The purpose of a motor vehicle is to transport you from one place to another. Apparently, that doesn’t always happen with some Chrysler-produced SUVs, so the car manufacturer issued a recall of some 230,000 Jeeps and Durangos. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
Chrysler Recalls 230,000 Dodge And Jeep SUVs Because Vehicles Aren’t Supposed To Just Shut Off
By 9.22.14
GM Recalls 220,000 Cadillacs And Impalas Over Potential Brake Fires
By 9.22.14
Less than two weeks ago General Motor’s CEO Mary Barra said the company was kinda, sorta, almost done with all those recalls. Good thing she wasn’t definitive, because the car manufacturer recalled more than 220,000 vehicles this weekend for potential fire risks. [More]
Meijer Agrees To Pay $2M Fine For Continued Distribution Of 12 Recalled Products
By 9.19.14
By now we should all know that once a product has been formally recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it is illegal for a retailer to sell that item – or to distribute that item to other stores. Yet, there have been several cases in which that rule isn’t followed, leading to stiff fines for the stores. The latest case involves national retailer Meijer paying $2 million in penalties for the continued distribution of 12 recalled products. [More]
How Do Uber and Lyft Work And Why Should I Even Care?
By 9.18.14
Chances are you’ve heard the term “ridesharing” floating around lately, as rivals Uber and Lyft work themselves into a froth trying to outdo each other. But depending on where you live and what your transportation needs are — maybe you own a car or taxis are readily available on-demand through local services — you could have no clue what these companies actually do. And you might not care, but if you don’t have a car and need to where a car can take you, you should know your options. [More]
Toyota Recalls 20,000 Vehicles Due To Possible Fuel Leaks
By 9.18.14
Well, it’s been about four hours since we posted an automotive recall, so apparently it’s time again. Today, Toyota announced that it is recalling 20,000 cars with 2GR-FE engines, which include the 2014 Toyota Avalon, Camry, Highlander and Sienna, and the 2015 Lexus RX. The cars may leak fuel, which in turn poses a risk of fire. [More]
Can’t Make It Up: GM Recalls Vans For Explosion Risk, Fiat Recalls Cars For Leg Airbag Irregularities
By 9.18.14
The only time I want to see a car blow up is in an action movie where it’s filled with bad guys. I don’t want to see a van driving down the highway burst into flames because of a natural gas leak. That’s probably why General Motors issued yet another recall Thursday, just a few hours after Fiat Chrysler announced the recall of several thousand cars because of an issue with leg airbags. [More]
Germany Un-Bans UberPop, Ride-Sharing Rolls On
By 9.16.14
Uber is a smartphone app that connects people in need of a ride with drivers willing to accept money in exchange for rides. Or it’s a fancied-up taxi dispatch service that’s out to destroy the world’s livery services. What it is depends on who you ask. Germany’s taxi drivers asked the Frankfurt Regional Court, which this week allowed Uber to do business in Germany again. [More]
Report Finds NHTSA Failed To Detect GM Ignition Switch Issue For Seven Years Despite Ample Information
By 9.16.14
By definition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is tasked with preventing crashes and achieving the highest standards of excellence in motor vehicle and highway safety. Yet, according to a new House committee report, the agency failed for years to identify a safety issue in General Motors vehicles that eventually lead to 19 deaths, if not more. [More]
Massachusetts Court Throws Out Lawsuit Trying To Block Tesla From Selling Fancy Cars Directly To Consumers
By 9.16.14
High-tech electric car company Tesla has spent the year fighting with a huge number of states over their preferred business model: the company sells vehicles directly to consumers, instead of going through the traditional dealer route. Tesla has been wildly successful selling their cars this way. So successful, in fact, that dealers in many states are fighting hard to claim Tesla’s model is illegal under state law — or getting state law changed to make sure it’s illegal. Dealers in Massachusetts trying their own variation on that maneuver, however, have just had their case tossed out of court, allowing Tesla to continue operations in that state. [More]
NHTSA Probes Ford Fiestas Because Car Doors Shouldn’t Magically Open While Driving
By 9.15.14
As a general rule of thumb I make sure to never drive with my door open: it’s not safe for me, my passengers or other drivers. But for some 60-odd drivers of Ford Fiestas, closing the door didn’t mean it would actually stay shut, and that issue opened the door (horrible pun) for a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation. [More]
GM Confirms At Least 19 Deaths Now Tied To Ignition Switch Defect
By 9.15.14
Despite receiving more than 100 death claims tied to General Motor’s deadly ignition switch defect, officials tasked with investigating the claims on behalf of the company’s Ignition Switch Compensation Fund say only 19 deaths claims have been approved to receive payments; that’s just six more than the company originally identified and far fewer than other reports have tied to the issue. [More]
General Motors Doesn’t Recall Corvettes, Stops Shipments And Sales Instead
By 9.12.14
Remember how General Motors promised that it is totally done with recalling cars? Well, strictly speaking that’s true, because the company is not recalling any 2015 Corvettes. They’re stopping shipments and sales of cars that are currently on dealer lots, because there may be problems with their parking brakes and airbags. There are 2,800 ‘vettes that may have problems with their airbags, and 800 that may have problems with their parking brakes. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Some Uber Drivers Discriminate Against The Blind, Put Service Dog In The Trunk
By 9.11.14
When you’ve got somewhere to go, it’s awfully convenient to have a car arrive to take you there. But the National Federation of the Blind says not everyone is enjoying the right to get where they’re going with Uber, claiming in a federal civil rights lawsuit that the company’s drivers have refused to pick up blind customers, and in one case, allegedly put a service dog in the car’s trunk. [More]
GM Official Says They’re Kinda, Sorta, Almost Probably Done Recalling Cars
By 9.11.14
Over the past nine months General Motors has recalled nearly 30 million vehicles for one reason or another, and it doesn’t sound like the car manufacturer is quite done. [More]
Swedish Manufacturer Announces Recall Of One Car For Tire Defect
By 9.9.14
Million-car recalls are so last month. In a year marred by vehicle safety issues, one Swedish car manufacturer issued what is likely the smallest recall of 2014: One vehicle. [More]
Hailo Enlists The Help Of “The Rent Is Too Damn High” Guy In Anti-Uber Campaign
By 9.8.14
When two companies are competitive, there’s something to be said about making your side of the battle highly visible to the public. And how do you do that? Hire a celebrity, or if you’re car service app Hailo, get the former New York mayoral and gubernatorial candidate otherwise known as the “The Rent Is Too Damn High” guy to take shots at Uber’s rates. [More]
September Food And Supplement Recall Roundup – Salmonella Is Not A Superfood
By 9.8.14
In our September Recall Roundup for food, there could be walnuts lurking in the spinach, eggs in the frozen desserts, and Salmonella in pretty much every kind of food. [More]
