A third-party analysis alleges that 23 percent of customers to place reservations for the Tesla Model 3 electric sedan have requested refunds.

The claim comes from Second Measure, a business data analytics company. According to data gathered with its own software from billions of transactions, and a track record of accuracy to Tesla's own self-released figures, the company was confident claiming refunds account for 23 percent of all Model 3 reservation outcomes, versus 8 percent receiving their vehicles.

Information from the company's own charts also suggests that refunds outstripped new reservations for the first four months of the year, reportedly returning customers' $1,000 deposits at twice the rate it receives them. Second Measure cites production delays as a major driver of fleeing deposit holders, which have been a thorn in the automaker's side for months. No data for the month of May was included.

When contacted by The Drive, however, Tesla denied Second Measure's figures, with a spokesperson stating, "this does not line up with our data."

The spokesperson pointed to Tesla's own first quarter shareholder letter for semi-current reservation figures, which were then in excess of 450,000. In its production press release for the same period, Tesla stated that its net reservations "remained stable," attributing any customer refunds to "delays in production in general and delays in availability of certain planned options, particularly dual motor AWD and the smaller battery pack."

Some of these wrinkles are gradually being ironed out, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated an intent to escalate production of the Model 3 to 6,000 cars per week by the beginning of June, with its assembly lines rolling cars off at all hours of the day. Likewise, Tesla made its all-wheel-drive and Performance Model 3 options available to order in May, with deliveries of these vehicles planned for July.

Our own Lawrence Ulrich, however, is concerned that Model 3 reservations may dry up with the pool of cash offered by the federal electric vehicle tax credit of $7,500, which will lay the full burden of the base Model 3's $35,000 price tag on consumers, many of whom signed up for the discounted $27,500 Model 3. Whether volume production of the Model 3 or the end of the tax credit arrives first depends on legislators, though public utilities and automakers alike are pushing for the credit's retention.

We have talked in-depth about how China is barreling forward with advanced unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) development—and this is just based on what the Chinese government wants us to see. Now a new photo has surfaced that appears to show a full-sized 'Dark Sword' UCAV. The concept has been talked about and shown in renderings and models for over a decade and a subscale remote controlled demonstrator was supposedly flown as well. But this is the first time evidence of a far more mature and substantive iteration of Dark Sword has been seen.

Dark Sword, which originates from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, has a low observable (stealthy) configuration that differs drastically from more common flying-wing advanced unmanned aircraft designs. Whereas those are optimized for endurance, altitude performance, broadband low observability, and payload, Dark Sword is designed for sustained speed and agility.

Past renderings depict a conical planform with lifting-body attributes. Non-maneuvering, but possibly retractable canard foreplanes are present on its nose section. A wide, splayed tail section with canted vertical stabilizers and swept wings round out the rest of the design and a single-engine is fed by a sharp, forward-swept, chin-mounted intake.

This new image appears to feature a real-life, practical interpretation of the Dark Sword concept using proven low-observable design elements that have been flown on other Chinese stealthy aircraft designs. Most notable is the presence of a Diverterless Supersonic Inlet (DSI). You can read all about this technology in this past feature of mine, but suffice it to say it was minted by Lockheed here in the United States in the 1990s and is a key feature on the F-35, yet China has run with the concept to an even greater degree.

Currently, China's J-20 and J-31 stealth fighters leverage DSI technology, as does the latest variants of the JF-17 export fighter. It has even been incorporated on the second iteration of the J-10, the PLAAF's 'bread and butter' multi-role 4th generation fighter.

A DSI allows for supersonic flight without the use of complex maneuvering ramps that slow air to subsonic speeds before it hits the engine face. It also removes boundary layer air from the aircraft's fuselage, providing the engine with stable and consistent airflow throughout the aircraft's flight envelope without the necessity of non-stealthy splitter plates and other structures. Finally, it provides for radar cross-section reduction in multiple ways. First off, by not needing the aforementioned elaborate splitter planes and maneuvering ramps or bleed air doors which are not conducive to low-observability on the RF spectrum. The DSI's 'bulge' and upturned leading edge also help to obscure the highly reflective engine face incoming radar waves.

The presence of a DSI on a more mature and full-scale version of Dark Sword is telling as it gives us a firmer idea of the aircraft's performance. DSIs allow for supersonic flight up to about Mach 2. This fact helps dispel a lot of the erroneous and far-fetched rumors about Dark Sword, including that it is some sort of hypersonic super-weapon, which simply isn't the case.

In addition, saw-tooth edges can be seen on the Dark Sword's gear doors, which look very similar to the J-20's setup. Sawtooth edges and edge alignment, in general, are design elements that have been used since the dawn of stealth to minimize radar reflectivity where there are seams and operating fissures on a stealthy aircraft's skin.

This is an especially useful design element when it comes to optimizing a stealthy aircraft to evade X-Band and similar fire control radars, or at least to deny their ability to attain an engagement quality track. A high-speed tactical UCAV design like Dark Sword would prioritize low-observable design optimization in just such a way as it trades high-performance for broadband stealth against a wider range of radar operating bands. Its tail surfaces and other elements are already less than optimal when it comes to evading lower-frequency radars, but considering its speed, optimizing survivability against air-to-air and common ground-based fire control radars is most important.

The airframe also seems to wear a silver paint job similar to what the now operational J-20 wears. This includes lighter grey edges where composite low-observable structures are fitted or where embedded antennas are installed. Whether this is just representative or an actual feature of a working design remains unknown.

So, in essence, what we have here is stealthy unmanned airframe that can likely supercruise (fly faster than the speed of sound without the use of afterburner), or at least its design intends to do so dependent on available engine technology and hit top speeds up to around Mach 2.

Such an aircraft would be especially well suited for making supersonic dashes across the Taiwan Strait during a conflict as opposed to flying medium or long-endurance surveillance missions. It's also possible that the design could also be intended to find its way to China's upcoming catapult and barrier equipped aircraft carriers.

Whether based on land or at sea, Dark Sword appears to be uniquely well suited to operate under a 'loyal wingman' or 'tethered' concept of operations in addition to an independent one. Under such a setup, Dark Sword would be able to speed ahead of manned fighters on command to collect data and targeting information, or even engage targets itself. Such a capability would be useful to stealthy and non-stealthy manned fighters alike. But for the latter, it could be a huge force multiplier, providing high-end counter-air defense and strike capability without the cost of procuring droves of high-end stealthy manned fighters.

What we don't know is if the aircraft shown in the photo is an elaborate mockup, an actual flying article, or something in between. We also don't know when the photo was taken as it is more likely than not the project is much farther along now than what is indicated by the image. Remember, the Chinese show us only what they want to.

Above all else, this development serves as another reminder of how China is surging ahead when it comes to advanced unmanned combat aircraft capabilities, while the U.S. acts as if the concept doesn't even exist even after it proved to be a game-changing breakthrough a decade and a half ago.

Without a doubt, there is development being done in the classified realm on advanced unmanned systems, but at this stage, that is problematic in itself, especially when it comes to providing significant funding for such programs, as the very concept relies on volume of airframes above all else. It also makes tailoring an air combat fighting doctrine to accommodate such an awesome shift in capabilities nearly impossible, which is hugely wasteful and even negligent as it deeply impacts procurement decisions. It's not worth relitigating this complex and multi-faceted but seldom talked and highly misunderstood issue in this article as we have explained it in great depth before. You can access that feature here.

In the end military culture, big business that serves it, and other special interests at play within the defense-industrial complex have kept advanced unmanned combat aircraft at bay seemingly to protect existing manned programs, at least in terms of having major defense programs of record. Yet they will all have to come to terms with the fact that manned platforms are not the future of aerial warfare and our enemies could care less about existential debates about the ethics of unmanned and autonomous weaponry.

At this point, it is quite possible that the Pentagon will be caught off-guard by its potential enemies' ingenuity when it comes to this technology in the same way they were by far less advanced weaponized hobby-like drones. That was another capability many of us were screaming about for years, with those warnings apparently falling on deaf ears among the Pentagon's decision makers until the threat had become all too palpable. Oh, and swarms of small drones is another area where China is rushing forward developmentally.

Let's not let history repeat itself again as peer states with mature, high-end, penetrating tactical drone capabilities is far more frightening strategically speaking than some thug jihadis with quadcopters that can drop improvised grenades.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

In an age of services like Uber and Turo, legacy rental companies must adapt to keep up, and Avis, in particular, is exploring possible new opportunities.

In an interview with Wired, Avis' new head of fleet services, Ohad Zeira, explained some of its plans.

“We’re making a portfolio of bets,” Zeira told Wired, “When I came in, there were a ton of ideas. My job was picking the right ones.”

Zeira's job is to keep Avis relevant in a world of ridesharing and potentially a future with fully-autonomous travel. So far, his team has come up with 33 new ways that the rental business could expand.

Avis is currently reluctant to divulge the details of these plans, but they'll most likely involve support of new technologies like electric and autonomous vehicles. Of the 33 ideas, Zeira states that the most promising options will reach the "minimum viable venture stage," and they will become projects that are tested in a few specific markets.

Avis has already publicly announced that it would form a partnership with Waymo as a maintenance service for a self-driving fleet. “There’s a whole laundry list of things we just assume a human driver-operator does,” Zeira says.

The cars will need constant maintenance: Oil changes, tire rotations, and keeping the vehicle clean inside and out. If no one is around to keep them in shape, then driverless cars would quickly fall into disrepair. Avis is planning to fill that role for Waymo, and it can make use of the service bays that it already runs.

With companies like Avis, Hertz, and Jaguar now partnering with tech companies, it's clear that car renters, salespeople, and manufacturers will have to embrace new business models to make it in future markets.

According to Red Bull F1's Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey, Daniel Ricciardo will face grid penalties at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, albeit unclear how harsh they will be. The Australian suffered an MGU-K failure at May's Monaco Grand Prix, which he won despite a ~160 horsepower handicap due to the hybrid energy recovery component's fault, and will resultingly need to replace the part ahead of the contest at Montreal. Ricciardo has already used up his two allotted MGU-Ks for the season, and per Newey's latest reply to a Reuters reporter, the part which failed at the last race is not salvageable.

"I rather doubt it, considering it caught fire and was a burnt out, charred wreck," Newey explained when questioned if the equipment was viable to run again in Canada. "I would be somewhat surprised at that one."

Automatically, the penalty for an extra MGU-K equates to a 10-position forfeiture.

Ricciardo has also used up all of his apportioned power unit energy stores (battery) and control electronics. If either of these needs to be replaced, Red Bull and Ricciardo will suffer an additional five-spot penalty per change.

Renault, Red Bull's engine supplier, will field an upgraded PU at Canada via its works team. Newey explained that the revised powerplant is worth "a tenth of a second," which is significant, but not "make or break" according to the longtime engineer.

As it stands, Ricciardo has one remaining internal combustion engine, turbo, and MGU-H (turbo energy recovery/supply unit) before facing further penalties.

Lewis Hamilton currently leads the Drivers' Title standings with 110 points, 14 ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and 38 ahead of Ricciardo, all of whom have won two races apiece going into the seventh race of the 2018 campaign.

For something that's supposed to make it dead-simple to rocket from 0 to 60 miles per hour as quick as possible, launch control sure does claim its fair share of victims. But this particular tragicomedy doesn't feature a completely avoidable crash—no, what you're about to witness is a Nissan GT-R parting ways with the inside of its transmission after a botched launch over-revved the engine on a cold start.

Of course, the Nissan GT-R was the subject of a class action lawsuit in 2009 after owners complained of a very similar problem, and Nissan allegedly tried to squeeze through a loophole by saying that using launch control—a feature they built in, mind you—technically voided the car's warranty because it required turning off the traction control. The case was settled and the company temporarily removed launch control from the GT-R, but it made a triumphant return a few years later.

But those issues were tied to excessive, premature wear on the gearbox, not the kind of sudden detonation on display here. The video was filmed at a car meet in Birmingham, England last week, and according to the description, the tuned Nissan had been parked "for quite a few hours" before its owner decided to hop in and peel out on a street lined with other people's cars.

You'd be forgiven for thinking he's about to take out a baker's dozen of them, but instead, something goes wrong in the launch control process and the car's transmission immediately disintegrates as the engine pops off the rev limiter several times. The image of the jacked-up GT-R literally wetting the (road)bed and leaving a trail of transmission fluid and metal bits behind as it coasts down the street is at once chuckle-worthy and a little sad.

Launch control is something of a violent process for a car's internals—think about the forces at play in a Dodge Demon launch, for example—and manufacturers often set break-in periods where vehicles have to reach a certain mileage or operating temperature in order to protect the engine and transmission. Revving the piss out of a high-performance car that's still waking up is the exact opposite of a gentle touch.

A video of how launch control is supposed to go in a GT-R is embedded below. The process is fairly simple: after setting the car in its hardcore "R" mode and holding the VDC Off switch for five seconds, all you have to do is put the transmission into manual mode, push the brake to the floor, push the gas to the floor, and release the brake when you're ready to launch. The car will automatically rev to 2,000 RPM as you're getting ready and go from there.

It probably didn't help that this model appears to have been tuned by Severn Valley Motorsport, who are known for their extreme GT-R builds (and for sticking its twin-turbo V-6 in a Nissan Qashqai to create the world's fastest SUV). With a high-strung engine packed full of performance parts, warming everything up is that much more important, something this owner was kind enough to demonstrate for all of us.

Thirty-five-year-old Sherri Ward of Middleburg, Florida was arrested earlier this week in connection with a fatal hit-and-run that occurred in January of 2017, which killed 25-year-old Jazmin Rodriguez.

Rodriguez suffered tire problems while driving her black Kia on Old St. Augustine Road in Jacksonville, Florida in the early hours of January 14, 2017, according to Action News Jax of Jacksonville. While tending to her car around 2:30 a.m., she was struck by a silver SUV that fled south on Interstate 95, according to information she shared with first responders, with evidence found at the scene suggesting a 2009-2011 Honda Pilot. Rodriguez was taken to Orange Park Medical Center, where she passed away from her injuries, leaving behind a seven-year-old son.

Shortly after the accident, Ward delivered a silver 2009 Honda Pilot to a body shop nearby, telling the shop's owner she had hit a construction barrel. This statement was incongruent with the story presented to one of Ward's friends, whom Ward told of hitting a guardrail. Damage to the vehicle, too, suggested otherwise according to the shop's owner, who reported black paint scrapes and other damage that did not resemble that which would be taken in a collision with a construction barrel.

The shop's owner alerted law enforcement after seeing a news report on the accident, suspecting his customer could be responsible for the hit-and-run. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office investigated and found cell tower data that showed Ward was in the area at the time of the accident, proving she did in fact travel south on Interstate 95 around that time.

Ward has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

Regardless of whether Ward is guilty, this ties into a severe spike in fatal traffic accidents between pedestrians and vehicles since 2009, to the tune of 46 percent. A contributor to this rise is an increase in tall, heavy vehicles such as SUVs and crossovers that are both harder to stop and more likely to inflict chest and head injuries on pedestrians.

Of course, traffic accidents are less attributable to vehicle types and more down to irresponsible driving, be it distracted, intoxicated, or simply with too much speed, as some other Florida residents discovered, having allegedly run down a mother and daughter while reportedly street racing.

Driving is a responsibility that places your own and others' lives in your hands. We must all take it seriously.

After numerous accounts of spying prototypes of the 2019 Jeep Renegade were reported, the brand will finally take the covers off the newly-revised crossover SUV on the grounds of Valentino Park on day one of the Torino Motor Show in Europe. And before its big reveal on June 6, Jeep shared a few details and the first official visual of the vehicle in the form of the new taillight design to keep the anticipation on a high.

The revised taillight is rather similar to that on the current model. However, in its new form, a dark tinted red plastic surround with slight extensions of the central “X” motif has replaced the opaque black bezel. Also, the reverse light is a no longer the whole “X”—it is now a white square at the center of the luminaire.

The 2019 Renegade will be powered by a new family of three and four-cylinder gasoline engines. The base engine will be a 1.0-liter churning out 120 horsepower. There will also be a more powerful 1.3-liter motor available in two states of tune, one delivering 150 hp and the other 180hp. Overall improvements in performance and efficiency figures are expected. There is no word on diesel or hybrid models yet, and the same goes for the powertrains that will make it to North American shores.

The Jeep Renegade entered the B-SUV segment in 2014, combining the legendary Jeep brand's off-road capabilities with compact dimensions suitable for city drives.

All other details of the upcoming Jeep Renegade revision will be conveyed to the public sometime in mid-June.

Topline: Audi revealed the production version of its new Q8 full-size SUV at the automaker's Brand Summit in Shenzhen, China on Tuesday. Naturally, it'll sit above the Q7 in Audi's lineup and directly compete with the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe.

What's New: Making good on its promise to no longer design cars with a photocopier and adhering closely to the concept that preceded it, the Q8 doesn't really look like any other Audi on sale today. Whether that's for better or worse is up for you to judge. If you ask Audi what it thinks of its big new baby, however, it'll say it shares a familial resemblance to the original Quattro from the '80s pointing to the black strip that connects the taillights, "strong contours, and athletically tight surfaces." Eh, whatever you say, Audi.

Under its skin, the Q8 gets a mechanical center differential that can send most of its power to either the front or rear axle, as needed. Coupled with 10 inches of ground clearance and hill descent control, the Q8 should be quite the performer offroad. When owners aren't frolicking in the sand and snow, the big Audi's optional all-wheel steering and 48-volt mild hybrid system keep the drive stable, agile, and economical.

Quotable: "The Audi Q8 combines the elegance of a four-door luxury coupé with the practical versatility of a large SUV," read the press release. The company goes on to boast that it "exudes sporty dynamics and upscale prestige like no other SUV from the brand with the four rings."

What You Need to Know: While it sits above the Q7 in prestige and, presumably, price, don't expect the Q8 to dwarf its lesser stable-mate in size. Although it's wider than the Q7, the Q8 is shorter, lower, and only seats five.

Audi says its new flagship SUV is "the new face of the Q family." Whether or not that's code for "expect every Audi SUV to look like this from here on out" remains to be seen. This being the latest and greatest SUV from the Volkswagen Group's mainstream luxury arm, expect the Q8 to sell like bananas in a monkey colony, regardless of what you think of its design.

?Have you ever wondered what the inside of an endurance race car looks like, how many buttons its steering wheel has, or how much it costs? You're not alone, as these are the kinds of things that the general public typically wonders about outrageous-looking, fast-as-hell race cars. Well, in addition to: "What do drivers do if they have to pee in the middle of a race?"

I had the chance to get the answers to these and many other questions while visiting the Acura Motorsports paddock at last weekend's IMSA Sports Car Classic, a supporting event to the IndyCar Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle. There, I drooled all over (not literally) the sleek Acura ARX-05 from the IMSA Protytpe class, as well as the NSX GT3 of the GT Daytona category.

From Meyer Shank Racing team owner Michael Shank to Acura Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves, I got these little-known facts directly from the horses' mouths.

Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3

Meyer Shank Racing is an Ohio-based organization led by Michael Shank, a former race car driver turned team owner who's been around for a long time and through many ups and downs of the sport. Its current formation features two Acura NXS GT3 racers driven by Katherine Legge, Mario Farnbacher, Justin Marks, and Lawson Aschenbach.

According to Shank, the track-only variant retains more than half of the components of the "normal" street-going NSX, including the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine, which is simply tweaked for racing duty.

"We love the NSXs; the frame, the engine, and 60 percent of the car is derived directly from its cousin built at the plant in Marysville, Ohio," said Shank. "The most important thing is the motor, which is still built in Ohio and then it goes directly into our program—no modifications. They don't actually tell me the horsepower rating, but our estimates say about 530 to 540, or something like that."

With that kind of horsepower, a six-speed sequential racing gearbox, and a 2,800-pound curb weight, the NSX GT3 can dance around corners with ease and reach speeds of nearly 200 miles per hour depending on the wing configuration. Another impressive figure is the number of "gadgets" that are found on its carbon fiber steering wheel, with ten push-buttons for functions like comms radio and drink bottle, five "clickers" for throttle, ABS and Traction Control mappings, and three levers for shifting gears and engaging the clutch. Oh, and this doesn't include the center stack switches, which operate things like lights and other auxiliary systems.

"Compared to the road car, this NSX is much lighter due to its carbon fiber body instead of aluminum," said Shank. "Still, the car gets four miles to the gallon and it has an 18-gallon fuel tank."

"As it sits, this car costs about $650,000 bucks."

Acura Team Penske ARX-05

The Acura ARX-05 may have been unveiled less than a year ago, but Acura's, and obviously Honda's, prototype and GT racing pedigree is as fine as it gets. This latest venture involves one of the most important names in the world of racing, Team Penske, whose Roger Penske has been involved in everything from Formula 1 to NASCAR and is the winningest team owner in IndyCar.

I took advantage of Acura's kindness and poked around both ARX-05s as their crews prepped them for its drivers: Helio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Dane Cameron. Both machines had their elaborate and ultra-aerodynamic front ends removed and both sets of doors wide open. They looked like two malevolent bats ready to swarm me in a heartbeat. Luckily for me, this meant the engine bays and cockpits were exposed, allowing me to get a cheeky peek at what makes them tick.

"Here we are doing a full bolt check, to make sure everything is ready for the race," said David Hovis, Team Penske Media Relations Manager. "We check the brakes and carefully inspect everything one, two, and even three times. We go over wing settings and any other issues that the drivers may have addressed over the pit radio during the warm-up."

The ARX-05 is propelled by the legendary 3.5-liter AR35TT twin-turbo V-6 engine that produces approximately 600 horsepower and has previously won at Petit LeMans, Sebring, WEC, and many more. A more street-friendly version of it is currently found in the Acura MDX, TLX, and RLX.

Helio Castroneves strolled in to check on the progress of the cars as I was walking out, but as the three-time Indy 500 winner usually does, he gifted me a few minutes of his time to chat about his weekend. Montoya was a few steps behind him, but as he usually does, he deflected the attention from bystanders and went directly into his trailer.

"This Acura is an excellent machine by all means, but the racing is still tough because in our series we have two classes racing at the same time," said Castroneves. "You'll see the Lamborghinis, Audis, Mercedes, and more, and each one is particularly good on a certain section of the track, so it becomes difficult to pass traffic."

"Street courses are always challenging, they're not smooth surfaces so the cars get beat up a lot and there's a higher margin for error. It's very challenging, so it'll be interesting."

Much like the NSX GT3, this Oreca-branded chassis features an aggressive aero kit for extreme downforce and its cockpit is filled with even more buttons, including a clever radar-based system that alerts drivers when slower cars/traffic may be around them. There isn't an official statement on the price of one of these bad boys, but we can estimate that it's at least one million bucks.

As far as going potty during the race, neither Shank or Castroneves commented, but just ask IndyCar superstar James Hinchcliffe.

When the U.S. Marine Corps established its special operations component in 2006, the new Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, or MARSOC, immediately wanted to create a link between itself and the Marine Raiders, a storied, specialized commando force from World War II. But military forces are, as a general rule, steeped in history and lore with complex and often pedantic rules and regulations to uphold those traditions and the honors that come along with them and new documents show the service's own historians were vehemently opposed to the idea.

In August 2014, then Commandant of the Marine Corps General James Amos announced he had finally approved the decision to rename all of the units under Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, or MARSOC, as Marine Raiders. The Marine Special Operations Battalions became Marine Raider Battalions, for example, while the Marine Special Operations Regiment turned into the Marine Raider Regiment. The original Marine Raiders came into existence in 1942 to support operations against the Japanese during World War II, before becoming the 4th Marine Regiment in 1944.

“MARSOC is the modern-day embodiment of the Marine Raiders of World War II,” U.S. Marine Corps Captain Barry Morris, then a spokesman for the command, said in a statement at the time, according to Marine Corps Times. “We feel we owe it to those Marine Raiders still alive and their families to make every attempt” to maintain their legacy.

Behind closed, doors, however, at least two official Marine Corps historians – including one from MARSOC’s own history office – had been apoplectic about the name change. They registered their complaints in writing, which we at The War Zone only recently obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request that dates back to 2015. Censors redacted both individuals’ names for privacy reasons.

“MARSOC claims to the Raider title are based on a perceived legacy that is largely mythological,” the command’s historian wrote in an information paper dated June 2, 2014. “MARSOC has no claim to the Raiders’ lineage and honors, which are currently held by organizations that were formed directly from the original Raider battalions.”

To rewind quickly, the World War II-era Marine Raiders themselves have almost as much claim to controversy as combat achievements. Formed just over two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt had personally ordered the Marines to create the specialized units over the service’s not inconsequential protests.

U.S. Army Colonel William “Wild Bill” Donovan, then in charge of the clandestine Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and who became the chief post-war architect of the Central Intelligence Agency, and U.S. Marine Corps Major Evans Carlson, were both instrumental in the Raider proposal. Carlson was a veteran of the "Punitive Expedition" to kill or capture Mexican rebel Pancho Villa and one of the numerous American interventions in Nicaragua. He had gone on to serve in China, where he closely studied the tactics of Communist forces fighting the Japanese in the 1930s.

Donovan and Carlson strongly believed there was a unique value in crafting small raiding parties to harass the enemy behind the front lines, forcing them to divert resources to handle the incursions and protect key locations. U.S. Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz, who became head of the Pacific Fleet immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, was also eager to get “commando” units to attack lightly defended Japanese island outposts.

Between 1942 and 1944, the Marine Raiders, which eventually consisted of four full battalions organized into a single regiment, were a key part of operations, particularly during the island-hopping campaigns across the Central Pacific. They also became well known for experimenting with new fighting doctrine and tactics, as well as weapons and equipment, including camouflage uniforms.

But despite the success of the Raiders, Carlson proved to be a divisive figure within the Marine Corps. He had active connections with Communist and Leftist groups, which he had established to solicit aid for China in its fight against the Japanese.

The Marine Corps Major had brought the service’s now widely known mantra “Gung Ho” back from China, where Communist insurgents rallied under the slogan “g?nghé,” which literally translates to “work together.” He espoused lessons inspired in no small part by what he had seen in his travels with Mao Tse Tung and Zhou Enlai.

The Marine officer also imparted a concept of “ethical indoctrination” on units under his command, which emphasized the role of non-commissioned officers in helping commissioned officers. The Marine Corps saw this in part as encouraging lower ranking personnel to question superiors and their orders. For the service’s senior leadership, the Raiders represented an organization within an organization, which they found almost completely antithetical to their own experience.

“The Marine Corps has always felt that its infantry elements are essentially raiders and that the Pacific conditions are different from the European which resulted in the establishment of commandos,” the Pacific Section of the War Plans Division within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations explained in a memo in 1943. “It would like to end its raider program so as to make all infantry organizations uniform and to avoid setting up some organizations as elite or selected troops.”

In 1944, the service won out, transforming the Raiders into the 4th Marine Regiment. Carlson died in 1947, escaping what would almost certainly have been serious post-war scrutiny over his leftist activities.

Though the Marine Raiders have become a fixture in popular culture since World War II, the Marine Corps’ mixture of ambivalence and open hostility to the organization never really went away. The Marines rejected MARSOC’s request to use the name in 2006 and again in 2011. Before then, the service had fought against the idea of sending personnel off to form its own dedicated special operations entity for decades, arguing that its units were already “special operations capable,” essentially the same logic it had used to oppose the Raiders.

“Your allegiance, your loyalty … is to the Marine Corps, based on the title you have on your uniform,” Amos reportedly told a gathering of other generals in 2011. “He made it clear that the tie, the connection to our past is absolutely important to him, but we're not going to name a unit by some naming convention – any unit in the Marine Corps – because we're Marines first,” Brigadier General David Berger, director of operations at Marine Corps headquarters, told Marine Corps Times after that event.

MARSOC’s historian went so far as to cite the 1943 War Plans Division memo detailing opposition to the original Raiders in explaining their own reticence to the idea. They also reiterated that the Raider legacy already lived on in the Marine Corps, with the 4th Marine Regiment.

“The Raider name went away, but these Marines fought on under the Fourth Marines’ colors,” they noted. “I have studied, taught, and written history for three decades, and while I am familiar with the battles they fought in, I have never encountered the glamorization of the Raiders that one encounters at MARSOC. Frankly, it is based on a misinterpretation of history that is so far-fetched it borders on fabrication.”

“Discussions with younger Staff Noncommissioned Officers reveal that they believe the Raider tradition has been passed on to MARSOC through the Reconnaissance community,” they continued. “However, I can find nothing to substantiate this claim beyond word of mouth/social media examples.”

This individual got another jab in at other units already using the “Raider” name without official sanction. In these cases, it appeared to be linked to the Marine Corps’ use of the term “raid” for various types of operations. Marine Expeditionary Units now train to employ so-called “Maritime Raid Forces” for limited missions, such as boarding ships at sea or securing objectives ashore.

“I should add that MARSOC is not the only Marine Corps organization currently claiming the Raider title – it seems to have come into common use among Marine Expeditionary Unit companies trained to perform small boat operations,” the historian wrote, suggesting they were talking about one of these elements. “A video posted on You Tube [sic] depicts one unit using the title “Blackfoot Raiders.” Having lived in Montana, I can assure you that the Blackfeet did indeed conduct raids – but mounted on horses, not in rubber boats.”

The video below is very likely the one the MARSOC historian was referring to in their information paper.

The second document we obtained, which is undated, but appears to have come after the decision to change the names within MARSOC, makes many of the same arguments about the 4th Marines' history. This second individual, a member of the service’s central History Division, also brought up how this would create a problem from the well-established, if obtuse rules about how honors get passed from one unit to another.

“Lineage and honors cannot be shared by two units, nor can lineage and honors be arbitrarily changed,” they declared. “The Fourth Marines have far more than a tenous [sic; tenuous] “claim” on the lineage and honors of the World War II Raider battalions. The MCBUL [Marine Corps Bulletin] 5400, released in January 2015, which ordered the redesignation of the MARSOC units, also states that the lineage and honors will remain with the 4th Marines.”

This last part is both true and notable. When Amos finally gave in, after substantial pressure from private groups such as the Marine Raider Association & Foundation, he approved the name change, but made clear that 4th Marines still “own” the historical achievements of the World War II Raiders.

The two historians do differ in their conclusions. The individual at MARSOC continued to push against renaming the special operations elements as “Raiders,” arguing “that the title Marine is sufficient to mark this Command as unique in Special Operations.”

The record from the Marine Corps History Division ultimately cedes the argument given that Amos had already made his decision. “One can certainly appreciate the desire by Marine Corps leadership to pay homage to the Raiders of World War II,” they wrote.

“One can also understand the desire to keep that storied name alive, and part of the Marine Corps lexicon, a name that has come to symbolize hard training and hard fighting,” it continues. “With the redesignation of the MARSOC units, that desire has been fulfilled.”

Since then, the new Marine Raiders have joined other U.S. special operations forces in important missions around the world, including in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. We don’t know whether MARSOC’s history office still thinks the name change was the wrong decision, but they’re undoubtedly focused more on documenting the new achievements of the modern Raider Battalions.

Contact the author: jtrevithickpr@gmail.com

Personalization is becoming increasingly trendy. People like to put their mark on everything from handbags to houses just to feel unique. Having recognized that trait, Japanese manufacturer, Nissan, has introduced a special configurator page called “Color Studio” on the Nissan USA website for their all-new Kicks crossover SUV.

The Color Studio brings personalization of the compact crossover to your screen by allowing you to modify 12 curated accessories of the all-new Nissan Kicks from a selection of five colors, namely white, black, red, orange and blue.

On the outside, you can edit the color of the front lip finisher, rear spoiler, front and rear door handle covers, rear bumper accent, side mirror caps, rear hatch accent, lower door accent. It also allows you to choose from a range of seven exterior colors and five two-tone combinations. Even the black 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, available on Kicks SV and SR grades only, can be had with color inserts of choice.

While on the insides, the shade of the rearview mirror cover, door sill protector, air vent rings, floor mats can be altered.

Although, having a theme by using two or three colors at the most could help render a decent proposal, you could also order a multi-color Smarties-endorsing vehicle, which may negatively, or positively, affect residual value.

Below is an product of my genius.

Mike Soutter, vice president, aftersales, Nissan North America Inc. stated, "As an affordable compact crossover – with a starting [price tag] of just $17,990 – Kicks is designed to fit the needs of singles or couples looking for style, personal technology, smart functionality and advanced safety features."

Soutter added, "The Kicks Color Studio adds an affordable way to further personalize the new Kicks, giving buyers the choice of adding just a few or the complete package of factory backed Color Studio accessories."

Thankfully, the cost of the exterior and interior add-ons are mentioned along with the Kicks' initial and final retail pricing so you can make changes to suit your budget.

What is not apparent are the labor charges which may apply if installation is done at the dealership. Or, you can save yourself some money and have them installed yourself, as the manufacturer suggests. Either way, "Happy Coloring".

Current Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo has announced that he will be leaving the Italian outfit at the end of the 2018 MotoGP season to join fellow countryman and reigning world champion Marc Marquez at Repsol Honda.

Many rumors about Lorenzo's whereabouts for 2019 had circled the internet and the MotoGP paddock for a long time, but everything seemed to quiet down a bit over the weekend when Lorenzo scored his maiden win for Ducati at Mugello. Now, it turns out that it was simply too late to change the Spaniard's mind, as a "gentleman's agreement" for a two-year contract had allegedly been struck ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, according to Autosport.

Of course, this shocking announcement about Lorenzo's signing has also affected another rider quite severely: Dani Pedrosa. The 31-year-old rider will have to vacate his seat after 13 years with the factory Honda MotoGP team, and his future is looking rather uncertain given his lackluster performance over the last few seasons—and not to mention the severe injuries he's collected along the way.

The Spaniard has won 31 races for Honda but has only managed to finish second in the championship in 2007, 2010, and 2012; not bad for any other team on the grid, but not quite the expectations for a team of Repsol Honda's stature.

Although it's too early to know for sure, it's rumored that Lorenzo's two-year deal with Honda is worth nearly $10 million. If this were to be true, Lorenzo will miss the more than $15 million he's allegedly being paid per year at Ducati. Then again, he'll most likely make up the difference in race-win bonuses at Honda if he delivers the goods as expected.

Seattle residents can now download an app that allows them to rent cars by the hour.

The Getaround app is an attempt to change traditional means of getting around, and Paul Erlandson, the general manager of Getaround in Seattle and Portland, Oregon, said to the Seattle Times that the service is meant for a trip of any length and where public transit isn't available or is hard to navigate.

Getaround supposedly differs from other car-sharing services because it does not add more cars to already-packed streets, driveways or other parking spots. Instead, the service has adopted a system in which participants use individually-owned cars that are not already being used. The Seattle Times used the example of a commuter who takes public transit and leaves his or her vehicle parked in a driveway for eight or 10 hours.

Getaround is meant to complement other modes of transportation. According to a study from the University of California, Davis, the use of services like Uber or Lyft attract passengers away from public transport, walking or bike riding.

Like Airbnb, Getaround relies on a high level of trust between renter and owner. Owners can activate an "enhanced security mode" within the app and Facebook is used to verify the identities of renters and owners. There is no way to use Getaround without using Facebook to sign up.

Cars are accessed by renters via a remote locking system within the app connecting to a device installed under the owner's steering wheel. The service only allows round-trip travel.

Renters pay an hourly fee for their car use with prices determined by an algorithm that takes year, make, model of the vehicle, and part of the town where the car is located into account.

According to Getaround's website, the company offers an insurance program that covers renters and vehicles that meet a set of eligibilty requirements. Coverage applies for the duration of each rental, from start to finish.

Who objects to safety? No one. But all this safety talk about self-driving cars got me thinking. What is safety? And does anyone really care? You certainly can't trust Department of Transportation boss Elaine Chao. She doesn't know the SAE Automation Levels, and actually stated that self-driving cars are on the road right now. How about the self-driving lobby? Please. $80 billion-plus has been invested in self-driving so far, but they won't make a real dent in road deaths for decades. Mobility experts? Where were they before self-driving became a thing? Nowhere, because before 2015 "safety" didn't get you a TED Talk and a consulting gig.

How about car companies? They talk safety, but it's all schizophrenic. Except for Volvo, the history of car marketing is one of marketing things that make you less safe: bigger wheels, lower-profile tires, more power. You want laughs? Check out this photoshopped ad depicting the new, all-wheel drive Dodge Challenger:

Unless this thing is delivered with snow tires, they should include a shovel and a casket. Was it too dangerous to shoot the car in actual snow? Or just too expensive?

It's not just FCA. Every manufacturer with a performance badge is guilty of the same, but it gets worse. GM has put $2B+ into their Cruise Automation self-driving division while their best-of-breed semi-automated SuperCruise languishes within Cadillac. And let's not forget GM marketplace, an in-car "commerce platform for on-demand reservations and purchases of goods and services," because nothing is safer than moving functionalities drivers shouldn't be using on their phone, to the car's dashboard.

News flash: according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, it may take 30 years for the auto industry to achieve 95 percent adoption of new safety tech. Why? Because selling performance, or even the cosmetics of performance, is both more profitable and easier than safety, at any price.

How about car rental companies?

Here's a joke for you: What's the difference between traditional car rental and sharing platforms like Turo? The people who own the cars on Turo actually care if their cars come back.

What about drivers? Some care about safety, but obviously not enough to keep Skip Barber Driving School from going bankrupt. Passengers? Nope. If passengers cared at all about safety, we'd demand restaurant-style grades in every hailing app and on every cab window.

Hardly anyone really cares about safety, even if they say they do. Safety is an excuse, a lie. No one is safe as long as people think safety something you can buy.

"Safety" Does Not Equal Safe
"Safe" is a state that only occurs when one is 100 percent immune from harm, which is impossible, so let's just take that right out of the discussion.

What about "safety"? "Safety" doesn't actually mean anything. The word "safety" is a perfect example of the failure of language. When popular definitions of safety define it as the "state of being safe," they are perpetuating this failure. "Safety" is just a feeling somewhere between optimism and resignation, crawling along a continuum with the impossibility of "safe" at one end, and a shallow pool full of crocodiles on the other.

Safety is a word behind which companies hide when they want to sell us something we could have by other means, if only we had better judgment. It's the sense of peace we literally buy into when we don't want to invest time in actually being safer. It's the equilibrium between real and perceived risk, at the intersection of the lies told to us and the lies we tell ourselves.

Once in motion, no vehicle currently on the road is 100 percent safe.

Therefore, there can be no such thing as a "safe" car. There is only X and anything safer, and X is always evolving. To wit: the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has always been a benchmark for safety. The one guy wearing a seatbelt in the hi-speed crash that killed Princess Diana? He's still alive. That was safety. But the 1 percent aren't hunting for deals on a 1997 S-Class, because compared to a new one, a '97 is a $3,000 casket on wheels.

(Not coincidentally, that's also the average price of a new casket.)

Safety short of 100 percent will therefore always be a moving target, and the safest method of getting from A to B is only "safe" as the best choice you make.

The Folly of Perception
The number one lie told about safety is that you can buy it. Unless and until Level 5 self-driving cars are ubiquitous, that's just not possible. You can buy "safer," but the term is worthless to those killed in a safer car. Those who survive accidents in "safer" cars invariably credit the car's design for saving their lives. The families of those who die blame 1) the other driver, if there was one, or 2) fate, a straw man always ready to take the fall.

"The driver lost control," police reports often say, but few look to the root cause of car crashes. By definition, accidents rarely happen, because accidents are unforeseen and unavoidable events. An "accident" is no more than the crash a driver lacked the skill to avoid.

I love it when people ask me what the safest car is. No matter what I say, they all want trucks. Maybe not real trucks. but anything that looks beefy with a high seating position.

"I like to sit high," they say, "so I can see what's going on."

I like to see what's going on too, except when it's a fiery death I can't avoid. There's nothing less safe than an SUV whose weight dictates stopping distances far longer than a station wagon or sedan, and whose handling prohibits steering around a crash.

But that would require learning skills. Why did Skip Barber Driving School go bankrupt? Because given the choice between investing time and money in acquiring skills, or merely spending money on a "safer" vehicle, people choose the vehicle.

Money is spent. Time is invested. Money out mitigates mistakes; time in helps you avoid them.

Rocket Science, Safety & YOU

People have been driving cars for over one hundred years, and you don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that the overwhelming majority of drivers have survived. How much R&D has been devoted to why? Not so much. Virtually every new technology developed since the Model T is designed to 1) save people who are bad drivers, or 2) help mediocre drivers think they're great drivers.

If you're reading this, chances are you're a good driver, or at least aspire to be. You can wait for self-driving cars, but you'll be waiting a long time. They're going to come in dribs and drabs over decades, so unless you want to live your life in the prison of wherever they do work, you need a driver license. That means you're at the mercy of everyone else who has one, and who may have chosen a "safe" SUV over skill.

Don't be a victim, no matter what you drive.

There is only one way to be truly safer, and that is to understand how machines work, wherever and whenever we need them. Technology is only as good as our understanding of it. For now, no car is safer than the human being behind the wheel. In the future, no self-driving car will ever be safer than the minimum viable AI necessary to get to market. The only difference is who chose the level of intelligence and skill applied to using a machine.

Make the choice to be a better, safer driver, now, and you may even live to see machines do it better. Maybe. Or you can continue to buy the best car makers can do, and leave your safety to strangers, and fate.

Not me.

Alex Roy — Founder of the Human Driving Association, Editor-at-Large at The Drive, Host of The Autonocast, co-host of /DRIVE on NBC Sports and author of The Driver — has set numerous endurance driving records, including the infamous Cannonball Run record. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

In 2014, General Motors issued a recall for 2.6 million compact vehicles, due to ignition switches that could allow keys to fall out while driving. Per a new report, at least 92 percent of affected vehicles have been serviced to correct the issue, but GM still strives for 100 percent completion of the recall.

The figure was reported by Automotive News, which adds that the rate of completed ignition switch recalls is higher in the United States: 96 percent of vehicles recalled for this issue in the U.S. have been repaired. These percentages are of vehicles thought to still be on the road, and does not include those destroyed in crashes and sent to junkyards. There are reportedly around 170,000 vehicles that still need ignition switches replaced, but the successful service rate far exceeds that of most other high-profile recalls, for which the recall completion rate is around 75 percent.

"It's really down to pick-and-shovel work—checking individual VINs to determine: Is the vehicle even still on the road?" stated a GM spokesperson to Automotive News.

For an example of a similar recall with a lower service rate, one needs only look at the ongoing Takata airbag recall. As of November of 2017, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report found that fewer than half of potentially life-threatening inflators had been replaced, despite posing a greater safety threat than GM's ignition switch problems, as they appear in cars manufactured by multiple international brands.

Owners of more recent compact GM sedans than those affected may wish to check for recalls of their cars, as GM recalled 112,000 Chevrolet Cruzes in May due to risk of fuel leaks in rear-end and rollover accidents. Drivers may check with the NHTSA's VIN database for standing recalls on their vehicles. If you find a critical safety recall on your car, consider heading to a nearby dealership or service center; it may just save your life.

Goodwood Festival of Speed was full of cool surprises last year, but the activity that stood out to us the most was that McLaren hand-assembled a new 720S at the show—out of LEGO bricks. McLaren announced that the 1-to-1 ratio replica made its way to North America, where it is on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

On June 2, guests were invited to help complete the model, placing the final orange bricks on the car. The LEGO 720S was then moved to the second floor of the museum, where it will be a part of an interactive display through Aug. 19.

Visitors can build and customize their own Speed Champions McLaren on an iPad next to the car before moving to the Petersen's Discovery Center a few feet away to play with their creations thanks to the exhibit's building area and racing ramps.

The LEGO McLaren 720S is made up of more than 280,000 LEGO bricks built onto a steel frame with real wheels and Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires. It took over 2,000 hours for McLaren's six-man team to assemble. The 1-to-1 ratio model weights 3,200 pounds, which is 372 pounds heavier than the real 720S. It doesn't take the company's new $67 million carbon fiber research center to figure out that LEGO bricks don't make good performance car parts.

If you can't afford the $284,745 asking price for a real 720S at the McLaren dealership less than two miles away, you can pick up a LEGO Speed Champions McLaren for about $15 from the museum's store. Considering how expensive LEGO toys are now, we don't want to begin to imagine how much the full-size LEGO 720S would cost if it was for sale.

Stefan Bellof set the all-time lap record on the Nürburgring's 12.9-mile-long Nordschleife circuit in 1983 during qualifying sessions for the 24 Hour Nürburgring race, behind the wheel of a Porsche 956. The record, a blistering time of 6:11.13, remains unbeaten 35 years later. However, fans spotted Porsche at the 'Ring on June 4 attempting to break its own record with the unrivaled 919 Hybrid Evo.

YouTube channel Nurburgringlivepics Video compiled a video of a few different angles from the 919 Hybrid's test runs on the Nordschleife, and there's little doubt from the speeds this car reached that it has the means to break the record of the 956.

Two months ago, Porsche's modified Le Mans Prototype made waves when it set a lap record at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, which was previously held by Lewis Hamilton in a Formula 1 car.

According to tweets posted by Porsche's LMP1 team, the 919 Hybrid Evo was piloted by Timo Bernhard, Porsche factory driver and five-time 24 Hours Nürburgring winner, one of many racing achievements he boasts.

Rock am Ring was yesterday...

Today we play our favourite song @nuerburgring Nordschleife ????????@Timo_Bernhard testing #919tribute Evo pic.twitter.com/SkjftzVNtf

— Porsche LMP1 Team (@Porsche_Team) June 4, 2018

However, some sources claim that Porsche's activity at the Nürburgring this week was merely to test the car's capabilities on the Green Hell. YouTuber Misha Charoudin, a resident at the 'Ring who was there all day watching the 919 test, believes Porsche will come back to the track later this year to set an official time with a different driver.

Charoudin observed Michelin's officials testing the track temperatures, which are less than ideal for a record run, but says the LMP1 car may have still unofficially set a new time.

Stationed just past the pits, Charoudin used the track marshals' radio chatter and his own method of timing as well as the Porsche 911 GT2 RS' lap record and some math to predict the 919 Hybrid Evo's lap times. Taking some factors like marshal reactions into account, he believes that the car set a 4:51 time on the low end, or in the 5:10 range on the high end.

Charoudin explains his reasoning in the video below.

More than a minute faster than the 956 may seem too good to be true, but the 919 Hybrid Evo has a few tricks up its sleeve. Porsche took the already-impressive 919 Hybrid and threw the FIA World Endurance Championship's book of restrictions out the window, turning the 919's power up to 720 horsepower and giving it larger aero pieces with an amped-up Drag Reduction System.

We reached out to Porsche regarding the 919 Hybrid Evo's activity at the Nürburgring, and Product Spokesperson Frank Wiesmann had this to say: "[The 919 Hybrid] has already proven it’s [sic] potential at Spa. Should there be other activities with this car in the future, we will reveal them at the appropriate time."

In other words, everyone except Porsche's LMP1 team are keeping their mouths shut until conditions are right to set the fastest lap possible. If the Evo does become the new Nordschleife champion, it will be a great way to end the vaunted 919 Hybrid's career.

On Tuesday, Mercedes-Benz launched its "Mercedes-Benz Collection" car subscription service, joining competing premium carmakers BMW, Lincoln, and Cadillac in the luxury vehicle subscription business.

Customers in the test markets of Philadelphia and Nashville can now apply for one of three subscription models: Signature, Reserve, and Premier. All three subscription levels can swap between available vehicles on a whim, and a concierge service will coordinate vehicle trades with customers. Service, insurance, and roadside assistance are also covered by Mercedes-Benz.

Monthly cost of Signature comes in at $1,095 and according to our research, is only available in Nashville at present. Available vehicles include the C 300 coupe, cabriolet, and sedan, GLC 300 crossover and coupe, SLC 300 roadster, and CLA 45 AMG sedan.

Reserve comes in at $1,595 and is available in both cities. Its customers may pick from the E 300 sedan, E 400 wagon or coupe, GLE 350 and GLC 43 crossovers, C 43 AMG sedan or coupe, and SLC 43 Roadster.

Premier membership demands $2,995, but only for residents of Philadelphia at present. Its customers can demand a variety of AMG performance vehicles and high-end non-AMG models. It also features four premium crossover and SUV models to the two available for each cheaper tier.

All three subscription levels must pay a $495 activation fee. Signature and Reserve members can pay daily fees to use vehicles from the subscription tiers above their own, a $50 and $75 daily fee respectively. Upgrades from Signature to Premier is not yet possible, as the two tiers do not yet share any markets. Available AMG vehicles do not demand special fees to use, as confirmed by a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson to The Drive via email, unless of course one requests an AMG vehicle from beyond their own subscription tier.

Four-time MotoGP world champion and Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez got behind the wheel of a Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula 1 race car at the Red Bull Ring on Tuesday. The energy drink company that organized the exhibition to promote the upcoming Formula 1 and MotoGP race, also sponsors the Repsol Honda MotoGP team and owns the Toro Rosso F1 outfit along with the Austrian race track where the event took place.

Marc Marquez and his teammate Dani Pedrosa abandoned their RC213V racing motorcycles and hopped behind the wheel of a 2012-spec RB8 Formula 1 car to see if they could perform on four wheels as good as they do on two. According to a statement released by Red Bull, both Spanish riders performed a series of testing procedures on a virtual-reality simulator before tackling the real deal. Of course, with both riders are used to traveling at over 200 miles per hour on 300-horsepower motorcycles, driving an actual car must've been a relatively tranquil experience.

As this video shows, Marquez received a bit of coaching from former F1 driver and WEC champion Mark Webber and even received a few words of encouragement from Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz.

“It was always my dream to race the quickest cars in the world," said Marquez. "I had great respect for it ahead of today, and I didn’t sleep well. In the end, it was an unbelievable experience and an absolute highlight of my career.

"There is a massive difference to MotoGP. The limited visibility was a great challenge, in particular. You feel a lot more constricted in the cockpit. The braking distances and timing in turns is completely different. A Formula 1 car has much more downforce, of course, which made for a lot of fun in the part of the circuit with the most turns, in particular.”

Unfortunately, Marquez or Pedrosa's lap times will not be revealed, but Motorsport reports that Marquez eventually recorded a lap time of 1:14.900, which is about six seconds slower than the 2014 pole position time, and more than 10 seconds slower than last year's pole. Then again, these times are nearly irrelevant considering the RB8's six-year-old, non-hybrid power plant and hard exhibition Pirelli tires.

Even Webber had some praise for the young Spaniard: "“He was really quiet still at breakfast. As soon as he got into the cockpit, he was 100 percent focused and delivered a top performance on the race track. Formula 1 and MotoGP are two completely different things. Marc made my job as an instructor very easy though. He always asked the right questions and improved lap by lap."

Very few details are available so far, but some in a tracked command vehicle is has led Virginia State Police on a medium-speed chase south of the state's capital, Richmond. There's no information available yet about who's driving the vehicle or where it came from.

At around 9:00 PM EST on June 5, 2018, video emerged of the chase in progress on U.S. Route 460 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. The vehicle, either an M577- or M1068-series armored command vehicle in an overall sand color, with police in front and behind, clearly attempting to keep innocent bystanders out of the way.

The M577s and M1068s are based on the M113 family of armored personnel carriers, but feature a notably larger rear compartment that allows individuals to stand up and move around. The vehicles typically carry a large communications suite to keep commanders in contact with various echelons at once.

An unconfirmed post on Twitter suggested that an individual had stolen the vehicle from Fort Pickett, a Virginia Army National Guard facility just over 40 southwest of Richmond near the city of Blackstone. The site is home to the Fort Pickett Maneuver Training Center, which routinely hosts armored training events, as well as other types of drills.

So someone stole a M113 from Fort Pickett, VA and currently on Interstate 95.

— usawtfm6 (@usawtfm6) June 6, 2018

According to sources the driver is 1LT [REDACTED], CDR of HSC 276 engineer battalion.

— usawtfm6 (@usawtfm6) June 6, 2018

VIDEO: Police give chase as armored vehicle races down Broad Street https://t.co/Qrk5zCdg9l pic.twitter.com/5CDXSaR2IX

— 8News WRIC Richmond (@8NEWS) June 6, 2018

Update: 7:10pm PST—

The suspect that was driving the stolen armored vehicle has been apprehended. Nothing more is known about how he was taken into custody aside from the fact that he surrendered. His identity remains unknown at this time.

Police: Suspect in armored vehicle chase surrenders in Richmond https://t.co/4tGjMyFCwC

— . (@Jwrong) June 6, 2018

Update: 7:20pm PST—

Closer examination of the videos appears to indicate that the vehicle is an M577 based on the number of antenna guards on its roof. The M577s typically have more of these fixtures than the M1068s.

We will keep this post updated as more information comes available.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com