What can Volkswagen do with the cars with emissions-cheating diesel engines that it buys back from consumers? The automaker has one proposal that a federal judge approved: even though the vehicles are pretty new, the company has proposed scrapping them to get them and their polluting engines off the roads. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
Uber Driver Arrested, Accused Of Raping 16-Year-Old Passenger
By 8.11.16
Uber says that it puts all new drivers through checks of their criminal and driving history, and none of what happened in a Boston suburb should have taken place. The prosecutor in Malden, MA says that a local driver had a long and sometimes violent criminal history, and he is accused of tracking down, offering extra rides to, and raping a 16-year-old passenger earlier this summer. [More]
Report: 100M VW Vehicles Vulnerable To Remote Hack
By 8.11.16
Owning a vehicle with keyless entry is often a convenience: Forget your key? Just enter a code. But for the owners of more than 100 million Volkswagen vehicles, that convenience has been turned into a doorway for hackers. [More]
Why Are There So Many Foods With Metal Pieces All Of A Sudden?
By 8.10.16
People who pay close attention to food recalls may have noticed a recent increase in reports of food products that have been recalled because there are metal pieces in them. Are they linked? Should we run magnets through all of our food just to be sure? The answers are “maybe,” and “no.” [More]
Forget Solar Panels, Elon Musk Wants To Sell You A Solar Roof
By 8.10.16
Sure, a patchwork of solar panels may be sprouting up on everyone’s homes, but why dot your roof with the installations when you can just put up an entire “solar roof?” That could soon be a possibility, at least if Tesla and SolarCity have their way. [More]
NHTSA Taking A Road Trip To Remind Motorists To Fix Recalled Vehicles
By 8.10.16
If you don’t remember to get your recalled vehicle fixed, what if some kindly bureaucrats came to the lot where you’re parked to remind you? That’s what employees of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and some auto manufacturers are doing this week. They’re on a tour that’s like a political campaign, but not asking people to vote: they’re asking motorists to repair their vehicles and install their child safety seats correctly. [More]
Tesla Says Driver Took Hands Off Wheel In Latest “Autopilot” Crash
By 8.10.16
Once again, high-end electric car maker Tesla is in the spotlight following a crash by a driver who was using the company’s “Autopilot” feature. However, the company says the driver was taking the term “autopilot” too literally. [More]
Fiat Chrysler Recalls 550K Vehicles Over Gear Shifter
By 8.10.16
Six months after Fiat Chrysler first recalled 811,586 vehicles equipped with a confusing gear shifter that has been linked to one death, 68 injuries, and hundreds of crashes, the carmaker has issued a similar recall for 505,000 vehicles that are equipped with another version of the automatic transmission shifter. [More]
GM Testing Self-Driving Chevy Bolts In Arizona
By 8.9.16
It’s only been five months since General Motors announced it would acquire self-driving car startup Cruise Automation, but the new partnership is already working to expand its tests of autonomous Chevy Bolts from San Francisco to Arizona. [More]
Government Warns VW Sellers: Don’t Mislead Diesel Owners About Buyback Program
By 8.9.16
As part of a $15 billion settlement with the federal government, Volkswagen agreed to buy back hundreds of thousands of vehicles equipped with emissions-cheating “defeat devices.” While the lure of receiving more than the current value of their vehicle is presumably high for customers who feel duped by VW, federal regulators want to ensure these consumers receive what they’re entitled to through the settlement. [More]
Lyft Will Soon Be Selling $20 Gift Cards At Starbucks Stores
By 8.9.16
In a move that its rivals haven’t tried yet, Lyft says it will start selling gift cards in a new partnership with Starbucks. [More]
Turmeric Sold At Target, Big Lots, Supermarkets Recalled For Possible Lead
By 8.9.16
Turmeric is a spice that’s essential in South Asian Cuisine, and sometimes also used to make foods look more yellow or orange. If you’ve bought a jar of turmeric recently, heads up: bulk turmeric from distributor Gel Spice, Inc. that was repackaged under multiple brand names, including bottles sold at national retailers like Big Lots and Target, has been recalled because it may be contaminated with lead. [More]
Lyft Will Now Let Passengers Add An Extra Stop To Their Ride
By 8.8.16
If you’ve ever found yourself politely asking your driver if he can make an extra stop along your route — “just really quickly, I swear!” — then a new feature from Lyft may be appealing to you. [More]
Report: More Volkswagen, Audi Vehicles May Have Emissions Cheating Software
By 8.8.16
Volkswagen may be poised to start putting that whole emission-cheating “defeat device” business behind it with a $15 billion agreement, but a new report suggests the carmaker may have other skeletons under its hood. [More]
Uber Passenger Claims Driver Attacked Her After Dropping Her Off
By 8.5.16
A Los Angeles woman says she doesn’t feel safe alone with Uber drivers at night, after a driver allegedly attacked her after taking her to her destination. [More]
Class-Action Suit Accuses Honda Of Selling Acura Vehicles With Battery-Draining Defect
By 8.4.16
Connecting your phone to your vehicle via a Bluetooth link can make driving safer. But for thousands of Acura owners, they claim this convenience — a HandsFreeLink Bluetooth phone-pairing system — contains a defect, that results in dead car batteries and the need for frequent battery replacements. Today, those owners came together to file a class-action lawsuit against Honda, the maker of the vehicles. [More]
Ford Recalls 830K Vehicles Because Doors Should Stay Shut When Closed
By 8.4.16
For the better part of two years Ford has been the center of federal safety investigations related to certain sedan doors that just wouldn’t stay shut. This week, the carmaker announced it would recall 830,000 vehicles to replace side door latches in certain states. [More]
Anton Yelchin’s Parents Sue Fiat Chrysler Over Actor’s Death
By 8.2.16
Six weeks after the death of Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin was potentially linked to the confusing gear shifter in recalled Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler vehicles, the man’s family has filed a wrongful death and product-liability lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler. [More]
