According to WIBW News, citizens of Valley Falls, Kansas, are furious about what they’re calling misconduct by auxiliary police and by the council members who okayed it.

The residents held  a community meeting this week to blast council for giving auxiliary police members, who are not police officers, permission to patrol the streets in police cruisers.

Council said at the time that the intention of having civilians on patrol was to make kids feel comfortable with hanging out downtown.

Instead, citizens say, “total mayhem” ensued.

They reported seeing teenagers drag-racing and speeding up and down the city’s main street, sirens and flashing lights being turned on and off, airhorns blowing — even one auxiliary officer driving around with a young girl in his lap.

“He floored it and he gunned it at maximum speed,” said resident Lee Kahn, who witnessed the incident. “I assumed it was a police officer so I came in to City Hall to file a written complaint, only to find out it wasn’t even a police officer driving the car, it was a civilian.”

Valley Falls residents say the situation was out of control and that the police officers who are trained to deal with such situations were instead filling out paperwork.  No arrests, citations or tickets were given out Saturday night.

“We pay officers to do their job. I don’t think people who aren’t qualified should be doing something like that,” resident Pat Reyley said.

Residents say the auxiliary program test run did nothing but encourage reckless behavior in the town’s youth. Council agreed, and decided at the Wednesday meeting to disband the auxiliary “for the time being,” WIBW reported.

WIBW also said they received information from an “anonymous source” that the mayor planned to fire the chief of police over the incident, but decided against it and reappointed him instead.

With files from WIBW News, Kansas

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‘A car came tearing round the blind corner and narrowly missed a cyclist in front of me. She came on to my side of the road, I took the wing mirror off and I went flying off my bike into a hedge. She hit me really hard. I am lucky to be alive. But I managed to get out of the hedge and stand up. The car was nowhere to be seen. She hit me, and she was gone. All I know is that it was a blonde girl driving. I have a sore elbow, a bruised knee, nettle stings from riding through the hedge, but nothing serious.’

Hockley wasn’t planning to report the incident, so it would have been forgotten except for the fact that the not-so-bright Way tweeted ‘Definitely knocked a cyclist off his bike earlier – I have right of way he doesn’t even pay road tax!’ (with the hashtag ‘bloodycyclists’)

According to Mail Online, the local police caught wind of the exploding storm on Twitter and sent Way a Direct Message telling her to visit a local police station. No charges have been laid yet, as police continue to investigate.

Architect builds his home office around his Ferrari BB512
Growing up, the Ferrari Boxer was one of my favourite cars. Memories of my Dad’s Dino were still fresh in my mind and the BB512 was the pinnacle of Ferrari cool in my young eyes. Minimalist architect Holger Schubert loves the design so much that he didn’t just buy one, he built his home studio around it. The striking space includes a parking pad that tilts to allow the car to roll outside where the engine can roar to life on a driveway that doubles as a bridge that crosses a five metre gap. The folks at Petrolicious visited Schubert with their cameras.

Jaguar XJR-15 still sounds like a beast
Those who are younger than I, might have lusted after a different sort of beast, from a different land entirely. Those who are Thirty-somethings might just have had a picture of the elusive Jaguar XJR-15 on their bedroom wall. Overseen by racing legend Tom Walkinshaw, Jaguar produced just 50 of this road-going version of the Cat that raced at Le Mans in the late Eighties. Of the fifty, there was only one black one. In the video below, you can not only oogle that one black one, but hear it in action. While it may be a road car, it is by no means tame.

The MARTINI racing stripes are back
Some colour schemes in auto racing are so iconic that they transcend the racing world and are instantly recognized by the general public. The blue and orange Gulf livery springs to mind, as does the blue STP #43 as was used by Richard Petty. The amazing MARTINI racing stripes, fall into that same category. The livery has been revived, on a Porsche for rally great Sebastian Loeb. The Frenchman has won the WRC Championship an unimaginable nine times in a row and has left the sport to find something new to excel at. He is going to have a go at the Porsche GT3 Cup.

A fitting livery for a remarkable athlete. I hope the competitors know what they are in for!

Watch a bird flip out
Racing cars and wildlife do not mix well. Animals have no concept that those human-beasts are having a competition and the humans are usually moving too quickly to prevent an unfortunate incident when wild things cross their paths. This even happens on street circuits like the famed Monaco Grand Prix track. During practice this week for the GP2 race in Monaco, a dove parked itself on the track. Then, realizing that death was imminent, it performed the most incredible backflip to get out of the way before flying off unharmed.

The slow motion camera footage of the encounter is stunning.

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The Ferrari 458 Italia came back to its owner looking like they blew the grit out with an uzi.

According to Jalopnik, Nancy Atkinson Turner tweeted the photo on Wednesday, noting that a “valeter” (a Britishism for a mobile car detailer) she’s used before did this bit of damage to the 458 in the town of Portsmouth, England.

It is not, she notes, her car, but it was her detailer. “Was. WAS,” she adds wryly.

And in case you’re wondering how a detailing could go so horribly wrong, she tweets that they might have “taken traction off. It was slightly damp. Spun out.”

Well what’s done is done, but there are a couple of lessons we can learn from this:

• Don’t get your car cleaned. Leave it dirty. It’s safer

• If you must get your car cleaned, don’t go for the ‘explosive suds with tiny bomb-like bubbles’ option

• If you’re a “valeter,” consider changing your name to “velveter” until this blows over. Stress that you use soft cloths only.

With files from Jalopnik

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Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday that 21 of its North American factories will shut for only one week this summer.

General Motors will idle its factories only for short periods, while Chrysler plans a two-week break at just four of its ten North American assembly plants. Both GM and Chrysler are rolling out critical new models.

Chrysler said in a statement that all but one of its 16 engine, transmission and metal stamping plants will work through the summer. Only four of its plants — Brampton and Windsor assembly plants in Canada, which make large cars and minivans, and two Detroit-area plants that make the Ram pickup and midsize cars — will close for a full two weeks in July.

The three Detroit carmakers traditionally shut factories for 14 days in early July to do maintenance and change the machinery for new models.

But they don’t have that luxury this year.

U.S. demand for new cars and trucks has been strong, up 7 per cent through April, led by soaring demand for full-size pickup trucks as home construction rebounds. And after closing more than two dozen factories during the recession, U.S. automakers need to use their remaining capacity to its fullest.

Earlier this week, General Motors Co.’s North America President Mark Reuss said GM might pause work to change over some machinery but won’t have full shutdowns. The nation’s biggest automaker is in the midst of releasing 20 new models, including the new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. Chrysler Group has cancelled downtime at three assembly plants, including the two Detroit facilities where the SRT Viper and Jeep Grand Cherokee are made and the Toledo, Ohio, factory that makes the new Jeep Cherokee.

Ford said it will produce 40,000 vehicles during the week it’s staying open. In all, the company plans to produce 240,000 more vehicles this year than it did last year in North America. It will soon add a second shift to its Flat Rock, Mich., plant to make the Fusion sedan and a third shift to the Kansas City, Mo., plant where the F-150 pickup is made. It’s also increasing the speed of its assembly lines.

James Tetrault, Ford’s vice-president of North American manufacturing, said that a decade ago, Ford had to idle factories because each only made one vehicle. Now, it has flexible plants that make multiple vehicles on the same assembly line. If the Taurus sedan is selling slowly, for example, Ford can quickly switch over and make more Explorer SUVs.

“It’s a lot easier to figure out how to make more than to shut down a plant,” he said.

Workers’ pay isn’t impacted by the change, since the shutdowns are paid vacations.

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will give up summer break appeared first on Wheels.ca.

Retired race car drivers have all the fun
I get invited to lots of lapping days and sometimes I even get offers to drive other people’s cars at these events. That is nothing compared to the fun opportunities that being a retired 7 time Formula 1 World Champion bring.

As part of the opening festivities for the 24 hours of the Nurburgring, Mercedes-Benz brought out a few rather special AMG cars, including a new SLS AMG Black Series, and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 that were driven by the likes of Nico Rosberg. They also brought out a 2011 era Formula 1 car and let Michael Schumacher have a go. Sadly, they didn’t allow him to push the car and possibly create a new all time record around The Ring.

I hate it when this happens
Even with expensive mounts, attaching cameras to cars can be a tricky business. The folks at American Detours found this out the hard way while filming their Brandywine Valley road trip.

Rain Dance – Porsche style
Speaking of the Nurburgring 24 hour race, this year’s event was interrupted when Mother Nature had a bit of a temper tantrum. The race was red flagged for a full nine hours due to the unsafe driving conditions.

Rather than slamming on the brakes and puttering around like ninnies though, professional race car drivers have to do their best to soldier on until they are told it is time to come off the track. Ride along with Leh Keen in a Porsche 911 GT3 R, just before the red flag came out. This is some spectacular driving skill, backed up with testicular fortitude unlike anything most mortals.

Keep an eye on the digital display. Despite not being able to see, at one point on a long straight, Keen is running at close to 230 km/h!

Mats Baribeau drifts at Road Atlanta
Last month I introduced you to Brockville, Ontario drifter named Mats Baribeau, who was planning his first foray into competition south of the border. Baribeau has released his second video, showcasing some of the action from the Formula D event at Road Atlanta. Watch him turn some Falken tires into smoke!

Formula Drift Road Atlanta – Mats Baribeau from King and Crown Media on Vimeo.

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Except for Afzal Kahn, founder of Kahn Design and himself a Veyron owner.

When Kahn saw the Dubai tweet, he immediately thought that, aside from the police markings, the white Veyron looked astonishingly like one of his cars, according to Carbuzz.com.

And in fact, it was his car.

It turns out that the tweet was an image of Kahn’s car with the green Dubai police force logos Photoshopped onto it.

Their fakery exposed, Dubai officials were forced to admit that the image was doctored and that they do not have a Bugatti Veyron as yet. But they claim that such a supercar will likely be added to the fleet in the near future. And perhaps they will use it to catch fake bad guys.

Video: Afzal Kahn talks to a reporter about one of his three Bugatti Veyrons. (That’s right. Three.)

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exposed as a Photoshopped fake appeared first on Wheels.ca.

Police are still waiting to talk to singer George Michael after he fell from a moving vehicle at 110 km/h, British newspapers are reporting.

The singer remains in hospital after the incident, which occurred six days ago, and is recovering from his injuries, his publicist said.

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The city has filed a lawsuit against six citizens, part of a group dubbed Robin Hood of Keene, that patrols downtown armed with video cameras and pockets full of change (video below).

According to the New Hampshire Union Leader, members of the group place cards under windshield wipers that read, “Your meter expired; however, we saved you from the king’s tariffs: Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Please consider paying it forward,” and includes an address where donations can be sent.

The group says the suit was filed because the city is losing revenue from parking tickets. The city says the activists are harassing its employees.

Related: Gas prices aren’t the only thing putting the squeeze on motorists

In the case filed May 2, the city asks the court to prohibit residents Kate Ager, Ian Bernard aka Ian Freeman, James Cleaveland, Graham Colson, Garrett Ean and Peter Eyre from coming within 50 feet of the city’s three parking enforcement officers “during the performance of their employment duties for the city.”

According to the suit, the residents “regularly, repeatedly and intentionally taunted, interfered with, harassed, and intimidated” the officers starting last December, “surrounding, touching or nearly touching, and otherwise taunting and harassing” the officers.

Cleaveland said the group has prevented the officers from issuing about 4,000 tickets.

In the filing, parking enforcement officer Linda Desruisseaux said, “Besides following me, crowding around me, making video recordings of my activities and placing coins in expired meters to prevent me from writing tickets, these individuals repeatedly taunt and harass me, asking why I am stealing peoples’ money and telling me to get another job … In particular, Graham Colson likes to taunt me by saying, ‘Linda, guess what you’re not going to do today – write tickets.’ ”

The lawsuit does not deny group members’ right to videotape and takes no issue with them filling expired parking meters, but said there is a concern that the three parking enforcement officers will quit.

The suit states the city would suffer financially from having to hire and train new employees, and might have difficulty filling the positions.

Cleaveland and Garrett said they were served with the suit on Thursday and have 30 days to respond.

“I basically feel like it’s slander,” Garrett said. “I did not harass or intimidate anyone.”

Cleaveland said he speaks to the officers less than 90 per cent of the time, and when he does, he is not harassing or intimidating.

He said the Robin Hooders try to stay about 20 feet ahead of the officer, but the officers cross the street, zigzag, or hide behind buildings if they see a Robin Hooder.

The two said the video recordings of their activities will vindicate them in court.

With files from The New Hampshire Union Leader

Video: “You’re knuckleheads:” Man confronts Robin-Hooders.

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are being sued for harassment appeared first on Wheels.ca.

Farmville police shared security camera footage from a local McDonald’s with WITN that show a Toyota Tacoma pull up to the ordering podium when a sedan pulls in front of it and stops, blocking the pickup truck’s path. While we don’t see it, it is safe to assume that there was some less-than-jovial jockeying for position before they got to this point. Then the Toyota driver slams into the car, almost flipping it over, before driving off. Police have still not found the driver of the truck, but it sounds like he’s in for some jail time when the police catch up with him.

More action from the James Fund Exotic Car Day
Last week I posted a video of a Toronto area Mustang being drifted through an autocross course. That video was shot at the annual James Fund Exotic Car Ride Charity Event last year. The event is hosted by Wheels own Ian Law and this year’s event is coming up soon. The James Fund is a charity that supports research for neuroblastoma and visitors to the Exotic Car Day get to ride in an exotic car in exchange for a donation. Held at the Powerade Centre in Brampton, this year’s event is on Sunday, June 5.

Check out more of the action from the 2012 event.

Chinese auto journo destroys Lamborghini Gallardo on media launch
Most auto journalists dread the day that they potentially become that guy. That Guy is the one on an given press trip that wads up a new car into a ball thanks to a momentary lapse in judgment. It can happen to the most experienced driver, though it happens most frequently to the less experienced or those who don’t have control of their inner child.

Car News China reports that a Chinese journalist returned a new Lamborghini Gallardo to kit form during a media launch last week on a wet highway near the city of Hangzhou in Jiangsu Province. The driver was not injured, but somehow I suspect he will not be invited back to a supercar press launch any time soon.

Walk the track at Long Beach with Kyle Marcelli
In his latest video, Barrie, Ontario racer Kyle Marcelli takes us on a walk around the Long Beach street course, where he raced his LMPC car in the American Le Mans Series a couple of weeks ago. It is easy to see why fans and racers alike love the place!

Antoine L’Estage speaks about devastating crash
By now, most Wheels.ca readers have probably seen the frightening crash that Canadian rally stars Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard endured at the Oregon Trail Rally. If you haven’t, you can see it here. L’Estage is known for making few mistakes behind the wheel, but this crash was a result of his mis-hearing a route note. The resulting crash was violent and destroyed the car. Fortunately, the pair were unhurt in the incident, but the bruise to the bank account will be substantial.

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Eleven of the fictional Eleanor Mustangs were created for the movie, although only three of them were working cars and two of these were destroyed during filming.
The car was built by Cinema Vehicle Services and Chip Foose.

Related: And speaking of Nicolas Cage, here he is in a cheesy Chinese car ad

Power comes from a 400-horsepower Ford V8 crate engine mated to a four-speed manual gearbox. Other features include power steering and brakes, a lowered suspension, driving lights, custom body kit with new fender flares, side skirts with exhaust outlets and 17″ rims wrapped in Goodyear F1 tires. Inside there’s a fire extinguisher, the Go-Baby-Go shift-knob button and a nitrous injection switch.

The genuine Eleanor sold at the Dana Mecum 26th Original Spring Classic Auction in Indianapolis last week. No details about her buyer have been released.

With files from CarBuzz.com

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