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1 week ago | 
jalopnik.com | Ryan Erik King
A sightseeing helicopter broke up in mid-air and plummeted into the Hudson River last week, killing the pilot and the family of five onboard. The Federal Aviation Administration shut down New York Helicopter, the company involved in the crash, on Monday after a surreal series of events that began with the company's director of operations agreeing to halt flights until the end of the investigation and his alleged immediate retaliatory firing.
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1 week ago | 
jalopnik.com | Ryan Erik King
The lightness and strength of carbon fiber have made it a near-ubiquitous means of reducing the weight of new cars, especially heavier, battery-laden electric vehicles. However, the European Union wants to classify carbon fiber as a "hazardous material." An amendment to the EU's End of Life Vehicles Directive proposed last week would take effect in 2029.
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1 week ago | 
jalopnik.com | Ryan Erik King
Jorge Martín, the reigning MotoGP world champion, was absent from this season's opening three rounds after fracturing his left wrist, left heel and right hand in a training crash. The Aprilia rider finally returned for last weekend's Qatar Grand Prix but fractured eight ribs and collapsed a lung in a crash during Sunday's race. It's not clear when the 27-year-old Spaniard will return to competition.
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1 week ago | 
jalopnik.com | Ryan Erik King
While reputable automakers have been producing tried and true vehicles for over a century, there are plenty of ways for you to get behind some of the sketchiest cars conceived by our species. It could be a deal for a used car on Facebook Marketplace that was too good to be true. Or, it could be the friend begging you to take a garage project of theirs for a spin. What was the most dangerous car that you have ever driven?
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1 week ago | 
jalopnik.com | Ryan Erik King
If you follow motorsport for long enough, you'll eventually hear that a Formula 1 car generates enough downforce above a certain speed that it could theoretically drive upside down. McMurtry Automotive turned this theory into reality after having its Spéirling hypercar complete the impressive feat in a video published on Friday.
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1 week ago | 
jalopnik.com | Ryan Erik King
New York City joined Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia on the list of northeastern cities with a deadly air disaster this year. A Bell 206L4 sightseeing helicopter broke apart in the air over the Hudson River then plummeted into the water on Thursday afternoon. The resulting crash killed the pilot, a Siemens executive, his wife and their three young children. The family from Spain was visiting the Big Apple on vacation.
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2 weeks ago | 
jalopnik.com | Ryan Erik King
It's been clear that drivers, team executives and fans hate the FIA's sudden crackdown on pronity during Formula 1 race weekends. Since the change last September, the sport's global governing body has only doubled down on its stance by stiffening penalties for repeat offenders to include points deductions and month-long suspensions. Williams driver Carlos Sainz could be the next to be slapped with a fine for foul language after an outburst during a press conference in Bahrain on Thursday.
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2 weeks ago | 
jalopnik.com | Ryan Erik King
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has been teasing the British team's return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2019, when the current LMH regulations were still being negotiated. It seems like the will they, won't they saga would stretch into perpetuity as the outfit returned to IndyCar and expanded to Formula E. Now it's finally over, as McLaren announced on Thursday that it will enter the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2027.
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2 weeks ago | 
jalopnik.com | Ryan Erik King
Dirty air was one of the prominent talking points after last weekend's lackluster Japanese Grand Prix. The subject isn't anything new for Formula 1 fans, as aerodynamic wake has severely hampered passing during races for at least the last 25 years, but even before that downforce-creating aerodynamics has been a hot point in the sport. One notable F1 figure was vocally against engineers affixing wings to cars during the late 1960s.
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2 weeks ago | 
jalopnik.com | Ryan Erik King
It's fair to say that Formula 1 fans weren't enthralled by last Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. Of the field's 20 competitors, race winner Max Verstappen and 10 other drivers crossed the finish line in the same position they started. Former "Top Gear" host Jeremy Clarkson proposed a simple solution to boring F1 races on Monday: abandon tracks where "overtaking is difficult." While his ultimate goal is admirable, it completely ignores that the cars are the root cause of the problem.
