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Florida Highway Patrolman seen watching YouTube in traffic

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating allegations of a trooper watching YouTube videos on his official in-car laptop while driving. Lee County Florida resident James Peebles caught the alleged offender during his morning commute in early April, NBC2 reported. After exiting I-75, Peebles said that the FHP cruiser rolled up next to him at a stop light where he could clearly see the trooper inside watching a car race on Youtube on an official FHP laptop. Peebles put his car in park and snapped a picture of the cruiser before continuing to work. Later that day, he posted the photo to Facebook where it quickly went viral. "It blew my mind," Peebles told NBC2. "Everybody's human though, so I do know that we all make mistakes." NBC2 contacted the FHP for a statement after speaking to Peebles. An FHP spokesperson told the station that troopers are allowed to use their laptops while driving squad cars when carrying out official duties such as "simple inquiries" and "reviewing the nature of incoming messages". Other Florida motorists, like Jim Kosmerick who was interviewed by NBC2 for this story, don't consider watching an old race on YouTube to be official FHP business. "It's not official business, there's no way you can convince me otherwise," said Kosmerick. The FHP says that they are now aware of this fast moving viral image, and that they are taking the issue very seriously. They state that an investigation into the matter is underway, and that troopers are expected to abide by department policy and lead by example. Related Video News Source: NBC2 Government/Legal Weird Car News Dodge Driving Safety Police/Emergency Videos Sedan distracted driving Dodge Charger Pursuit

Best and worst car brands of 2022 according to Consumer Reports

It's that time again, Consumer Reports this morning lifting the curtain on its 2022 Annual Car Brand rankings and its 10 Top Picks in the car, crossover, and truck category. Drumroll, please: This year, Subaru climbs two spots to claim the winner's circle, having come third the last two years. Last year, Mazda climbed three spots from 2020 to take the crown. This year, Mazda slipped to second, BMW taking the last spot on the podium, also a one-spot drop from 2021. Six automakers in the top 10 hailed from Japan, which is one more than last year, and five luxury makers occupied the top 10, which is two more than last year. And South Korean representation didn't crack the top this year, after Hyundai managed tenth last year. The seven makes after BMW are: Honda, Lexus, Audi, Porsche, Mini, Toyota, and Infiniti.  The magazine and testing concern says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CR’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." The domestics also took steps back among the 32 OEMs ranked on the 2022 card. Chrysler and Buick were the domestic carmakers who made last year's top 10 in eighth and ninth, respectively. This year, Buick dropped to eleventh, Chrysler to thirteenth. Dodge went from fourteenth to sixteenth. CR continues to ding Tesla's yoke steerer, the not-exactly-natural handhold responsible for the electric carmaker going from sixteenth last year to twenty-third this year.

Diesel Power finds the ultimate modified oil-burner

For nine years, Diesel Power magazine has run the Diesel Power Challenge, this year's grindfest being "a week-long torture test that features seven events, nine trucks, 8,000 horsepower, and nearly 15,000 pound-feet of torque." The road to being crowned "the most powerful truck" starts with a dyno run, and then continues through the completion of a CDL-style obstacle course, an eighth-of-a-mile drag race while towing a 10,000-pound trailer, a quarter-mile drag race without a trailer, a fuel economy test in the mountains and finally a sled-pulling test through a 300-foot-long packed-mud pit.
What kind of trucks get into such a fight? Last year's winner, for instance - who upgraded his truck this year to prove he didn't "luck into the win" - drives a 2008 Ford F-250 Super Duty with a 6.4-liter Power Stroke V8 upgraded with a custom intake, Elite Diesel triple turbos and a two-stage nitrous system. Another competitor has a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 powered by a 5.9-liter Cummins inline-six, upgraded with Garrett turbos, dual-stage nitrous, a seven-inch exhaust stack and twin fans built into the bed to cool the Sun Coast Omega transmission. The numbers on that truck: 1,255 horsepower, and 2,063 pound-feet of torque at the wheels. Naturally, as the image above might suggest, things don't always end well.
You'll find all five videos covering this years challenge below. A scene in the dyno video sums it all up perfectly: a competitor leaves his nitrous on too long and the crew is treated to some ominous poppings, he leans out the window, throws both hands up and shouts, "Amer'ca!"