Another on-demand car service has fired a shot in the war with Uber and Lyft for customers — GetTaxi, also known as Gett, is offering a $10 flat fee for any and all riders in Manhattan through the end of the year. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
Feds Pushing States To Lower The Drunk Driving Threshold To 0.05 BAC
By 9.4.14
Having a glass of wine with dinner and thinking about driving? That might be a bit more of a gamble in the future, as the National Transportation Safety Board is lobbying states to reduce their thresholds for drunk driving from the national standard of 0.08 blood alcohol concentration to 0.05. [More]
Business At Uber In Germany Is Booming, Thanks To Publicity From Ban
By 9.3.14
Yesterday, we shared the news that ride-sharing service Uber had been banned in Germany. The company’s service that lets people summon a limo with a smartphone was fine, but the peer-to-peer, lower-cost UberPop service had to stop accepting passengers under a temporary injunction. A strange thing happened when this story hit the news, though: people in Germany thought that this UberPop thing sounded like a great idea, and started hailing rides. [More]
Georgia Car Dealers Ask The State To Shut Down Tesla Store Because It Sold Too Many Cars
By 9.3.14
It’s no secret that traditional car dealerships aren’t fans of Tesla for selling cars directly to consumers — we’ve seen quite a tussle in other states like New Jersey already, among other states — where officials have considered legislation banning direct sales. And now a group representing about 500 dealerships in Georgia wants the state to revoke Tesla’s license to sell there, too, because it’s sold too many cars already. [More]
Thousands Of Jars Of Parmesan Cheese Recalled Because No One Wants Salmonella With Their Spaghetti
By 9.3.14
If you were thinking of making a batch of spaghetti for dinner, complete with a heaping helping of 4C-branded Parmesan cheese, you might get more than you bargained for – salmonella. [More]
General Motors Reportedly Launching Cars That Detect Distracted Driving
By 9.2.14
For years, laws have been put into place to discourage distracted driving: no texting while driving, no talking on the phone while driving, the list goes on. General Motors is taking things a step further by commissioning a vehicle that detects and alerts drivers to their distracted behavior. [More]
Germany Bans Uber’s Ride-Sharing Service, Threatens $328,225 Fine Per Ride
By 9.2.14
When your company’s goal is to disrupt the entire livery industry, current taxi and other car-for-hire operators and livery regulators are not going to like you very much. The idea of a car-sharing service that connects non-professional drivers with strangers in need of rides horrifies regulators and existing professional drivers, and now UberPop (similar to UberX elsewhere) has been banned in Germany under penalty of a €250,000 ($328,225) fine. [More]
Have You Experienced An Infestation Of Car Spiders?
By 8.27.14
After posting about today’s recall of Suzuki Kizashi sedans that are susceptible to cracked fuel lines due to spider webs, we learned that the problem isn’t limited to Mazda and Suzuki vehicles. There have been reports of other spider-infested ventilation systems from at least two other companies, Honda and Hyundai. [More]
GM Ignition Switch Compensation Fund Received Claims For 107 Deaths In Less Than A Month
By 8.27.14
Less than a month after General Motors’ victim compensation plan began accepting claims, the company has received notice of 107 deaths possibly related to its ongoing ignition switch defect. That figure far surpasses the 13 deaths the company previously acknowledged and the 74 deaths one report found could be tied to the defect. [More]
Uber Testing Prix Fixe Lunch Delivery Service Called UberFRESH
By 8.26.14
Not content with ferrying people or packages here and fro, Uber is now testing yet another service — lunch delivery. The service is rolling out just in the Santa Monica, Calif. area right now, the company says, and will be limited to the lunchtime hours. Because it’s lunch delivery. [More]
Hewlett-Packard Recalls Nearly 6 Million Power Cords Because Melting Doesn’t Charge The Computer
By 8.26.14
Computer power cords are meant to provide juice to your device; they aren’t meant to melt or catch fire. So when that happens, it’s time for a recall. Such is the case for Hewlett-Packard. [More]
August Recall Roundup – Beware Of Toppling Bar Stools
By 8.26.14
In the Recall Roundup for August, dangerous beanbag chairs and overheating heaters could lurk around every corner, and there could be a defective car in your garage right now. Don’t be scared, though. The CPSC is here to protect us all from toppling bar stools and overheating night lights. [More]
Latest Federal Probe Into GM’s Delayed Ignition Switch Recall Centers On Company’s Legal Department
By 8.22.14
We know, we know: Broken record here, but the legal woes for General Motors are far from over and new probes are announced every day. Now federal prosecutors are looking into whether the car manufacturer’s legal department concealed evidence that could have led to an earlier recall of vehicles with faulty ignition switches that ultimately led to at least 13 deaths. [More]
Honda Recalls 2015 Fit Because Failing Crash Tests Isn’t Exactly A Selling Point
By 8.21.14
It’s difficult for me to see a subcompact vehicle and not automatically think that it would turn into an accordion-like piece of metal in the event of a crash. I’m sure that’s a pretty unreasonable connection to make, but one car manufacturer is now recalling its latest subcompact in order to boost the car’s crash resistance. [More]
Uber Infiltrates Chicago Airports Thanks To Partnership With United Airlines
By 8.20.14
Airports have long been the domain of taxi cabs, limos, and licensed car services. Ride-sharing services haven’t really been able to break that stronghold, though some have tried. But travelers to one of America’s busiest airports may soon have new options as a result of a new arrangement between United Airlines and Uber. [More]
Corona Extra Beer Recalled Because Glass Particles Don’t Go Down So Smoothly
By 8.20.14
That’s not an extra unripe lime interrupting a smooth pull of the beer — the makers of Corona Extra say some 12-ounce bottles of the brew have been recalled for having small glass particles in them. [More]
NHTSA Launches Online Search Tool So Consumers Can Find Out For Themselves If A Vehicle Has Been Recalled
By 8.20.14
With more than 46 million vehicles having been recalled so far this year, the thought of accidentally purchasing a used car with safety defects might be a bit nerve-wracking for consumers. A new online search tool from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration aims to take the worry and guess-work out of whether or not a used car has been recalled and fixed. [More]
Organic Peanut And Almond Butters Recalled For Possible Salmonella
By 8.19.14
It’s time to head to the pantry and check your jars of almond and peanut butters. Products sold under the brands of Arrowhead Farms and Maranatha, and private-label products sold in Kroger, Safeway, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods stores may be contaminated with salmonella, and consumers should dispose of them and seek a refund or replacement. [More]
