Last week we showed you what happens when old Ford and GM airbags are set off in an enclosed place, and now it's time to see what kind of damage an old Chrysler airbag can inflict on a mini fridge. To keep the fridge grounded, Farmer Dave slapped a Reagan era microwave on top of it, wired up the airbag to the battery, and let her rip. The door went flying, the little refrigerator's side walls were compromised, and, well, follow the jump to see it for yourself. It wasn't as explosive as the Ford door, but we love how Farmer Dave employs the saliva test on the back plate of the airbag to see if it's still hot. Sizzling spit is acceptable behavior in YouTube land.
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If you happen to be the Head of State of a controversial nation, have a lot of enemies, or you are just plain paranoid, BMW's latest X5 variation may appeal to you. It's called the BMW X5 Security, and it has been armored by the factory to protect its occupants against some serious firepower (BMW claims safety class "VR4" to resist the penetration from a .44 Magnum, .357 Magnum, or a nine-millimeter Luger). While BMW is understandably mum about specifics, we do know that the body panels (including the roof and trunk) have been reinforced with a ballistic-resistant armored fiber developed in the Netherlands. The windows are upgraded to laminated 22-mm thick security glass, and a camera system with intercom keeps the passengers informed of what's happening outside their isolated cocoon. To handle the extra mass (you know its packing some weight) the Security package is bundled to the X5 4.8i model with its 4.8-liter 350-hp V-8. Nearly indistinguishable from the regular model, BMW has reportedly attempted to maintain the X5's driving dynamics with upgraded suspension and brakes. It's apparently no slouch, but we have yet to see any armored car that is considered exceptionally nimble.
Around 12:30PM EST today, Chrysler's Windsor assembly plant in Canada, which produces an assortment of the automaker's minivans, caught fire after a reported explosion. Eyewitness reports claim that the explosion was followed by large plumes of black smoke emanating from the northwest corner of the center. Fire crews have cordoned off part of the plant around Drouillard Road and all of the employees have been evacuated. We'll update this post with more information as it becomes available, so stay tuned.
Yesterday, two pieces of news conspired to push the price of crude oil to new heights. The first is that U.S. oil inventories aren't as robust as everyone thought, and the second is that OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, decided not to increase production of their black gold, Texas Tea. With these two nuggets of bad news, oil futures climbed $5/barrel yesterday, peaking at $104.95 before closing at $104.52. Even when adjusting for inflation, yesterday's closing price beats the previous $103.76 ($39.50 at the time) record set in April 1980 during the second oil crisis. This was all on the evening news yesterday, so you may have heard your favorite network news anchor get really funky with his inflection talking about it.
That was yesterday. Today things got worse, with the price of crude sky rocketing up to $105.97 per barrel, nearly 106 bucks (!), early in the trading session. Why the panicking? Apparently there was an explosion in New York City at Times Square this morning, and before anyone knew what had actually happened, fear of the unknown pushed prices higher. It turns out that the explosion wasn't that big, no one was injured, and it doesn't appear to be a terrorist attack of any sort, and thus the price of oil has since fallen back to a more palatable but still tough to swallow $104.11 per barrel. For some perspective, we found this post written in October 2005 about the price of oil hitting a 2-month low: $61.36 a barrel.
Porsche announced today that production of the iconic 911 has resumed at its plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany after an explosion in the spray-painting unit brought things to a halt last week. No one was injured, but the external combustion caused several hundred thousand euros worth of damage and cost the German automaker 800 units of production. Porsche said the cause for the explosion was a technical defect, and the aforementioned damage would mostly be covered by insurance. As for the missing 800 units, Zuffenhausen workers can expect some additional overtime hours this year as the plant works to make them up.
The German press is reporting this morning that there's been an explosion at Porsche's factory in Stuttgart where the 911 and many of its variants are built. Apparently a furnace used for drying coating sheaths was the source of the boom, which set off the sprinkler systems and ground 911 production to a halt. Reports say production will be down at least 2 - 3 days, which means Porsche could lose about 320 to 480 units of production, not to mention the cost of damage to property. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, but two Porsche workers were hospitalized with injuries. As to why the furnace blew up, the cause is unknown at this time.
