If you have a Mazda RX-8 parked outside that’s around a decade old, you’ll need to go to your nearest dealership soon: cars from model years 2004 through 2008, about 70,000 of which are still on the road, have been recalled because their fuel pump sealing rings may weaken over time and cause leaks, which in turn is a fire hazard. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
United Airlines Launching Cheaper “Basic Economy” Fares
By 11.15.16 — Updated: 11.16.16
Don’t mind not being able to pick your seats, boarding last, and carrying just a single personal item on board with you that fits under your seat? United Airlines thinks it has an option for you in its new, cheaper, “Basic Economy” fares. [More]
Dodge Ram Owners Accuse Chrysler Of Cheating On Emissions
By 11.14.16
Owners of Dodge Ram trucks are now claiming that Fiat Chrysler installed so-called “defeat device” technology — though different from what was found in Volkswagen’s ongoing “Dieselgate” scandal — that was allegedly designed to do a bad job of restricting emissions. [More]
NHTSA: New Hybrid, Electric Cars Must Make Noise So Pedestrians Hear Them Coming
By 11.14.16
Even if car doesn’t have an engine to rev, it still has to make enough noise to warn pedestrians that it’s coming. So says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which just released a new rule that says all hybrid and electric vehicles have to produce an audible sound when traveling at low speeds. [More]
TSA PreCheck On Hold Over Cybersecurity Issues
By 11.14.16
As passengers waited in seemingly endless lines to get through airport security this summer, the Transportation Safety Administration encouraged travelers to sign up for its PreCheck program, which offers expedited screening. The TSA set a goal of enrolling 25 million Americans, but a lack of personnel and “cybersecurity risks” have jolted those plans to a standstill. [More]
Woman Drives To Uber HQ To Get Account Issue Resolved Instead Of Waiting For Emailed Responses
By 11.14.16
When you’ve got a problem that needs fixing and it’s not getting fixed fast enough, what’s an intrepid consumer to do? One woman who had an issue with her family’s Uber account was tired of waiting for customer service to email her back, so she hopped in her car and took a trip — actually, two trips — to visit Uber in person. [More]
Toyota To Pay $3.4 Billion To Fix Trucks With Corrosion Issues
By 11.14.16
Toyota has agreed to pay a total of $3.4 billion to the owners of more than 1.5 million Tacoma, Tundra, and Sequoia vehicles that have a tendency to corrode prematurely because they lack proper rust protection.
[More]
Sunroofs Can Explode While You’re Driving, With No Warning
By 11.11.16
For a while now, we’ve shared horror stories from people whose tempered glass shower doors exploded with no warning. While the glass is designed to break into small pieces inside the car, it can really freak drivers and passengers out. [More]
Multiple Airlines Experience Issues With Reservations After Sabre Systems Glitch
By 11.11.16 — Updated: 11.13.16
If you’ve been having issues booking flights today, you’re not alone: multiple carriers have confirmed they were affected by a glitch in the Sabre reservation system. [More]
Smartphones And Motel Chains Are Killing The ‘No Vacancy’ Sign
By 11.11.16
There used to be a quick way to tell from the outside of a model whether there were rooms available for the evening as you drove down a highway: either the “NO” on the establishment’s “NO VACANCY” sign was illuminated, or it wasn’t. Plenty of these signs exist and are still in use, but they’re fading (sometimes literally) as travelers would prefer to use a smartphone app to book rooms instead of zooming down the highway looking for signs. [More]
Family Takes $362 Uber Ride Home From Dallas Cowboys Game
By 11.10.16
It cost a family about $40 to ride in an UberXL vehicle from their suburban home to AT&T Stadioum, where the Dallas Cowboys play. That’s not bad at all, and they didn’t have to worry about parking. The problem came on their return trip, when the driver took a strange detour to the wrong side of their suburb, and the trip ended up costing $362.81. [More]
Uber Driver Charged With Raping Unconscious Teenage Passenger
By 11.10.16
An Uber driver in Laguna Beach, CA has been arrested and charged with raping an unconscious 17-year-old passenger in the back seat of his car. [More]
American Airlines’ In-Flight WiFi Love Triangle
By 11.9.16
While it’s no secret that American Airlines has been working with in-flight WiFi provider ViaSat to offer speedier connections, its current partner GoGo can’t be too thrilled that the carrier has plans to install its rival’s service in about 500 more of its aircraft. [More]
Vespa Is Making An Electric Version Of Its Classic Scooter
By 11.9.16
You’ve seen it in movies, you’ve seen it on TV shows, and soon, you may see it plugged in to charge: Vespa’s parent company has announced that it’s making an electric version of its classic scooter. [More]
General Motors Laying Off 2,000 Employees In Response To Lower Sedan Sales
By 11.9.16
General Motors announced this morning that it will permanently lay off nearly 2,100 U.S. auto workers in the coming months. Why? Apparently because drivers are buying fewer smaller cars. [More]
Google Shutting Down Crowdsourced “Map Maker” Editing Tool
By 11.9.16
After eight years or so of offering people the chance to edit Google Maps through a tool called Map Maker, the company says it’s going in a different direction, and will be retiring the standalone project in March 2017. [More]
All Ferarri Cars Will Be Hybrids By End Of Decade
By 11.8.16
If you can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a vehicle, you probably aren’t too concerned about how much gas will set you back. But if you are, and you’re worried about the environment, you’ll have another hybrid option in a few years: Ferrari announced Tuesday that it will sell only hybrid vehicles in three years. [More]
Couple Accused Of Stuffing Toll Baskets To Steal Coins Join Drivers’ Hall Of Toll Shame
By 11.8.16
While it’s doubtful that anyone has ever driven up to a tollbooth and exclaimed, “Oh, goodie! I get to pay a toll!” it’s important to help keep the nation’s roads maintained and drivable. Police in New Jersey say that one couple not only avoided paying tolls, but hatched a scheme to pocket all those coins for themselves. [More]
