Coca-Cola might be super proprietary about its secret soda formula, but when it comes to sharing technology that could help the earth, it’s willing to to spread the wealth with other big American businesses. Coca-Cola, Ford, Heinz, Nike and Procter & Gamble announced today they’ve teamed up to work on how to develop plant-based plastic material. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
It Could Take Years For Some Fuel-Efficient Cars To Be Worth The Savings On Gas
By 5.31.12
While car makers have been touting new higher-efficiency versions of some of their more popular vehicle brands, tests show that it could take years for the average driver to realize enough cost savings on gas to make up for the higher price tag. [More]
GM Says It'll Pass On Advertising On TV During The Super Bowl
By 5.18.12
First General Motors was all like, “Facebook advertising? That’s for nerds, it doesn’t work!” and now the automaker has announced it’s not going to go for Super Bowl ads in 2013, either. [More]
Why Did Toyota Sell Me A Van With An Obsolete Navigation System?
By 5.18.12
Ben bought a Toyota Sienna minivan last year, and one of the fancy options included was a built-in navigation system. That’s neat. But what’s strange is that his car has the wrong system. It has the one meant for the 2011 model, not the 2012 that he purchased. This doesn’t seem like all that big a deal, but it hurts the resale value of his van and is just generally annoying. Wouldn’t you want the technology that you paid for? [More]
GM Says Facebook Ads Don't Work
By 5.15.12
GM spends about $40 million dollars on its Facebook presence, but only $10 million of that goes to Facebook itself, in the form of ads. Unfortunately for Facebook, it turns out that their cut will soon be zero. [More]
Recall Roundup – Banzai Inflatable Slides, Kolkraft Bassinets, And More
By 5.10.12
There are some particularly scary recalls this week, including a massive pet food recall for dog foods manufactured by Diamond, some bassinets that might collapse and hurtle babies, and those Banzai water slides are finally being recalled after allegedly killing one person and paralyzing another. [More]
Honda Wins Reversal Of Small-Claims Judgment Over Hybrid Mileage
By 5.9.12
Remember that story of the Honda owner who won nearly $10,000 in small claims court after she opted out of the $100-200 settlement from the class-action lawsuit alleging that the car maker made misleading claims about the gas mileage of its Civic hybrid vehicles? Well, her glory didn’t last long. A judge in California has overturned that judgment. [More]
Are Heavier Airline Passengers At Greater Risk For Harm?
By 5.8.12
Usually when we bring up the topic of weight and air travel it involves either passenger comfort or controversial airline policies regarding “customers of size.” But some worry that outdated safety standards are actually putting people at risk while flying. [More]
A Few More Recalls: Bunny Sippy Cups, Plastic Rattles, And Instant Knives
By 4.27.12
The Consumer Products Safety Commission announced these three recalls were announced too late to make yesterday’s Recall Roundup, but we wanted to share them as soon as possible since two of them could affect small children. We don’t want to see anyone get hurt, ever, but a little kid getting poked in the eye by an Easter-themed sippy cup shaped like a smiling bunny? That’s particularly undignified. [More]
April Recall Roundup: Flaming Monster Truck Edition
By 4.26.12
The boys’ t-shirts at Kohl’s feature a monster truck jumping over a row of vintage convertibles and tall orange flames, and come with a free toy monster truck to match. This design turned out to be oddly prescient when customers inserted batteries in the trucks and they smoldered or caught fire. Yes, it’s time for the Consumerist Recall Roundup, with a diverse assortment of products lurking in your home, waiting to kill or maim you and your children. [More]
General Motors To Bury The Chevrolet Avalanche Pickup Truck
By 4.13.12
It’s time to say good-bye to any future iterations of the Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck –¬†General Motors has announced that the 2013 version will be the last for the vehicle. Its design lends itself to not only towing and hauling, but families liked it for the interior seating, which fits five. [More]
Sirius XM: Two Companies With Single Mission To Confuse Customers
By 4.11.12
When satellite radio providers Sirius and XM merged almost half a decade ago, consumers and regulators feared that the combined company would begin to act like a fearsome monopoly with a stranglehold on the entire satellite radio market. Not quite. They’re still acting as separate companies working together to confuse the hell out of their customers. Emily’s family are longtime XM subscribers who bought a car with a Sirius receiver, assuming that since it’s all the same company, the services are interchangeable. No, not even close. [More]
Treasury Freezes Compensation For Top AIG, Ally, GM Executives
By 4.6.12
While a majority of the American corporations that received “exceptional” bailout assistance form the Troubled Asset Relief Program, there are still three businesses — AIG, Ally Financial (you may know it by its pre-bust name of GMAC), and General Motors — remaining. Today, Treasury Dept. announced that the Acting Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation has determined that the top executives at this trio of companies will not get a pay raise in 2012. [More]
Giving A Ford Dealership Bad Survey Grades Is Basically Tossing Their Employees Out On The Street
By 4.4.12
Customer service surveys at car dealerships must be serious, serious business. That’s the only conclusion I can draw from Bob’s story about being bullied by the Ford dealership where he bought his Fiesta. They called him up to say that if he planned to rate his (unsatisfactory) service experience as anything but satisfactory, he would be hurting the dealership and practically stealing money out of employees’ pockets and yanking food out of their kids’ mouths. If he didn’t say nice things, the service manager insinuated, the dealership might decide not to service his car at all. [More]
NHTSA Investigates Engine Fire Reports In Pair Of Vehicles
By 4.2.12
Having a car that looks hot is one thing, but one that feels hot because its engine is on fire is another. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration is looking into reports that the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze and 2010 Jeep Wrangler are suffering engine fires. The investigations could possibly lead to recalls, but there’s no action on that front as of yet. Both Chevy and Jeep say there have been no reports of injuries or deaths due to possible defects. [More]
BMW Recalls 1.3 Million Cars Because "Flaming Battery Cable" Is Not A Desired Dealer Upgrade
By 3.26.12
BMW has announced a worldwide recall of around 1.3 million 5- and 6-Series vehicles built between 2003 and 2010, because of a problem with a battery cable cover that could lead to some unpleasant results. [More]
Believe It Or Not, People Want More Oversight Of Implanted Medical Devices
By 3.20.12
It seems almost silly to think that anyone would want to scale back the amount of regulatory control on the safety of medical devices, and a new poll shows that an overwhelming number of Americans believe in strong oversight of these products. Yet members of the House and Senate are considering legislation that could allow potentially unsafe items to hit the market. [More]
Safety Regulators Investigating Claims Of Sticky Throttles In Ford Tauruses
By 3.12.12
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into claims that 2005-2006 Ford Tauruses are having acceleration problems, reminding us that the Ford Taurus still exists. Those cars have been around so long, it’s more like, dino-taurus! Am I right? [More]
