With the deadline for submitting ignition switch related injuries and deaths for consideration under the General Motors’ Victim Compensation Plan a little more than a month away and thousands of consumers still waiting to be notified, officials with the car company have extended the deadline to January 31. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
Takata Officials Say Company Is Subject Of Criminal Investigation Over Defective Airbags
By 11.13.14
Japanese auto parts maker Takata, which already faces several lawsuits and investigations by U.S. regulators regarding its production of potentially defective airbags that have been linked to five deaths, is now the subject of a U.S. criminal investigation. [More]
GM Knew 2003 Death Was Tied To Ignition Problem, Didn’t Tell Family
By 11.11.14
Back in 2003, a woman died in a car crash after the airbag in her Saturn Ion failed to deploy. In 2004, GM denied an insurance claim related to the incident. That was the last the woman’s family would hear from the carmaker for 10 years, even though its own lawyers had included her in the 13 deaths it initially acknowledged were tied to a faulty ignition switch. [More]
Takata, Honda Subjects Of Class-Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Secret Airbag Tests, Destroyed Documents
By 11.11.14
It was only a matter of time before Takata, the company responsible for the deadly airbag defect that resulted in nearly 16 million vehicles being recalled, faced a lawsuit regarding the company’s allegedly hidden tests of defective airbags and the years-long coverup that ensued. [More]
Two Death, Four Injury Claims Approved By GM Last Week
By 11.10.14
The number of deaths and injuries linked to defective ignition switches in General Motors vehicles continued to tick upward last week, with two death claims and four injury claims being approved by the company’s victim compensation plan. [More]
Documents Show GM Ordered New Ignition Switches Before Recall
By 11.10.14
General Motors’ massive ignition switch defect saga continues to look increasingly bad for the carmaker as new court documents show the company ordered a half-million new ignition switches, valued at $2.8 million, months before it notified federal regulators that an issue existed. [More]
Takata Allegedly Knew About Airbag Defect 10 Years Ago, Senators Urge Criminal Investigation
By 11.7.14
With 16 million vehicles recalled, a number of lawsuits and several investigations already underway related to defective Takata-produced airbags, lawmakers are urging the Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation into the Japanese auto parts maker following revelations that the company knew off issues four years prior to the first recall. [More]
NHTSA Gives Honda Until December 15 To Turn Over All Communications About Takata Airbag Defect, Recalls
By 11.6.14
Federal regulators have increased their scrutiny over Honda’s actions related to the millions of vehicles recalled because of Takata airbag defects. Two days after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it would look into Honda’s reporting process, the regulators have asked the car maker to submit even more documentation including all communications the company had with the airbag supplier. [More]
General Motors Continues To Claim It Shouldn’t Be Liable For Ignition Switch Lawsuits
By 11.6.14
General Motors made it clear several months ago that it would use its 2009 bankruptcy to shield itself from liability in lawsuits regarding the now massive ignition switch defect recall. Yesterday the carmaker reiterated its stance that it can’t be held responsible for the bad behavior of the “Old GM.” [More]
GM Using $25 Gift Cards As Incentive For Consumers To Get Their Recalled Vehicles Fixed
By 11.5.14
General Motors’ social media campaign to coax consumers to fix their recalled vehicles doesn’t appear to be getting the job done. With just about half of the 2.4 million vehicles recalled for an ignition switch defect having been fixed, the car manufacturer has turned to dangling money in front of consumers to get the potentially dangerous cars off the road. [More]
Nissan Recalls Nearly 16,000 Infiniti Hybrid Sedans For Transmission, Software Issues
By 11.4.14
A mere four days have gone by since Nissan last issued a recall of Infiniti vehicles. Now the car manufacturer is upping its game by making two recalls at the same time affecting nearly 16,000 vehicles with possible software and transmission issues. [More]
Lyft Passenger Killed In Multi-Car Crash: Whose Insurance Covers What?
By 11.4.14
Normally, it wouldn’t be national news that there was a fatal multi-car crash on the highway during a heavy rainstorm near Sacramento, California. What makes this crash newsworthy is that the man who died was a paying passenger in a vehicle hired through the ride-sharing app Lyft. [More]
Ford Begins Its Own Recallapalooza With Five Recalls Totaling More Than 202,000 Cars
By 11.4.14
If at first you don’t succeed – or the car isn’t actually fixed – then re-recall the vehicles. That’s Ford’s stance in one of the five recalls, totaling more than 202,000 vehicles, the company issued Tuesday. [More]
Regulators Investigating Honda Over Inaccuracies In Reporting Injury And Death Claims
By 11.4.14
Less than two weeks after Honda announced it would begin a third-party audit of potential inaccuracies in providing valuable information regarding death and injury claims to U.S. regulators, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened its own investigation into the car company’s reporting procedures. [More]
Is A $362 Charge For A 20-Minute Uber Ride Ever Acceptable?
By 11.3.14
On the one hand, paying almost $400 for a 20-minute ride home sounds a bit absurd, even on Halloween. But if you know ahead of time that a car service’s rates have rocketed and accept the ride anyway, can you justify complaining about the price later? [More]
Ferrari To Pay $3.5M Penalty For Failure To Submit Fatality Reports To NHTSA For Three Years
By 10.31.14
As we’ve reported previously, car manufacturers are required to report death and injury claims to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration so that the agency can identify potentially fatal and dangerous defects. Failing to submit those reports not only endangers drivers, it can cost a pretty penny for auto makers. Just ask Ferrari, the high-end carmaker must pay a $3.5 million penalty for its inaction. [More]
Chrysler Recalls 33,000 Trucks, SUVs, And Minivans For Tire Pressure Problems
By 10.30.14
Chrysler continues its recall roll this week, issuing two more notices calling back more than 33,000 vehicles for issues related to tire pressure monitoring systems. [More]
“Technology & Stuff” Chevy Rep Gives Recently Recalled Truck To World Series MVP
By 10.30.14
Forget Madison Bumgarner’s historic heroics in last night’s Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, the true Most Valuable Player of this postseason is Rikk Wilde, a regional Chevy executive who was thrust into the spotlight after Wednesday’s game and unwittingly turned himself into an Internet icon, while also handing out a recently recalled truck. [More]
