The last thing you want to worry about after coming home from a long day at work is whether or not parking your car in the garage will start a fire. For some Nissan vehicles, that’s apparently a possibility, with the carmaker warning owners of 120,000 recently recalled SUVs and sedans to keep their vehicles outdoors until they are repaired.
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Nissan Tells Owners Of 120K Recalled Cars To Park Outside Over Fire Concerns
Mitsubishi Recalls 45K Outlander Sports Over Fire Concerns
Generally speaking you don’t want your vehicle to leak in any way: gas, oil, or any other fluid. For that reason, Mitsubishi is recalling more than 45,000 vehicles that may leak transmission fluid, increasing the risk of a fire. [More]
VW, Porsche Recall 800,477 SUVs Because Pedals Shouldn’t Be Loose
When preparing to hit your car’s brake pedal, the last thing you want is for the control to be broken. Unfortunately, that could be the case for more than 800,000 Volkswagen and Porsche SUVs. [More]
Beware The "MPG Illusion" When Comparing Fuel Efficiency
Sure, switching from a gas guzzler to a highly efficient (and probably much smaller) car is best for the environment, but it’s not a realistic solution for large families or people who can’t afford it. But don’t let the fact that you can’t buy a 40 mpg car turn you off of a trade up in efficiency anyway. A couple of economists have pointed out that “using ‘miles per gallon’ as a measure of fuel efficiency leads people to undervalue the benefits of replacing the most inefficient automobiles.” Their point: if you’re driving a gas guzzler, even a small improvement in fuel efficiency can generate significant savings.
G.M. Will Close 4 Plants, May Sell "Hummer"
Gas prices are changing consumer behavior says G.M., forcing the manufacturer to slash production and close 4 plants as they make the shift toward more fuel efficient vehicles. They also announced that they may sell the “Hummer” brand.
$4 Gas? So What? Sales of SUVs Up 25%
According to Bankrate sales of SUVs are up 25% from this time last year. Wait, weren’t we all buying Priuses because we can’t afford $4 gas? Nope.
New Hampshire’s Crappy Lemon Law
In New Hampshire, if you buy a car rated for over 9,000lbs, and that car is a lemon, you’re in trouble. New Hampshire’s lemon law has a loophole that classifies any vehicle over the 9,000lbs limit as a commercial vehicle, and thus ineligible for consumer protection. So what do SUV buyers do with their lemons? “They either have to fight it out with the dealership or perhaps even file a civil claim depending on the defect,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Motor Vehicles. Fun.
Get a Hummer With Your Happy Meal!
To the spittle-spraying vehemence of environmental groups, McDonald’s is giving away a free Hummer with every Happy Meal.
Arson To The Rescue When SUV Owners Can’t Afford Gas
Is the Charybdis of your SUV’s gas tank getting you down? Why not purge it in cleansing fire? For $300 dollars, a weasel in a black trench coat will be more than happy to steal your SUV for you and light it on fire so you can reclaim the insurance money. And you’ll even be in Rome: a spate of such arson crimes are sweeping California.
The Intentional Comedy, Uncanny Editorial, of NYT Photography
As part of the growing awareness of The Consumerist that there are these things called cars and people put pricey gas in them, we were pleased as a plum in a pie to spy this choice pic in the New York Times this morning.