from the Corvette’s cassette player. Swanson certainly wasn’t the only person to take a favorite automobile along for eternity. In 1977, Texas socialite and heiress Sandra West was buried in a 1964 Ferrari at San Antonio’s Alamo Masonic Cemetery. In 2009, 90-year-old Lonnie Holloway was buried behind the wheel of his 1973 Pontiac Catalina. Still, Swanson’s story may be the ultimate example of Corvette loyalty. Twelve cemetery plots, lawyers and a crane just to make sure nobody could ever say, “George, you really ought to sell that old Corvette.” I’d say he settled the question permanently.
CALIFORNIA SEES RED OVER RED HEADLIGHTS
If you’ve ever wondered whether those red aftermarket headlights would make your car look cool, California has an answer: it doesn’t really care what they look like, but they can’t be red. California Vehicle Code Section 25950(a) generally requires light emitted by lamps and reflected light from reflectors visible from the front of a vehicle to be white or yellow, with specific exceptions elsewhere in the law. The reason is more practical than aesthetic. Lighting colors help motorists distinguish ordinary passenger vehicles from emergency and other specially authorized vehicles. California has detailed rules governing who gets to display what: tow trucks can use amber lighting, while emergency vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances can display authorized red lighting, and volunteer firefighters can use certain red warning lights with the proper permit. The rules get remarkably specific. Stop lamps manufactured before Jan. 1, 1979, may emit yellow light, backup lamps must emit white light, and rear side-marker lamps are among the exceptions that may show red toward the front. For ordinary headlights and fog lights, however, California keeps things simple: white or yellow. Jalopnik points out that California gets plenty of criticism for regulating automotive modifications, from emissions equipment to exhaust systems and window tint, but this particular restriction has a legitimate safety purpose. When you see red warning lights approaching or behind you, there shouldn’t be much confusion about whether you’re looking at an emergency vehicle or somebody who found a really good deal on red LEDs. California may regulate a lot of things automotive, but apparently bad taste remains perfectly legal—as long as it shines white or yellow.
ELON MUSK’S “PALACE” HAS WHEELS
When you’re one of the wealthiest people on Earth, apparently even calling an Airstream trailer your “palace” can generate headlines. Elon Musk appeared with SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell on the All-In Podcast when Shotwell said Musk needed to spend more time in Memphis, Tennessee, overseeing expansion of xAI’s massive data center there. Musk responded, “This is coming to you from the palace that I live in in Memphis, which is an Airstream trailer.” That prompted stories suggesting Musk actually lives in an Airstream, but Jalopnik points out that “lives” is doing some heavy lifting. Musk’s Gulfstream G700 private jet is tracked by ElonJet, and its movements show him frequently traveling among Memphis, Austin and California, often staying only a day or two before moving on. Musk’s blurred background during the podcast does appear to show curved walls consistent with an Airstream, and the idea that he sleeps near one of his businesses isn’t exactly far-fetched. He has previously talked about sleeping on the Tesla factory floor and staying overnight at Twitter headquarters after buying the company. So yes, there apparently is an Airstream in the Musk lodging rotation, and he may spend nights there while working in Memphis. But that’s considerably different from ditching everything and becoming a full-time RV resident. I suppose there is something reassuring about learning that even a billionaire occasionally sleeps in a travel trailer. The difference is that when most of us leave the campground, we don’t climb aboard a Gulfstream G700.