THE LIGHTER SIDES OF AUTOMOTIVE WOES PART 2

YESTERDAY, I WENT CHERRY-PICKING MY FAVORITE AUTOMOTIVE NEWS for the ridiculous and the absurd. Fun continues today in Part 2 with two test drives.

“Extended” Test Drive? Nick Bunkley (who seems to get such primo tales) reports, “Mercedes Dealership, Technician Ordered to Pay More than $20,000 for Taking Customer’s Car to Bar,” Automotive News, July 28, 2026.

Buckley describes, “The award of $20,270 includes $15,000 in punitive damages for what Judge Lynn Cobb called ‘extreme and outrageous’ conduct by Mercedes-Benz of Collierville and service technician Derrick Nguyen, according to TV station WREG in Memphis.”

Customer Kimberley Porter “received an alert on her phone that her C300 [left at the dealership for service] was on the move late at night. She tracked it down at a bar and called police, who arrested Nguyen.”

Buckley continues, “During the trial for Porter’s lawsuit, the dealership’s attorney argued that Nguyen had permission to take Porter’s car on an extended test drive. Cobb rejected that claim, noting that customers who take their vehicles in for service expect them to be ‘kept in local proximity to the dealership or shop.’ ”

Is the Best Defense Still a Good Offense? Or Just Offensive? “After news about Nguyen’s arrest spread on social media, the dealership used Facebook to advertise free maintenance or a $2,000 purchase discount to the first 10 people who brought in a story about the incident. The dealership also allegedly threatened to report the loaner vehicle it had given Porter as stolen if she didn’t return it within hours of her car being ready to pick up.”

Geez. Talk about CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index).

Flock You. Nick Bunkley gets another wowie tale: “Range Rover Test-Drive Draws Police Response After Flock Camera Mix-Up,” Automotive News, July 14, 2026: “A license plate lost by a dealership in California led to police ambushing an automotive writer who was test-driving a Range Rover in Minnesota.”

Nick quotes Joel Feder, director of content and product for The Drive: “Whether you’ve actually stolen a car or are just rolling down the road having done nothing wrong, like me, once these systems have you in their crosshairs, there’s pretty much only one way it can go. Welcome to the future. It’s scary out there.”

Bunkley continues, “Police body-camera footage posted by The Drive shows an officer ordering Feder to get out of the SUV with his hands up in the parking lot of a Kohl’s department store. A phone call to JLR’s media fleet manager helped clear up the situation, and the officers later learned that the Los Angeles Police Department had omitted two characters on the missing plate when registering it as stolen.”

Duh. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2026