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.
Paper Plates, California Style. California Highway Patrol officers have seen a lot, but a hand-drawn license plate was a new one. They pulled over a woman in a Nissan Sentra proudly displaying a piece of cardboard with marker lettering, a fake DMV web address, and even a doodled registration sticker. She told the officer her real plates were taking too long, so she decided to make her own. The officer decided that wasn’t how the DMV works and handed her a $197 ticket for driving without proper plates. CHP later posted a photo of the “art project” online, calling it creative but definitely not legal. You have to admire the effort—the spacing, the shading, the commitment—but at some point someone should have said, “maybe not.” The post quickly went viral, with drivers across California joking that the woman was just cutting through red tape, literally. The whole thing is a reminder that DIY doesn’t apply to everything. You can wax your car, patch a tire, or install your own floor mats. But when it comes to license plates, leave the art supplies at home.
Buzz Kill: Volkswagen has hit pause on production of its ID Buzz electric van in Germany, proving that even nostalgia can’t outrun market math. The automaker says demand has slowed, prompting a weeklong production stop at its Hanover plant where the Buzz shares space with the gas-powered Multivan. Sales numbers tell the story: fewer than 2,500 Buzzes sold last quarter, and only about 5,000 for the year, not great for a vehicle that was supposed to bring back the peace, love, and cargo space of the classic Microbus, not to mention how many years they teased us with pictures. The problem isn’t the vibe—it’s the value. Starting around $60,000 with roughly 230 miles of range, the Buzz is a hard sell next to cheaper SUVs that go farther and seat the same family without needing a charger. VW says it’s just a temporary pause to “align production with demand,” which is PR-speak for “we built more than people wanted.” For now, the dream of a retro electric road trip is parked, waiting for customers who still believe in flower power with a plug. FYI, I reviewed it and you can read it here.
Rat Race Gone Wrong: Everyone’s done it—stuck at a red light, late for work, and that gas station driveway suddenly looks like a portal to freedom. You dart through the lot, skip the light, and feel like a traffic genius for about five seconds, until you find out that little detour—known as “rat running”—is illegal in several states, including Texas and Florida, where laws specifically ban cutting across private property to avoid a traffic control. Police say it’s not just about rules; those shortcuts create chaos for pedestrians, cyclists, and anyone unlucky enough to be walking to their car when a sedan comes flying past the Slurpee machine. It’s one of those laws nobody remembers until the red lights come on, and the officer explains that your shortcut just cost more than a tank of gas. Some cities are even installing cameras or redesigning parking lot exits to stop the practice, because apparently common sense wasn’t doing the trick. So, the next time you’re tempted to turn that Starbucks lot into your own personal off-ramp, remember—patience is cheaper, and judges don’t take kindly to creative routing. Side note: Your friendly content provider has been ticketed for this, but only once and many years ago.
Spy Van Spectacular: A 1985 Chevy van just popped up for sale, and according to the seller, it once belonged to a government surveillance agency—which is funny, because there’s nothing subtle about it. The big white box on wheels still has tangled cables, mysterious black boxes labeled “Surveillance System,” a bank of monitors, and what looks like a periscope sprouting from the roof, as if someone merged Scooby-Doo’s Mystery Machine with the NSA. The seller says it was bought at auction after its spy days ended, and while some of the original electronics were removed, plenty of the wiring remains connected to who-knows-what, so maybe don’t plug in your phone charger. It’s part time capsule, part conspiracy theory, and all creep factor, especially with its shag-carpeted interior and Cold War aura of “we’re listening.” The ad doesn’t say if it still works, but it’s probably not the kind of van you want to park near a school or Wi-Fi router anyway. For the right buyer, it’s a collector’s dream—or the start of a federal watch list. Either way, it’s proof that one man’s junk van is another man’s classified project.