Government/Legal


Texas unveils new vanity plates to raise money for state

Every state in the union is facing huge budget deficits and a number have turned to license plates as a way to raise some fast cash. First was New York, which recently unveiled a new "Empire Gold" license plate. The catch? Any citizen who wants to legally drive is required to buy one when his or her current plates expire. And they're more expensive than the old ones to boot. Speaking of boots, Texas is also planning to raise funds with license plates, but in this case it's totally optional. The Lone Star state recently unveiled a spate ... Read more →

BREAKING: Toyota to recall 3.8M vehicles to reshape and replace pedals Chris Paukert

Toyota has announced that it will recall some 3.8 million cars and trucks to reshape and/or replace their accelerator pedals. The action is the result of fears that loose floormats may cause the ...

NHTSA opening probe into Ford Freestar/Mercury Monterey transmission defect Michael Harley

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating hundreds of reports that 2004-2005 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans are fitted with defective transmissions ...

Flash Mob: Police reportedly bust illegal night race on Hockenheim circuit Noah Joseph

We don't condone illegal behavior here at Autoblog. Heaven forbid. But if you are going to break the law, this strikes us as a good way to go about it. Reports out of Germany indicate that a ...

British GP track Donington Park declares bankruptcy Noah Joseph

It's been one heck of a rollercoaster ride for Donington Park this year. The British racing circuit hosted a Formula One race back in 1993, and was set to take over the British Grand Prix from ...

Government reportedly encouraged by Fiat's plan for Chrysler, sees "huge sense of urgency" 7 days ago on Autoblog

Two weeks ago Fiat and Chrysler unleashed an ambitious five-year plan to return Detroit's number three automaker to financial and product health. The plan called for 14 all-new models based mostly on Fiat platforms and ten more vehicles which will receive much-needed attention. While Senator ...

Pole Dance: NHTSA to add new side-impact crash test? [w/VIDEO] 8 days ago on Autoblog

Not satisfied with cars that manage crash forces well enough to avoid spilling your drink, and engines that run so clean they'll barely asphyxiate ants, a new crash test is reportedly coming in the works from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Along with the test will come new ...

GM's RenCen headquarters in Detroit 'at risk' without tax credits? 9 days ago on Autoblog

According to The Detroit News, General Motors has gone on record as suggesting that without state tax credits designed to keep 2,500 employees ensconced at its Detroit Renaissance Center headquarters, the automaker could pull out of Motown's skyline and into the suburbs and surrounding areas. ...

Mitsubishi recalls nearly 30k 2008-2009 Lancer/Lancer EVO models over airbag sensors 9 days ago on Autoblog

Potential corrosion of the front impact airbag sensor has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall up to 29,353 2008-2009 Mitsubishi Lancer and Lancer Evolution models. NHTSA is concerned that long-term exposure to a mixture of melted snow and salt thrown up by ...

REPORT: January's Detroit Auto Show to be loaded up with political VIPs 9 days ago on Autoblog

After General Motors and Chrysler required a combined $80 billion in government assistance to keep their doors open, many speculated that Uncle Sam would want to keep a hand in the carmaking cookie jar. While it is debatable how much control (a lot) the White House and Congress have over the ...

REPORT: Michigan legislature pondering eco-friendly motoring tips in driving school 10 days ago on Autoblog

There's always a mouthful of teeth gnashing whenever lax US driver's ed standards are brought up. Yes, we need sixteen-year-olds on the road so they can get to their part time jobs at Taco Bell, but most are really lousy drivers. Or are they just uneducated drivers? Remember, even though 9 and 3 ...

REPORT: Senator John McCain doesn't believe Chrysler will make it 10 days ago on Autoblog

It looks like everyone is thinking about Chrysler these days. First it was former DaimlerChrysler CEO (and current Daimler CEO) Dieter Zetsche offering advice to Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne. Now it looks like former presidential contender and current Arizona Senator John McCain not only thinks that ...

GM loses $1.2B last quarter, ready to start repaying loans 10 days ago on Autoblog

This is one of the trickier press releases we've ever had to parse, but here goes. Despite losing $1.15 billion in the third quarter of 2009, General Motors sees this as a "solid foundation." GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson continues, "With a healthier balance sheet and a competitive cost ...

BREAKING: GM to begin repaying $6.7 billion in U.S. loans next month 11 days ago on Autoblog

digg_url = 'http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/16/breaking-gm-to-begin-repaying-6-7-billion-in-us-loans-next-mon/'; General Motors will announce later today plans to repay the U.S. government some $6.7 billion in loans ahead of its initial due date of July 2015. The payments are expected to begin ...

STUDY: Cash for Clunkers helped Japanese way more than Detroit 3 13 days ago on Autoblog

While there is no question that Obama's Cash-for-Clunkers program accelerated vehicle sales this summer, a new report by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute shows the big winners were from Japan, not Detroit. According to the study, nearly 85 percent of the ...

Koenigsegg reportedly rejects 81 out of 218 U.S. Saab dealers 13 days ago on Autoblog

According to Automotive News, Federal Express letters arrived at 81 of Saab's 218 dealers on Thursday stating that their franchises had not been selected to move forward and become a dealer for the post-sale entity, Saab Cars North America. The package from General Motors said that Swedish ...

REPORT: Secret Service vehicles strike and kill pedestrian 13 days ago on Autoblog

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/people/Biden_s_Secret_Service_Motorcade_Hits_and_Kills_Pedestrian'; Tragedy struck the streets of Maryland Wednesday when a pair of heavily armored Secret Service vehicles designed to escort the Vice President struck and killed a pedestrian at an intersection. ...

Naked Australians reportedly arrested at car wash 13 days ago on Autoblog

Nudity? Car wash? Sounds pretty hot, right? That's what we thought too, until we read the full story. According to reports from Down Under, a group of four men (two aged 19 and two aged 23) and their girlfriends pulled up on Sunday at the Smart Wash car wash in Biloela, Queensland, Australia. ...

REPORT: Court rejects rejected F1 team 13 days ago on Autoblog

Hell hath no fury like a racing team scorned. Among the dozen teams that lodged bids this year to join the F1 grid for 2010 was N.Technology. The racing outfit is known to some European fans as the squad that fielded race-prepped Alfas in various touring car series (pictured above), but its bid ...

REPORT: Chinese automaker SAIC accused of hybrid tech theft by SsangYong 14 days ago on Autoblog

In the beginning of the decade, before SsangYong got into really deep doo-doo, the Korean automaker began work on a hybrid control unit (HCU) with German engineering firm FEV. From 2004 to 2008, as the research continued, the South Korean government provided nearly half of the financial ...

REPORT: Germany wants GM's plan for Opel - and a billion dollars - "quickly" 14 days ago on Autoblog

General Motors' bouleversement on the sale of its Opel brand has caused the European head of Opel vacate his office, the head of Opel labor to gulp "a bottle of wine" to get over the shock, the German head of state to request "GM to present a reliable plan for Opel quickly," and Germany's ...

NHTSA to investigate 3 million 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee over gas tank fires? 14 days ago on Autoblog

The position of the plastic fuel tanks in 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees makes them potential fireballs, argues the Center for Auto Safety. The nonprofit organization says that the fuel tank's location makes the pre-2005 Grand Cherokees prone to catching on fire when involved in an accident. ...

REPORT: Australia to wage crushing war on 'monkey bikes' 14 days ago on Autoblog

Attention Australian mini bike riders: law enforcement is going all "iron fist" on your preferred method of transportation. The mini bikes, often referred to locally as "monkey bikes" are a big problem in South Australia, reportedly causing several deaths and numerous injuries. The bikes, which can ...

You Better Believe It: Christian license plate reportedly banned by U.S. District Court 15 days ago on Autoblog

Last year, the South Carolina state legislature approved a bill to establish a Christian-themed license plate depicting a cross in front of a stained-glass window and bearing the words "I Believe". The vote spurred public advocacy groups into action, decrying the move as a violation of the ...

Total Croc: Porsche suing popular shoe company over naming rights? 16 days ago on Autoblog

Porsche AG is known for vigorously defending its intellectual property. It's understandable, as the company has spent more than half a century building its performance-oriented automotive brand around design patents, logos, and the company's familiar vehicle nomenclature. Crocs, Inc., on the other ...

REPORT: NHTSA probe opened into Honda airbag recall timing 17 days ago on Autoblog

Over the last year, Honda has recalled roughly 444,000 vehicles to repair overpressurized airbag inflators in certain 2001-2002 Honda Accord, 2001 Civic and 2002-2003 Acura TL models. According to the automaker, there has been one death and multiple injuries stemming from the defect, which can ...

Class action suit filed against Toyota over sudden acceleration claims 17 days ago on Autoblog

Following a statement from the DOT and NHTSA asserting that the unintended acceleration issue potentially involving millions of Toyota vehicles is "not closed," McCuneWright, LLP, a law firm in Southern California, has filed a national class action lawsuit on behalf of all Toyota and Lexus ...

REPORT: BAIC/Koenigsegg may produce Saab 9-5 in China 19 days ago on Autoblog

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. (BAIC), announced as a minority partner in Koenigsegg's deal to purchase Saab from General Motors two months ago, plans to produce the Saab 9-5 on Chinese soil next year. The involvement of BAIC in the Saab transaction helps Koenigsegg close the deal and ...

REPORT: Toyota execs deny cover-up after feds rebuke automaker over runaway car investigation 20 days ago on Autoblog

Remember Toyota's massive 3.8 million unit unintended acceleration recall that was attributed to pesky floor mats? It appears defective floor mats doesn't tell the whole story, as the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared in a statement that ...

VIDEO: Self-policing Wisconsin woman calls 911, turns herself in for drunk driving 21 days ago on Autoblog

Here at Autoblog, we definitely don't condone drunk driving. But we have to admit it is a bit of a tricky thing. How are you supposed to tell if you're drunk if your judgment is already impaired? Well, one woman clearly could tell that at least someone on the road was drunk, and she gave ...

REPORT: Norwegian Porsche importer makes horsepower, taxes conspicuously disappear 22 days ago on Autoblog

Although the Porsche Boxster and Cayman are built right next door in Finland, in neighboring Norway, the sportscars are subject to heavy tariffs due to their relatively high engine output. But according to reports from inside the Scandinavian country, the local importer has found a solution that ...

GM's Liquidation Motors stock reportedly still worth $370M, can't be sold short 22 days ago on Autoblog

When General Motors entered into Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the summer, its bad assets were moved into a firm called Motors Liquidation Company (MLC). That company was capitalized with more than 600 million shares that were meant to be worthless; however, quite the opposite has happened: with its ...

Mazda recalls nearly 40,000 B-Series pickups over cruise control issues 23 days ago on Autoblog

Last month, Ford widened its cruise control switch recall to 4.5 million vehicles. Included in the growing list of cars and trucks was the Ford Ranger pickup – the mechanical twin to the now-discontinued Mazda B-Series pickup. Not surprisingly, the National Highway Traffic Safety ...

GM awarded DOE money to research Shape Memory Alloy heat engines 24 days ago on Autoblog

General Motors has been awarded $2.7 million by the Department of Energy to create a working prototype engine using Shape Memory Alloys (SMA). The idea is for the prototype to use SMA tech to capture heat energy from engine exhaust gasses via an electric generator and transfer that energy to ...

REPORT: Omaha Toyota dealer employee accused of selling $282,000 in parts on eBay 26 days ago on Autoblog

James Norwood was hired on at Old Mill Toyota in Omaha, Nebraska in 2000, eventually working his way up to parts and service director. At the same time, Norwood reportedly sold over $548,000 in goods as a hard-working eBay business owner, praised by customers for being dedicated and a fast ...

REPORT: Fritz says GM doesn't need any further aid from Washington 27 days ago on Autoblog

Fritz Henderson went to Washington to have a word the folks who wrote the $50 billion check to keep General Motors alive. While there, he answered a few questions put forth from The Washington Post about that investment and the "new" company created with it. His answers are sound, but qualified ...

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Autoblog Podcast #154: Gobbling up the News

Chris, Sam, and Dan kick out a podcast just in time for the long holiday drive.

 
 

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