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Queens man knows how to party, disrupts Mets game with van

A New Yorker and all-around true American hero took his weekend festivities a little too far and landed himself in front of a judge last week. According to NBC New York, Nelson Hidalgo drove his unassuming Sprinter to Citi Field on Saturday, June 18, around 10:45 p.m. While the Mets were getting thrashed by the Braves, Hidalgo pulled up to the intersection of 127th street and 35th avenue. Hiding within the van's cargo area were 80 speakers driven by powerful amps, around $20,000 worth of car audio. Hidalgo opened the Sprinter's rear doors, deployed his amazing speaker system, cracked a cold Coors Light, and unleashed hell. Noise complaints immediately started flooding in to the police, including one from the Mets' bullpen. Soon, Hidalgo amassed a sizable crowd who had come to rock out and marvel at the lunacy of the Sprinter's sound system. The NYPD showed up eventually and, undaunted by noise and the crowd, clapped the irons on poor Nelson. The Sprinter was impounded and Hildago was charged with second-degree criminal nuisance, general noise prohibition, disorderly conduct, and obstructing the driver's view. "I know it's illegal, but it's the weekend," he explained to the cops as they hauled him away. Once they had him in custody, the NYPD realized that Hidalgo was the person they had been looking for in connection with absurdly loud music coming from various city junkyards in the dead of night. Hidalgo, who has no prior record, spent the night in the slammer but was released the next morning with no bail on the promise that he return for his court date on August 1. Related Video:

FCA goes natural with CNG fleet

FCA Transport, the fleet of tractor trailers owned by FCA US that hauls parts from suppliers and to assembly plants, is going green. By converting its 179 trucks from diesel to compressed natural gas, CO2 emissions will drop by 16,000 tons per year based on the cumulative 16 million miles the fleet covers annually. That is roughly equivalent to the yearly energy use of 1,500 homes, the same as not burning more than 17 million pounds of coal. FCA says rolling out the largest CNG-powered truck fleet in Michigan took two years to execute and a $40-million investment, including $5 million to build the largest private CNG station on the continent. It also required the assistance of Cummins, Allison Transmission, and Agility Fuel Systems. There is an upside for FCA Transport in all of this: the company estimates fuel savings of 35 percent from not having to buy 2.6 million gallons of diesel every year. It's probably no coincidence that this announcement comes as world leaders tackle the same problems at the Paris Climate Change Conference. The press release below has more. FCA US Launches Largest Private Fleet of Natural Gas-Powered Semitrucks in the State of Michigan- Company announces $40 million investment in Detroit to convert 179 parts-hauling trucks to compressed natural gas (CNG)- Investment includes facility and infrastructure upgrades and the installation of the largest private CNG fueling station in North America- Fleet's transition to CNG will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 16,000 tons per yearDecember 4, 2015 , Detroit - FCA US LLC announced today that it has invested $40 million in FCA Transport, the FCA US-owned truck fleet, to convert its 179 Detroit-based parts-haulers to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) rather than traditional diesel. The move gives FCA the largest private fleet of CNG-powered heavy-duty vehicles in the state of Michigan."Our transition to CNG reflects the way FCA US attempts to balance our search for profitability with social responsibility and community development, including environmental stewardship," said Steve Beahm, Senior Vice President – Supply Chain Management, FCA – North America. "This project was a win-win-win – it offered a solid business case, clear environmental benefits and an opportunity to invest in our Detroit facility and workforce."FCA Transport, built in 1965, is located on Lynch Road in Detroit, just across from the Detroit City Airport.

Minivans could be key to Google-FCA self-driving partnership

Executives from Google and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have held discussions about creating a technical partnership, the purpose of which would be to further development of self-driving vehicles, according to multiple reports. The two companies might make ideal partners. Google has been at the forefront of developing autonomous technology, and has publicly stated it'd seek partners to build vehicles. FCA, meanwhile, has not invested in self-driving research, and its CEO has been publicly offering the company up for acquisition for the last several years. Combined, they could make both the brains and the bodies of self-driving cars. "Public transit executives could be buying autonomous minivans rather than expensive buses." – Chris Urmson "A Google-FCA tie-up could simultaneously put both companies in the lead in this critical race," said Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer. "... FCA's efforts to merge with another automaker have failed, but if the automaker can join forces with Google, it could immediately change the dynamic. Every car company is trying to get into the tech space right now, because they all know their future depends on it." A Google spokesperson declined comment on the reports Thursday, and FCA did not return a request for comment. But Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car project, may have inadvertently hinted at the partnership Wednesday when he detailed an interest in building autonomous minivans for public-transportation use. "Public transit executives could be buying autonomous minivans rather than expensive buses," Urmson said during a public meeting on autonomous regulations held by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Palo Alto, California. "Federal standards determine what kinds of vehicles cities can use for transit. This needs attention." Minivans are different than the Lexus 450h and pod-like prototypes Google has used for autonomous testing so far. If Urmson is indeed interested in self-driving minivans that provide on-demand services for public transportation users, as he elaborated upon, there may be no more perfect partner than Chrysler, which pioneered the minivan segment three decades ago and recently reasserted its presence the minivan market with the new Pacifica, a completely redesigned vehicle. Ridding the urban environment of traffic-clogging buses might be one small slice of Google's broader plan for transforming cities and the imprint cars make upon them.