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Fort Worth Police investigating officer for using pepper spray on bikers

A Fort Worth Police officer was placed on administrative duties after video surfaced showing him allegedly spraying pepper spray at a group of passing motorcyclists during a traffic stop over the weekend. An officer with the FWPD pulled over one of the group's chase vehicles, a red Dodge Ram, that was escorting riders in case of a crash or mechanical troubles. The video, shot from one of the motorcyclists' helmet cams, caught the FWPD officer exiting his vehicle and, before approaching the truck, spraying something into traffic at the group of riders. WFAA News 8 spoke with the men responsible for the video, Jack Kinney and Chase Stone, via Skype from Longview, TX, on March 13. "It's the last thing I would expect to see," Kinney told the station. "His intent was to hit the bikers for sure, there's no doubt about it," said Stone. "His intent was to send somebody down, if not to cause a major accident with that spray". As the video went viral, receiving more than 200,000 views in 15 hours, people shared videos showing the group of motorcyclists riding in an irresponsible manner through traffic right before the alleged pepper spray incident. Fort Worth Police say they received numerous calls about the pack of riders from motorists on surrounding highways, with complaints ranging from weaving in and out of lanes to popping wheelies through traffic at high speed. News 8 asked Kinney and Stone if it was possible that the officer felt threatened. "If you're worried about safety, why would you pepper spray a large group of bikers like that?" asked Kinney. The Dallas Morning News identified the officer as W. Figueroa. Worth Police released an official statement about the incident late on the afternoon of March 13. They stated that the officer in question, a six-year FWPD veteran, had been relieved of his patrol duties and placed on desk duty pending the investigation. FWPD Corporal Tracey Knight also made a statement indicating that pepper-spraying drivers in oncoming traffic is not a department-sanctioned tactic. News Source: WFAA News 8, The Dallas Morning News Government/Legal Dodge RAM Safety Truck Motorcycle Police/Emergency Videos Sedan road rage bikers

FCA cuts powertrain warranties to 60k miles

FCA US is cutting back the mileage of its powertrain warranty on some 2016 model year vehicles. Rather than the current five years/100,000 miles of coverage, the new amount is five years/60,000 miles for gasoline-fueled models from Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram. In March 2015, General Motors made a similar switch to five-years/60,000-miles of coverage for Chevrolet and GMC, and FCA US seems to be citing this as part of the reason for the shift. "Following changes already made by competitors, FCA US is adjusting powertrain warranty coverage for 2016 model year vehicles to be more consistent with industry practices," the automaker said in a portion of its statement. The bumper-to-bumper warranty for these vehicles is unchanged at three years/36,000 miles. According to Automotive News, Fiat's warranty is remaining at four years/50,000 miles. When it changed the mileage limit, GM also halved the number of free service visits for Chevy, GMC, and Buick to two from the previous four. The automaker claimed that the reason for the adjustments to its coverage was that a long warranty was seldom a reason for customers to buy a vehicle. Related Video: Response to Query: 2016MY Powertrain Warranty Adjustment Following changes already made by competitors, FCA US is adjusting powertrain warranty coverage for 2016 model year vehicles to be more consistent with industry practices. For 2016MY, Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge and Ram Truck vehicles with gasoline engines will be covered by a 5 year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty. The basic coverage, also known as "bumper to bumper," remains at 3 years/36,000 miles. # # # News Source: FCA US, Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Car Buying Maintenance Ownership FCA warranty fca us powertrain

Ram Truck digs in with Laramie Longhorn-inspired Case backhoe

Some combinations seem natural immediately like chocolate and peanut butter, but others take a little more consideration before they begin make sense. That is exactly the situation with the new partnership between Ram and heavy equipment-maker Case to build a one-of-a-kind Ram 3500 with a matching, customized Case 580 Super N Wide Track Backhoe. The unique combo is currently on display at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2014 show in Las Vegas, NV, and afterwards will go on tour for the rest of the year at Ram- and Case-sponsored events.
While it is undoubtedly odd to see a modified backhoe, it almost gets cool when you se the interior. Both vehicles the same two-tone gold and black paint scheme, and the backhoe's cab has been refinished to match the truck with shades of brown leather, Laramie badges and chrome trim. If you have to be in a backhoe, this one looks like the one to choose. Plus, this might be the first backhoe ever with chrome wheels.
The truck that the backhoe is attached to a Ram 3500 Laramie Longhorn Crew Cab 4x4 with a 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel with 850 foot-pounds of torque, plus an improved transfer case and heavy-duty transmission. Like its matching heavy equipment friend, the truck is also supposed to offer a mix of luxury and working ability. Scroll down for the full press release on this very curious combo.