News Roundup: Student gets bullied for his orange VW, Bill Gates takes an EV Porsche to DQ and Toyota partners with everyone

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News Roundup: Student gets bullied for his orange VW, Bill Gates takes an EV Porsche to DQ and Toyota partners with everyone Back to video

Dum-dum neighbours vandalized this med student’s car for parking while orange

A 25-year-old medical student living in Philadelphia has been having a tough time finding the right spot to park his orange 2007 Volkswagen GTI. The street around the corner from his home seems convenient enough, and he is legally allowed to park there, but some residents are apparently pretty upset by the sight of the orange vehicle in their neighbourhood.

According to the anonymous future doctor, it began with notes reading “MOVE YOUR CAR!” and “Violation: Parking on a street you don’t live on,” and so on, and escalated to keyed-in scratches and a spray-painted license plate. The man has since given the names of the expected vandals to the authorities. Who knew Fahrenheit Orange was such a trigger?

Bill Gates heads to DQ in a Vancouver-made electric Porsche 356 replica

Software mogul Bill Gates recently took a spin down to Dairy Queen to meet his buddy Warren Buffett – who owns the restaurant brand – and try his hand at making Blizzards. The Youtube video highlighting the visit is cute, but what made it special in our eyes was the open-top e-Porsche Gates showed up to the date behind the wheel of.

The 356 eRoadster is an electric Porsche 356 replica built by Vancouver-based EV firm Electra Meccanica, which has been making roadsters on the west coast since the 1970s. The B.C. company hasn’t produced many of the new-age classics, and it’s unclear if this one was loaned to Gates or purchased by him. Hopefully the latter because, you know, he’s Bill Gates.

Ram releases a Canada-exclusive trim called Sub Zero

Literally days away from summer and Ram releases a Canada-only trim package called Sub Zero. Winter: As if we needed reminding.

The trim release is probably less of a “don’t forget how cold you’re going to be in a couple months” and more of a way for Ram to make its now 10-years-old 1500 Classic a little fresher. For $1,495, the Sub Zero package upgrades interiors of the Express, Tradesman and ST models in the form of a 10-way power driver’s chair, 5-inch Uconnect with satellite radio, plus a bunch of cold-weather stuff like heated front split bench seats and steering wheel, and remote start.

SUV shopping? The 2020 Kia Telluride is legitimately worthy of your consideration

When’s the last time you were in a Kia? What used to be a brand known for low prices and average cars has evolved into a legit contender. Kia’s latest SUV has the proof in its pudding, with AWD, three rows of comfortable and spacious seating, and a sturdy V6 under the hood. Our first drive in the Telluride, which we took in the snow-capped Rocky Mountains near Banff, Alberta, totally blew us away.

The Telluride EX comes with heated front and rear seats and steering wheel; safety tech including blind-spot monitoring, forward collision alert, lane-departure warning and adaptive cruise control; and a power liftgate—in the base ($44,995) model! SUV buyers would be wise to add this to the shortlist and seek a test drive.

Toyota is working hard to popularize EVs through partnerships

Another month, another Toyota partnership aimed at boosting popularity of EVs. In early June, the auto giant announced plans to collaborate with a bunch of Japanese brands on upcoming EV tech such as solid-state batteries, which it hopes to have ready in time for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. To date, the list of partners working with Toyota on something EV- and BEV-related include Subaru, Suzuki, Diahatsu and, if rumours are to be believed, Mazda.

Canadians only want EVs if they’re subsidized

If the government didn’t offer any subsidies, would Canadians still be buying electric cars? That’s the question asked by a provincial breakdown published by La Presse and unpacked by Driving’s David Booth in this week’s installment of Motor Mouth. According to the report, the two provinces that offer major incentives, B.C. and Quebec, receive the most EV orders by a long shot. The others, not so much.

Compared to Quebec’s 1,998 incentive requests, Ontario got 176, Alberta and Nova Scotia 10, and Prince Edward Island just 2. Seems we’re only willing to put the government’s money where our mouths are. 

Mercedes-Benz reveals the 2020 GLB 250

It’s becoming more and more difficult to make SUVs stand out, but Mercedes-Benz’ recently revealed 2020 GLB 250 manages to shout something audible above the din of the crowd: “Three rows!” The compact SUV offers seven seats (with enough room for people up to 5’5” in the back, says Benz) which is something its main luxury competition does not do in a vehicle of this stature. Also, as editor Matthew Guy points out, “it doesn’t look like a used bar of soap,” which is a good thing.