Report: Inventor’s electric vehicle charger triggers bomb scare in Denmark

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Government/Legal, Technology, Electric

Danish Police and Bomb Squad officers on the site of a suspected car bomb in an underground car park, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013, as police  seal off parts of central Copenhagen.  A Swedish-registered vehicle with suspicious pipes and wiring in an underground parking lot caused police to temporary seal off parts of central Copenhagen, but the device was later found to be scientific experiment, police said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jens Dresling/POLFOTO)  DENMARK OUT

A project manager and director for Swedish Television had parts of Copenhagen locked down for three hours on August 6, when his electric car invention scared passersby in an underground parking lot into thinking it was a bomb, Perth Now reports. Copper pipes and wire poking out from underneath a car and other odd equipment caused the panic, but a bomb squad cleared the car after realizing it was some kind of scientific experiment.

The inventor, Dan Zethraeus, reportedly confirmed that the crude device is, in fact, part of an experiment to develop a new way to power electric cars directly from the road. He didn’t give any other details on the device, citing his lack of a patent for the technology.

The scare happened when Zethraeus was on vacation in the Danish capital – he had decided to travel without removing the suspicious equipment. In the future, he says, he will remove the equipment before embarking on road trips. Sounds like a pretty good idea, no?

Inventor’s electric vehicle charger triggers bomb scare in Denmark originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Aug 2013 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Acura press kit causes bomb threat near Automobile magazine offices

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

Acura Emblem

Thanks to one very suspicious-looking press kit from Acura, the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan had a bit of a bomb scare on its hands this afternoon. The Japanese automaker sent a special-edition package to our friends at Automobile magazine in conjunction with the release of Thor. That kit happened to find its way into a recycling bin outside of the publication’s Michigan office. A stand-up citizen reported what they thought was a bomb, which resulted in the evacuation of parts of down town.

A helicopter was reportedly called in to provide an eye in the sky for a few hours as well.

We can’t blame the authorities for taking action. The Automobile offices are situated directly across the street from a Federal building, and with the ne’er-do-wells of the world plotting revenge for the termination of the nefarious Osama bin Laden, a little caution is more than warranted.

As of the time of writing, everything had returned to normal around the Automobile enclave. For a look at the kit itself, head over to The Car Connection.

Acura press kit causes bomb threat near Automobile magazine offices originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 May 2011 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Media Strategies loses Chrysler contract after F-bomb tweet *Update

Filed under: Etc., Chrysler

On March 9, 2011, a now-former employee of New Media Strategies – the company responsible for managing Chrysler’s Twitter account – thought they were using their personal account to push out a message related to the less-than-stellar driving abilities of Detroit’s residents. It contained the F-word and, unfortunately, was accidentally sent out on Chrysler’s Twitter account. Whoops.

As a result, New Media Strategies was forced to terminate that employee, but now it seems that the company lost even more than one foul-mouthed worker. In a statement released today, Chrysler has announced that it will not renew its contract with NMS and that it will work with the social media company while a new agency is sought. There is no mention of exactly why Chrysler is choosing to sever the relationship but, in the wake of the F-bomb tweet, we’re pretty sure we have a good idea.

Is one errant tweet enough to torpedo an entire relationship? It seems to be the case for Chrysler. Click past the jump for the Pentastar’s brief statement.

*Update: Chrysler has posted a follow-up message on its corporate blog, where it is explained that Chrysler did not fire the employee who made the mistake. Further, Chrysler explains why it reacted the way it did in letting go of NMS. Check it out here.

[Source: Chrysler]

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New Media Strategies loses Chrysler contract after F-bomb tweet *Update originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Tweeting Goes Wrong: Chrysler accidentally throws out F-bomb *Update

Filed under: Etc., Chrysler

chrysler f-bomb tweet

chrysler f-bomb tweetFor those of you who don’t use Twitter, these next few sentences will be rather odd. Most companies maintain a Twitter account these days as a means of directly reaching out to potential customers and the public in general. The Chrysler account had an interesting message broadcast to the world this morning.

While we find it hilarious, it’s also rather unfortunate. Chrysler has deleted the tweet, stating its “account was compromised earlier today” and “We’re taking steps to resolve it.” The Twitter account was handled by third-party company New Media Strategies, and it seems highly likely that someone there thought they were tweeting on their personal account. Whoops.

*Update: Chrysler’s official response can be found after the break. Spoiler: the NMS employee responsible was terminated.

[Source: Twitter via Jalopnik]

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When Tweeting Goes Wrong: Chrysler accidentally throws out F-bomb *Update originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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