12:00 pm, August 14, 2023
Here at Car Dealer, we like to think we do a good job of keeping on top of all the latest industry news from here in the UK.
However, sometimes there are headlines from other parts of the world that we think our readers shouldn’t miss.
That’s why last year we began publishing a regular round-up of some of the most interesting – and bizarre – stories from all four corners of the globe.
Here’s our latest round-up of what’s caught our eye from around the world recently…
Russian hackers turn to phoney used car ads in Ukraine War
- Kyiv, Ukraine
A team of Russian hackers have used a fake used car ad as part of an elaborate plan to hack the computers of enemy diplomats.
The gang took a legitimate ad from a Polish diplomat selling his used BMW 5-Series but altered it in a bid to gain access to the computers of officials based in Kyiv.
They changed the price on the digital flyer before embedding the file with malicious software, allowing them remote access to the devices of anyone who opened it.
A total of 22 embassies were sent the fake ad by hackers SVR, who are believed to have links to Russia’s foreign intelligence agency.
It is not known which embassies, if any, were compromised by the attempted attack.
Source: Reuters
Tesla using ‘tribal land’ loophole to get around US agency sales ban
- Connecticut, USA
Tesla is attempting to open showrooms on tribal land in the US in a bid to get around a new ruling that bans manufactures from selling direct to customers.
Several states have banned brands from selling their cars without using dealer partners but the Elon-Musk outfit thinks it has found a loophole.
Under US law, areas designated as belonging to native tribes are classed as ‘sovereign’ and do therefore not fall under state control.
As a result, Tesla has launched a campaign of opening new showrooms where the new laws do not apply.
Earlier this month it was announced that the firm will open a site at Mohegan Sun, a casino and entertainment complex in Connecticut, which is owned by the Mohegan Tribe.
That followed previous confirmation that it will also be opening a showroom in Upstate New York, on land belonging to the Oneida Indian Nation, in 2025.
Source: North State Journal
Purr-fect rescue mission sees sat saved from wall of Thai dealership
- Ratchabury Province, Thailand
Staff at a car dealership in Thailand were left ‘feline’ good about themselves after saving a stranded cat from inside the showroom wall.
A video filmed in the Ratchabury province showed workers poking items inside a hole in a wall in the dealership’s offices.
After a few moments, the cat’s black-and-white head pokes out of the gap and the rescuers pulled him out to safety.
Despite having a happy ending, the whole incident remains clouded in mystery with nobody having any idea where the moggy came from or how it came to be stuck inside the wall.
The cat was unharmed by the ordeal and you can see the full video here.
Source: The Independent
Woman dies and two others injured after horror crash at Toyota showroom
- Los Angeles, USA
A woman was dragged 20ft to her death after a tragic accident at a US Toyota dealership.
The victim, 56, was inside the building when an SUV smashed through the service area and into the reception at Hamer Toyota in Los Angeles.
The customer was pulled underneath the car and dragged along before it crashed to a halt. She was rushed to hospital but declared dead a short time later.
It is believed that the elderly driver of the SUV accidentally hit the accelerator rather than the brake pedal in the crash.
Two employees at the dealership, aged 23 and 35, suffered head and foot injuries and were also taken to hospital for treatment.
Their condition is not thought to be life-threatening and no arrests have been made. The investigation continues.
Source: Fox KTVU
“Violent and vicious’ Marine avoids jail for drunken theft from Japanese car dealer
- Iwakuni, Japan
A US Marine has avoided jail for drunkenly stealing a vehicle from a car dealership before injuring two people in the resulting crash.
Lance Cpl. Dominic Youngren was described by Judge Soshi Okada as being ‘bold, violent and vicious’ during his booze-fuelled rampage in December of last year.
Appearing in court recently, he admitted to breaking into a dealership early in the morning, having drank 10 cocktails the previous night.
He stole the keys to a $38,000 car and drove it away from the Iwakuni dealership before smashing into the back of another car, around two-and-a-half miles away.
Both the driver and passenger in the rear-ended car suffered back and neck injuries that required hospital treatment.
Youngren, who the judge called ‘extremely self-centred’ was handed a two year sentence, with hard labour, suspended for four years.
Source: Stars and Stripes
