Six months after General Motors began coaxing consumers to fix their recalled vehicles with a social media campaign and the promise of $25 gift cards, the car manufacture says that about 70% of the 2.4 million vehicles recalled for a deadly ignition switch defect have been fixed. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
NHTSA Head Considers Reopening Investigation Into Fiery Jeep Crashes Tied To 75 Deaths
By 4.10.15
Following a week in which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed two investigations without finding a defect or ordering a recall, the agency appears to be poised to reopen a probe into older Jeeps involved in fiery rear-end crashes. [More]
NHTSA Closes Five-Year Probe Into 1.8M GM Trucks & SUVs With Brake Failure; Doesn’t Order Recall
By 4.9.15
After five years of investigating why brake lines in some 1.8 million older trucks and SUVs have a tendency to fail, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration failed to find a safety defect and plans to close the probe without ordering General Motors to replace the often rusted brake lines. [More]
NHTSA Closes Probe Into 1.9M Chrysler, Dodge Minivans Without Determining Cause Of Stalling Issue
By 4.8.15
Following months of analyzing data, reviewing a recall petition and assessing more than 720 consumers complaints, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided to close a probe into nearly 1.9 million Chrysler minivans without finding a safety issue or determining why the vehicles stall. [More]
Blue Bell Expands Recall Again After Tests Find Listeria Bacteria In Additional Products
By 4.8.15
It appears that grocers who removed all Blue Bell Creameries’ products from their shelves earlier this week may have had the right idea, as the ice cream company once again expanded the scope of its recall after further testing found a link between additional products and an outbreak of listeriosis. [More]
NHTSA Advances Investigation Into Pedal Interference In Nissan Versa & Note, Adds Model Years
By 4.7.15
A years-long investigation into whether or not some 360,000 Nissan Versa and Note vehicles contain a defect that results in delayed brake application and unwanted acceleration gained momentum recently as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s initial evaluation revealed enough issues to upgrade the scope and significance of the probe. [More]
Sam’s Club, Kroger & H-E-B Remove All Blue Bell Ice Cream Products Amid Contamination Concerns
By 4.6.15
Two weeks after Blue Bell Creameries expanded the recall of products linked to an outbreak of listeriosis that resulted in three deaths, several major grocery chains have taken things a step farther by removing all of the company’s products from the ice cream aisle. [More]
NHSTA Complaints Show Rusted Floorboards In Older Nissan Altima’s Create Fred Flintstone Cars
By 4.6.15
The only time you want to see someone driving down the road with their feet hanging out of the bottom of their car is on an episode of The Flintstones. But for hundreds of Nissan Altima owners that scene could very well become reality as they continue to report that rusted-out floorboards in their vehicles put their toes entirely too close to the road. [More]
NHTSA Reviewing Petition To Open Investigation Into Ford Vehicle Lighting Issues
By 4.3.15
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened and closed an investigation into lighting issues in several models of Ford vehicles back in 2008 without demanding a recall. That decision apparently isn’t sitting well with a consumer group that has petitioned the agency to reopen the case after receiving additional complaints. [More]
Jury Orders Chrysler To Pay $150M After Jeep Fire Kills Four-Year-Old
By 4.3.15
Two years after Chrysler reluctantly recalled millions of Jeeps that could catch fire after being rear-ended the company has been ordered to pay $150 million to the family of a four-year-old boy who was killed in one of hundreds of related accidents. [More]
Uber Driver Accused Of Returning To Burgle House After Dropping Off Passenger At The Airport
By 4.1.15
Having a complete stranger know where you live is always a risk, but it’s one we’ve all learned to take for the sake of practicality — how else are you supposed to get anywhere if you don’t have the means to drive yourself, after all? But police in Denver say that risk turned into attempted burglary, when an Uber driver picked a woman up from her home, took her to the airport, and then returned to her house to try to break in. [More]
Amateur Uber Drivers Can Stay On French Roads For Now
By 3.31.15
We need some kind of global scoreboard to keep track of which Uber services are legal in which municipality. Surely there is such a thing at Uber HQ, but we have no such thing here at Consumerist. Good news for fans of low-cost transport who are visiting France, though: Uberpop, the peer-to-peer taxi service that any safe driver can work for, can temporarily still operate in France. [More]
Tesla To Unveil Something “Major” April 30, But Not A New Car
By 3.30.15
Earlier today, Tesla founder and Twitter tease Elon Musk announced that his company would be unveiling a “Major new product line” on April 3, while cautioning immediately that it’s “not a car.” So what could it be? [More]
Ford Resurrecting The Lincoln Continental
By 3.30.15
After rolling off into the sunset 13 years ago like a luxury dinosaur (a dinosaur with wheels, okay?), the Lincoln Continental is reversing back onto the scene. Ford Motor Co. says it’s bringing a new Continental to the market soon, with a full-size sedan going on sale next year. [More]
The Dodge Brothers Weren’t Ford Employees; Died Long Before The Challenger & Charger Were Made
By 3.27.15
In a series of recent ads exploring the creation and evolution of Dodge and its famous Challenger and Charger models, the car maker harkens all the way back to its origins as the Dodge Brothers Company to evoke a sense of spirit and competitiveness. While these commercials are successful in eliciting the desired emotional response, the company isn’t quite telling the truth about John and Horace Dodge and their role in creating these popular muscle cars. [More]
Uber May Re-Emerge In Portland Under Pilot Program Next Month
By 3.25.15
After agreeing to suspend its service in Portland, OR last December, Uber could be back on the road in the city by April 15 if officials approve a proposed pilot program. [More]
Philadelphia Uber Driver Accused Of Rape
By 3.25.15
A woman in Philadelphia has accused a driver for ridesharing service Uber of raping her and holding her captive for hours in his car after the alleged assault. [More]
Organic Spinach From Meijer, Target, Wild Harvest, And Cadia Recalled For Possible Listeria
By 3.25.15
It’s not always fun when our predictions come true, especially when that prediction is about how contaminated food from a single vendor is about to trigger recalls in a variety of places across the food supply. On Monday, we predicted more organic spinach recalls to come, and we were right. Packages of frozen organic spinach from four additional brands have now been recalled due to possible contamination with Listeria bacteria. [More]
