Volkswagen is recalling ‘several thousand’ EVs, including the ID.4, and not just in the US

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by The Weather Network that features stories about people, communities, and events and how weather impacted them.--On Saturday, September 7, 1991, Calgary, Alberta, was battered with tennis ball-sized hail. The hailstorm triggered 62,000 insurance claims that added up to $342 million. Alberta isn't a stranger to strong storms and icy precipitation. Southern and central areas of Alberta are known as "Hailstorm Alley. " Aggressive storms can produce huge hailstones that often damage property. Courtesy of TWNThe hail usually falls from High River to Red Deer and Lacombe to Rocky Mountain House. This stretch of Alberta produces some of the most intense and damaging hail in the world. Calgary is known as the "hailstorm capital of Canada. "Content continues belowAt the time, the 1991 event was the most damaging hailstorm in Canadian history, but it has since been surpassed.

Matt Nelson is an automotive journalist with nearly a decade of experience in all things cars.  He's spent years working at dealerships in sales, finance, and service. He's since traded in his pens and wrenches for a keyboard, and leveraged the expertise gained from his work experience into a writing career. When it comes to cars, facts, and the truth, Matt’s equal love for all three meant automotive journalism was the only path forward. Ever since the age of six, when he’d spend his time helping his father fix his family’s old Buick, Matt has had a keen interest in anything and everything with four wheels. Naturally, once Matt started working, he ensconced himself in the automotive industry and held positions spanning from car detailer, mechanic, to automotive sales and finance. Because he’s seen it all, driven most, and heard a lot, auto journalism came naturally to him. With a passion for cars like Matt’s, it’s safe to say every article will showcase his penchant for truth, accuracy, and overarching desire to make sense of the modern, complex automotive world. This means every one of his readers can be at the forefront of the most important automotive news.

With Halloween just around the corner, it's nice to see automakers embracing the holiday spirit without taking themselves too seriously. Just last week, Tesla began rolling out a Halloween-themed software update that, as the automaker put it on X, "turns your Tesla into a haunted house on wheels. " Days later, Rivian brought Ghostbusters to its entire lineup as part of its own Halloween surprise. Tesla's Halloween Mode comes as part of update 2026.38.3 and brings along a host of goofy ghost-themed add-ons. For example, you can frighten pedestrians by speaking through Tesla's Boombox feature — the car will now repeat your message in a not-so-robotic but suitably scary voice. There's also a new lock sound available, with your Tesla now growling as you lock the car.

Under the hood of cars and trucks, you'll find many fluids flowing around, lubricating and actuating different components — especially if the vehicle has hydraulic power steering. With the exception of the coolant, most are classified as a type of oil, even if you don't think of them as such. That's because we often classify hydraulic oil as simply a fluid — on the flip side, who refers to engine oil as engine fluid? Hydraulic fluids are more for hydraulically actuating things, such as the braking system, automatic transmission (though there are important differences between transmission and hydraulic fluid), and power steering system (again, if it has it). So what's the difference between hydraulic oil and motor oil? It all comes down to viscosity, purpose, and the various ingredients that treat their given systems right. With that being said, engine oil also actuates some components hydraulically, but we'll get into that shortly.