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Translogic 189: 2015 LA Auto Show

The LA Auto Show has become known for its green cars and concepts, and 2015 was no exception. Translogic host Jonathon Buckley gets all the details on BMW's 330e plug-in hybrid straight from BMW President of North America Ludwig Willisch. Then we get up-to-date on Honda's latest FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car. We round out our tour with a stop at the Elio Motors booth for a look at their updated, three-wheel P5 concept and a chat with CEO Paul Elio. But first, we jump in a time machine at the Volvo booth to discuss Concept 26, an interpretation of how car interiors might evolve in the era of self-driving cars. "The reason why we talked about it as a time machine [is] because, really, Concept 26 is giving you back something that is so precious," explained Volvo senior director of design Tisha Johnson. "We're letting you delegate driving to the car, so that you can then have that time to yourself." Click here to learn more about our host, Jonathon Buckley.

Woman sent to psych ward because police didn't believe she owned a BMW

A woman is suing New York City after she spent eight days in a mental hospital because, she claims, police didn't believe she, a black woman, could own a BMW. Last year, Kamilah Brock was pulled over in Harlem, NY, for having her hands off the wheel, PIX 11 reported. She says she told officers she was dancing while stopped at a red light at the intersection. Police took her into custody and held her for several hours. When Brock was released from the 30th Precinct without any formal charges, police told her she could pick up her car the next day. When she arrived at the impound lot and told officials she was looking for her car - a 2003 BMW 325Cl, she knew there was something wrong as soon as she requested her vehicle. "I just felt like from the moment I said I owned a BMW, I was looked at as a liar," Brock told PIX 11. "They put me in handcuffs and said they just need to put me in handcuffs to take me to my car. And I said OK, whatever it's gonna take to get to my car." Then EMS arrived. She was taken to Harlem Hospital psychiatric ward where she says she was pumped with sedatives and given powerful drugs. Doctors believed she was suffering from bipolar disorder, she claims, and tried for days to get Brock to admit she didn't own the luxury car. They also tried to convince Brock that she wasn't really a banker and President Obama didn't really follow her on Twitter, though both facts are true. The worst part? She was stuck with a $13,000 hospital bill for the pleasure. Brock is currently suing the hospital and several unnamed police officers. Neither the NYPD nor the City's Law Department commented on this story due to ongoing litigation. Government/Legal Weird Car News BMW Ownership Videos lawsuit

BMW, Ferrari, VW cars use tungsten mined by terrorists

Bloomberg Markets is reporting that BMW, Volkswagen and Ferrari have been using tungsten ore sourced from Columbia's FARC rebel terrorists. The extensive story focuses on Columbia's illegal mining trade and calls into question the provenance of the rare ore that is used not only in crankshaft parts production, but is also found in the world's computing and telecommunications industry for use in screens.
The ore is mined by the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army), and exported to Pennsylvania, where it is refined. The refined ore is then sent over to Austria, where a company called Plansee turns it into a finished product. Now, it's important to note that we aren't talking about the world's supply of tungsten here. In 2012, Plansee's American refinery purchased 93.2 metric tons of tungsten, valued at $1.8 million. That's peanuts, with the entire Colombian tungsten mining industry producing just one percent of the world's supplies.
That doesn't make indirectly supporting FARC any more acceptable, though. BMW, VW and Ferrari are all committed to not accepting mineral supplies from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is also in the grips of a guerrilla insurrection funded, in part, by illegal mining. The same commitment would figure to extend to Colombian mining, but as BMW points out, it's difficult for a multi-national manufacturer to know where every item in its supply chain comes from. A company spokesperson says as much, telling Bloomberg, "These few grams out of the billions of tons of raw materials passing through the BMW supply chain are of no practical relevance."