Fast 5: The Musk of Mazda, Mustang Speaks Mandarin

CARS.COM — Here’s this week’s quintet of quirky car news briefs we like to call … the Fast 5.

5. Talk About Hands-Free!

If proposed rules make it through the legislative process in California, self-driving cars being tested in the Golden State that have already passed muster on a closed track or through computer modeling will be able to head out on the open road with no driver in the driver seat — and no steering wheel to control the car with even if there were. Man, we’ve heard the expression “Jesus, take the wheel,” but now it looks like self-driving car manufacturers are actually going to take the wheel.

4. ‘Mustang’ in Mandarin

“Now you’re speakin’ my language,” Chinese drivers might now be saying to Ford. The Detroit automaker — which introduced its Mustang to Asia in 2015 for the iconic pony car’s golden anniversary — announced that engineers have essentially taught the ‘Stang to speak Mandarin Chinese. Through Ford’s next-gen Sync 3 multimedia system, the sports coupe can understand handwritten Chinese characters inputted with a finger swipe, as well as voice commands. The feature is also available on the Chinese-sold Focus, Taurus Limited Edition, Edge and Explorer, among others.

3. Eau de Exhaust?

Wanna smell like the Mazda CX-5 looks? The Japanese automaker commissioned the creation of a perfume based on its Kodo design theme first fully embraced by the CX-5. The fragrance, developed by Shiseido Co., Ltd., is called Soul of Motion and took gold in the packaging category of Germany’s iF Design Award 2017 in Munich. Dab a little of this stuff behind your ears and on your wrists and you’ll have to beat the modest-priced crossover shoppers off with a stick.

2. Fiery Crash

A fire erupted at a Shell station in Seattle on Monday night after a crash sent one of the two cars involved careening into a gas pump. The pump reportedly was knocked 35 feet away by a Nissan vehicle driven by a ride-sharing driver with a passenger aboard. The other car involved, a Honda, slid sideways into a tree — splitting the car in two. The Honda driver was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, reports stated.

1. Snow Mobile

Adding icicles to injury this week, a Chicago resident not only was the victim of theft but also a natural disaster of sorts. Someone reportedly stole the top off the victim’s 1997 Mazda Miata convertible (huh?) Tuesday, the same day as Chicago’s first major snowstorm this winter. The car’s interior was filled to the head restraints after 8 inches of snow fell on the Windy City before the owner learned what happened. It was not immediately known what precipitated the theft.