Drive Wire: September 30, 2015

Formula 1 drama, VW’s huge recall, an affordable electric bike, and wedge barrier testing. 

byThe Drive Staff|
Drive Wire: September 30, 2015
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Hey guys! It’s Christina Thompson, and this is Drive Wire for Wednesday, September 30.

More drama of all sorts from Formula 1. According to reports, Renault will bail out the struggling Lotus squad by paying their $4 million overdue tax bill. As part of the deal, Renault will take ownership of the squad. This could be just the kind of good press that Renault needs after their engine deal with Red Bull and Toro Rosso fell through.

It seems increasingly likely that Red Bull will pull out of F1 altogether; no less an Austrian than former Formula 1 champ Niki Lauda has questioned Red Bull’s commitment to racing, saying he would not be surprised if the team gave up altogether. I believe the Austrians call that “throwing schade.”

More news from the only partially symbolic black cloud hanging over Volkswagen. New VW CEO Matthias Mueller has indicated that the company will recall 11 million cars. No details yet on which models, or what specifically the recall will address. Mueller said the company was looking at “a long trudge and a lot of hard work”, which frankly, we already knew. But 11 million, a big number, but at this point, are you really surprised?

Love biking but hate peddling? You might want to check out the Sondors Electric Bike, a stylish fat-tire design that wants to be the most affordable electric bike ever at $499. It has a 50-mile range, hits 20 miles per hour, and has already raised around a million dollars on Kickstarter. The electric bike ships in early 2016.

Today’s ridiculous video is all about safety…well for diplomats and sensitive buildings, that is. Have you seen those retractable wedge barriers at government offices? After watching this video it’s safe to say…they work. Good to know there’s no vehicle big enough to overcome the mighty wedge.

That’s it for today’s edition of Drive Wire. For more, be sure to come back to thedrive.com, and follow us @thedrive on all your favorite social media platforms. 

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