Department
Cars
Engines, roads and everything on wheels. 18 case files (7 cross-filed from other departments).
DID YOUKNOW?Kenny POWERsDD-740
Kenny POWERs
The St. Lawrence 'Super Jump' was Canadian stuntman Ken Carter's project, begun in 1976, to jump a rocket-powered Lincoln Continental about a mile from near Morrisburg, Ontario to the United States. On September 26, 1979, after Carter's attempt was aborted, the backers and film producers had American stuntman Kenny Powers make the jump while Carter was away. The bumpy runway damaged the car, the parachutes deployed early, and it traveled about 506 feet before landing in shallow water. Powers survived with eight broken vertebrae, three broken ribs and a broken wrist. He died in 2009.
DID YOUKNOW?The FlockDD-030
The Flock
Flock Safety, an Atlanta company, makes automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. Each one snaps still images of passing cars, using infrared at night. Machine learning turns each image into searchable data: the plate, whether full, partial or missing, plus make, color, damage, bumper stickers and roof racks, which Flock calls a 'Vehicle Fingerprint'. It also records time and place. Matches against police hotlists trigger alerts. By the end of August 2026, more than 80% of the 137,000-plus ALPR cameras mapped across the U.S. were Flock's, according to crowdsourced data cited by the Congressional Research Service. That scale, and warrantless searches across agencies, has drawn privacy scrutiny.
DID YOUKNOW?Probe IVDD-002
Probe IV
Ford's 1983 Probe IV concept car (built with Ghia) had a drag coefficient of about 0.15.
DID YOUKNOW?Torque ConversionDD-075
Torque Conversion
A torque converter sits between the engine and an automatic transmission and lets the car idle in gear without stalling. The engine-driven impeller (pump) flings automatic transmission fluid outward into the turbine, which turns the transmission input shaft. The stator sits between them on a one-way clutch. When the turbine is turning much slower than the impeller, as when pulling away from a stop, the stator turns the returning fluid so it helps the impeller instead of fighting it. That multiplies torque by up to about 2.5:1 at stall. As speeds even out, the stator freewheels and the unit acts like a plain fluid coupling. Because constant slip wastes energy as heat, virtually all modern automotive converters add a lock-up clutch that mechanically joins the impeller and turbine at cruise.
DID YOUKNOW?Walking FloorsDD-665
Walking Floors
A moving-floor trailer unloads itself through the back doors without tipping. The floor is made of long slats, usually aluminum, split into three interleaved groups and driven by hydraulic cylinders under the trailer. All the slats slide rearward together, carrying the load a short distance. Then the groups pull forward one at a time. Because two-thirds of the floor is always holding still, friction keeps the load from sliding forward with the moving third. Repeating the cycle 'walks' the cargo out the back. 'WALKING FLOOR' is a trademark of KEITH Manufacturing of Oregon. Its founder, Keith Foster, introduced the first commercially viable all-hydraulic moving floor for semi-trailers in 1973, and other makers sell similar 'moving floor' or 'live floor' systems. Because the trailer never tips, it can unload under low roofs or on uneven ground. It's widely used for wood chips, bark, biomass, waste, scrap, recycling and farm produce.
DID YOUKNOW?HajwalaDD-656
Hajwala
Hajwala is a Gulf term for reckless, show-off street driving. Its best-known form, high-speed drifting, is called tafheet in Saudi Arabia. In 'Joyriding in Riyadh' (Cambridge University Press, 2014), based on four years of fieldwork, the scholar Pascal Menoret traces it to Riyadh. It emerged after the city was planned around wide roads and oil reshaped the economy, and young men, many of them rural migrants, took it up as a way to claim urban space. Drivers spin and slide cars, sometimes rented or stolen, on public avenues and highways in front of crowds. Gulf News dates the culture to the 1970s. It's illegal. Saudi traffic authorities treat drifting as a serious offense. Penalties announced in 2016 rose from SR20,000 and impoundment for a first offense up to SR60,000, possible jail and permanent confiscation for repeat offenses. Riyadh traffic police said in 2025 that fines reach SR60,000, with impoundment and referral to court. The footage includes a car tipped up on two wheels on a highway, a stunt that's part of the same culture.
DID YOUKNOW?Earth Movers IIDD-639
Earth Movers II
Bagger 293 is a bucket-wheel excavator built by TAKRAF of Leipzig, Germany. It went into service on July 7, 1995, at RWE's Hambach open-pit lignite (brown coal) mine near Cologne. Guinness World Records lists it as the largest and heaviest land vehicle, meaning the biggest machine that moves under its own power. Guinness gives 14,196 tonnes, 220 m long and 94.5 m tall, while other sources give about 14,200 t, 225 m and 96 m. The 21.6 m wheel carries 18 buckets. As it turns, the buckets cut into the mine face and dump onto conveyor belts that carry the earth away. Guinness puts each bucket at 6,600 liters (6.6 m³), but other sources say about 15 m³. It can move 240,000 cubic meters of earth a day. That's a volume, not a weight: at typical soil densities it's well over 200,000 tonnes. It mostly digs overburden, the soil and rock above the coal. It runs on about 16.5 MW of outside electricity through a cable, crawls on 12 caterpillar tracks at a few meters a minute, and needs a crew of five.
DID YOUKNOW?Tesla DinerDD-638
Tesla Diner
The Tesla Diner opened on July 21, 2025, at 7001 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood, Los Angeles. It's a two-story, 24-hour diner and drive-in built around a Supercharger station, with a 1950s-meets-future design. Tesla says its 80 V4 Supercharger stalls make it the world's largest urban Supercharging station. The stalls are open to any EV that can use Tesla's NACS plug. Two outdoor LED 'megascreens', which Tesla describes as 66 ft, show movies and clips. Drivers can play the sound through their car or the Tesla Diner app, or watch from a rooftop deck. Tesla owners can order from their car's touchscreen. On opening day an Optimus humanoid robot handed out popcorn, and trade press reported it was operated remotely by a person. Tesla says solar canopies shade part of the charging lot. Elon Musk first floated the idea about seven years earlier and said that if it went well, Tesla would open diners in major cities around the world. The Reel's 'all-electric' label isn't how Tesla describes the restaurant itself; the claim checked here is that it's a charging hub with a diner attached.
DID YOUKNOW?TeslaDD-520
Tesla
Tesla, named after the inventor Nikola Tesla, grew from a small carmaker into one of the world's most valuable companies. It built Gigafactories in China, Germany and Texas, made the Model 3 the world's best-selling electric car for four years, and expanded into solar through a disputed 2016 takeover of SolarCity.
DID YOUKNOW?Supercar PoliceDD-249
Supercar Police
Since 2013, Dubai Police have added high-end sports and luxury cars to their fleet, including models from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, Bugatti and McLaren, in green-and-white livery. The cars are deployed mainly in tourist areas such as Downtown Dubai and Jumeirah, where they also serve for public relations and photos. The footage shows Dubai Police supercars on the streets, with the presenter.
DID YOUKNOW?Haha Car Go BrrDD-237
Haha Car Go Brr
Mass car production begins with design and engineering, then sourcing materials such as steel, aluminum and plastics. Sheets of metal are stamped into panels, which robots weld into a body-in-white; parts are also molded and cast. The body is painted, then the powertrain, wiring, interior and trim are added on the assembly line by robots and workers. Finished cars go through inspections and road tests before shipping. Around 90 million motor vehicles were produced worldwide in 2023. The footage shows car factories and assembly lines, with the presenter.
DID YOUKNOW?McLaren AutomotiveDD-185
McLaren Automotive
McLaren began in 1963 when New Zealand driver Bruce McLaren founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, which entered Formula One in 1966. Bruce McLaren died in a testing crash in 1970, but the team became one of the most successful in F1. The McLaren F1 road car of the 1990s was for years the fastest production car. McLaren Automotive, the road-car company based in Woking, England, launched its first model, the MP4-12C, in 2011, and its cars are known for carbon-fiber chassis. The footage shows McLaren cars, with the presenter.
DID YOUKNOW?Pagani AutomobiliDD-184
Pagani Automobili
Pagani Automobili is an Italian maker of hypercars, founded in 1992 by the Argentine-born Horacio Pagani in San Cesario sul Panaro, near Modena. Pagani had worked at Lamborghini, where he helped develop the use of carbon fiber composites. The company's first car, the Zonda, appeared in 1999, followed by the Huayra in 2011 and the Utopia in 2022. Its cars use carbon-fiber and carbon-titanium composites and are built by hand in small numbers. The footage shows Pagani cars and details, with the presenter.
DID YOUKNOW?Spirit of EcstasyDD-183
Spirit of Ecstasy
Rolls-Royce Limited was founded in 1906 by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce in Britain. It built luxury cars and, from the First World War, aircraft engines. In 1971 the company went bankrupt and was nationalized; the car business was later separated, and since 2003 Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has been owned by BMW, while Rolls-Royce Holdings makes aircraft engines. The Spirit of Ecstasy hood mascot, sculpted by Charles Sykes, has appeared since 1911. Rolls-Royce describes the smooth ride of its cars as a 'magic carpet ride'. The footage shows Rolls-Royce cars and interiors, with the presenter.
DID YOUKNOW?Hypercar LuxuryDD-182
Hypercar Luxury
Bugatti was founded in 1909 by the Italian-born Ettore Bugatti in Molsheim, Alsace, then part of the German Empire and part of France since 1919. Its pre-war cars won many races, and the Type 41 Royale was one of the largest luxury cars ever built. After decades of closures and revivals, Volkswagen relaunched the brand in Molsheim, building the Veyron from 2005 and the Chiron from 2016. Since 2021 it has been part of Bugatti Rimac. A horseshoe-shaped grille is a long-running Bugatti signature. The footage shows Bugatti cars and details, with the presenter.
DID YOUKNOW?LamborghiniDD-181
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini was founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini, who had made his fortune building tractors, to compete with established grand touring brands such as Ferrari. It is based in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, and has been owned by the Volkswagen Group through Audi since 1998. The 1966 Miura set the pattern for mid-engined supercars, and the Countach introduced the scissor doors that later models such as the Aventador kept. The Huracán, built from 2014 to 2024, used a naturally aspirated V10. The footage shows Lamborghini cars, with the presenter.
DID YOUKNOW?The Prancing HorseDD-180
The Prancing Horse
Ferrari is an Italian sports car maker based in Maranello. Enzo Ferrari, who had run Alfa Romeo's racing team, founded Auto Avio Costruzioni in 1939; the first car bearing the Ferrari name, the 125 S, followed in 1947. Its prancing horse emblem was the symbol of the First World War pilot Francesco Baracca, and its red, rosso corsa, was Italy's traditional international racing color. Ferrari is the oldest and most successful team in Formula One. It builds cars in limited numbers, which helps their value. The footage shows Ferrari cars and badges, with the presenter.
DID YOUKNOW?Now You Know Rocket LeagueDD-109
Now You Know Rocket League
In this talking-head Reel I talk about my own history with Rocket League: playing since undergrad, an estimated 6,000 hours, and why its learning curve hooked me. Every movement is manual, unlike sports games where players move on their own. Rocket League is a vehicular soccer game developed and published by Psyonix, released in July 2015 for PlayStation 4 and Windows, and later on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Epic Games bought Psyonix in 2019, and the game went free-to-play in September 2020. Gameplay clips play under the talking-head section.