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Huge Canadian sinkhole destroys four-lane road, swallows car

A major thoroughfare in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa was closed after a huge sinkhole opened beneath it. According to the CBC, the sinkhole appeared around mid-morning on Wednesday on Rideau Street near its intersection with Sussex Drive. The sinkhole, which initially formed over an unstable vein of sand, silt, and fractured rock, quickly spread across all four lanes of Rideau Street. A high-pressure natural gas line and a water main were shattered by the road collapse, filling the deep hole with water, gas, and fumes and forcing the evacuation of numerous surrounding buildings. All traffic save for buses and taxis had already been banned from the area due to excavation for a light rail station, but a Chrysler minivan parked along Rideau street fell into the hole as it expanded. Construction workers working in the light rail site evacuated safely once the road began collapsing, and no injuries were reported. Ottawa mayor Jim Watson told The Guardian that there was no sure way to tell how long repairs to Rideau Street would take. "It's a significant sinkhole in the downtown core. It has a major impact on our largest retail shopping center, one of our major hotels as well as one of the busiest intersections and bus routes." This is the second sinkhole to appear in downtown Ottawa in recent years. In 2014, a nearly thirty-foot wide sinkhole caused by excavation for the light rail system opened just a few blocks away from Rideau and Sussex. Watson stated that it is too soon to say whether or not Wednesday's sink hole was related to light rail construction. "We can't confirm whether the tunnel had any impact on the sinkhole or whether it was a water main break or whether it was a leak of some type that destabilized the soil." Watson went on to say that he hoped that city officials would be able to pinpoint the exact cause of the collapse soon. Related Video: News Source: The Guardian, CBC News Auto News Weird Car News Chrysler Minivan/Van sinkhole road

Ward's announces 10 Best Engines 2015

Ward's Auto has named its 10 Best Engines for 2015, covering a range of powerplants from fuel-sippers to fire-breathers. As with past years, forced-induction reigns supreme, with seven of the ten engines featuring a turbo or supercharger. This year is slightly different, though, as two of the seven blown engines are turbocharged three-cylinder mills, from the Ford Fiesta and Mini Cooper. They're joined by the 2.0-liter turbo four from the Volvo S60, the 1.8-liter turbo four from the Volkswagen Jetta and the 2.0-liter boxer from the Subaru WRX. BMW and Chrysler were the only marques to be named to this year's list twice, with the electric motor from the i3 joining the Mini's three-pot, and the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 in the Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee repping the diesel crowd, alongside a certain supercharged monster. Hyundai also took a prize with a zero-emissions powertrain, with the Tucson FCV's 100-kilowatt fuel cell making the list (apparently Ward's is quite generous with what it deems an "engine"). Rounding out the list are two Autoblog favorites, each displacing 6.2 liters, but producing their power very differently. On the one hand, Chevrolet's overhead-valve, 455-horsepower V8, found in the Corvette, makes its power the old fashioned way. And in the other corner, we have one of the most exciting engines of the year – the 707-hp, 6.2-liter, supercharged Hellcat V8, featured so prominently in the Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat. "We spend a lot of time reading the powertrain tea leaves throughout the auto industry, and we're proud that this year's list is a microcosm of all the latest innovation coming from automakers," said Ward's Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter in a statement. "It's not just a list for enthusiasts or for environmentalists," he says. "There's something for every vehicle shopper and every budget. All the powertrains on this list deliver a first-rate driving experience," Winter added. Scroll down for the full list from Ward's, and let us know which engines you think belong and which should have been included in this year's rankings. Ward's 10 Best Engines of 2015 Announced by Penton's WardsAuto Honorees span most diverse and technically advanced engines in 21 years of recognized powertrain excellence SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Penton's Wards 10 Best Engines of 2015 have been announced.

Chrysler 100, midsize CUV and plug-in hybrid minivan launch bid to go mainstream

The news just keeps on rolling from Auburn Hills today, as Fiat Chrysler continues to detail its five-year growth plan. This time round, we're talking about Chrysler. The troubled American brand has been limited in the past few years to the lamentable Sebring/200, the Town & Country and the 300, although that's likely to change in the coming years.
"The Chrysler brand is not luxury - it's not premium. Chrysler is the mainstream American brand," brand CEO Al Gardner said during today's presentation.
Gardner set a sales target of 800,000 units by 2018, which marks an increase of 350,000 units compared to its 2013 sales results. That's a pretty big ask for a brand that's struggled to define itself over the past decade.