Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Watch the world's most epic wheel-to-wheel paintball battle

Those of you who've played paintball know the game rarely turns out how you imagined it. The weapons fire a .68 caliber blob using compressed air, and as such, they have all the accuracy of a pool noodle fired from a howitzer. That doesn't make it any less fun to track your friends down through the woods and paint them dayglow pink, though. One filmmaker has decided to show off exactly what the game looks like in the imaginations of 12-year-old boys everywhere by throwing in unsanctioned weaponry like full-on Nitro Circus Baja trucks, airfoils, ATVs, motocross bikes, Jeep Wrangler troop carriers and plenty of dirt jumps. There's even a cameo by an older doorless Grand Cherokee. It's paintball armegeddon. Still, we feel it's our duty to warn anyone who's still reading not try these sorts of shenanigans at home – battle between foot soldier and moving vehicle rarely works out in the former's favor. Check out the melee for yourself.

NHTSA now probing over 5M Jeep models over fuel tanks

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has upgraded an investigation into certain Jeep models to an engineering analysis, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. NHTSA began investigating certain Jeep Grand Cherokee, Cherokee and Liberty models with fuel tanks positioned behind the rear axle in late 2010. Regulators say fires tied to rear-impact crashes may be responsible for 15 deaths and 46 injuries. The results of the engineering analysis will determine whether or not Chrysler is required to issue a recall for the defect. If that happens, the automaker could be looking at recalling 5.1 million vehicles, making the campaign one of the largest in U.S. automotive history. Chrysler says it's uncertain how many of those models are still on the road today, though it is certain NHTSA will find the SUVs neither defective nor unsafe. Even so, that hasn't stopped some consumer advocacy groups from lambasting the vehicles. The Center for Auto Safety proclaims that the vehicles are a "modern day Pinto for soccer moms." Chrysler has analyzed crash data in Grand Cherokee models and says it has found no greater incident of post-accident fire than in vehicles produced by other manufacturers. The investigation covers 1993-2004 Grand Cherokee, 1993-2001 Cherokee and 2002-2007 Liberty models.

Jeep adds 137,000 Liberty models to previous recall

Chrysler has included an additional 137,000 vehicles in a previous Jeep Liberty recall, upping the total number of units covered to 356,900. The campaign initially included 2004 and 2005 Liberty models, but has been expanded to include units from model years 2006 and 2007 as well. The campaign is aimed at vehicles sold or registered in States with a high probability of rust, where the rear lower control arms may corrode at an accelerated rate and fracture. Such a failure could cause a loss of control, which could lead to an accident. According to CNN Money, Jeep maintains there have been no reports of accidents or injuries, though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the failures back in April after receiving nine reports of control arm fractures. Chrysler will replace the control arms free of charge, and those owners who have already had the components replaced will be reimbursed.