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Category Archives: people
North Carolina Parts Seller Fined for Emission Defeat Devices
North Carolina automotive parts manufacturer and seller, Rudy’s Performance Parts Inc. (Rudy’s), and its owner, Aaron Rudolf, have agreed to pay a total of $10 million in criminal fines and civil penalties for manufacturing, selling and installing devices, commonly known as “defeat devices,” used to remove or disable required emissions controls in motor vehicles, the U.S. Department of justice said today.
“Defeat devices, such as those sold by Rudy’s, can lead to pollution at high levels that pose health risks and harm the environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This plea agreement and civil settlement show that we will take strong action to enforce the Clean Air Act and emissions controls requirements for motor vehicles.” Continue reading
Posted in auto news, electronics, fools 'n frauds, fuel economy or emissions, litigation, manufacturing, news analysis, people
Tagged Aaron Rudolf, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Ken Zino, OBD defeat devices, Rudy’s Performance Parts, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden, X @KenAutoinformed
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IIHS On Intelligent Speed Assistance
“ISA systems have been around for several decades. Using GPS devices with speed limit maps, onboard sensors or cameras that “read” signs or both, they can identify the speed limit in the vehicle’s location and detect when the driver exceeds it, but they vary in their response. Unlike the unit I used, which worked by restricting the engine’s output, some systems only provide an audible or visual warning or make the accelerator harder to press. As of July 1, new vehicles sold in Europe are required to have ISA that at least provides a warning, and the California legislature is currently considering a similar mandate for vehicles sold in the state.
“Even without a legal requirement, ISA systems of various types are starting to appear as options on new vehicles in the U.S., and companies such as MAGTEC and Sturdy sell aftermarket ISA systems, primarily targeting fleet operators. Navigation apps also include speed warnings if the user chooses. Continue reading
Posted in autonomous vehicles, blog, electronics, engineering, litigation, news analysis, people, public health, safety, shows and events, software defined vehicles, software defined vehicles
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Ian Reagan, insurance institute for highway safety, Ken Zino, X @KenAutoinformed
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UAW Files Labor Charges Against Donald Trump And Elon Musk for Attempting to Intimidate and Threaten Workers
“When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean. When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Donald Trump will always side against workers standing up for themselves, and he will always side with billionaires like Elon Musk, who is contributing $45 million a month to a Super PAC to get him elected. Both Trump and Musk want working class people to sit down and shut up, and they laugh about it openly. It’s disgusting, illegal, and totally predictable from these two clowns.” Continue reading
Posted in auto news, fools 'n frauds, litigation, milestones, news analysis, people, shows and events
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, donald trump, elon musk, Ken Zino, National Labor Relations Act, Shawn fain, uaw, X @KenAutoinformed
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EPA – State Fuel Waivers for ExxonMobil Refinery Shutdown
The action comes after progressive Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer sent a letter to the EPA, “requesting an emergency fuel waiver that will increase the supply of fuel and help mitigate price fluctuations amidst the refinery outage, the ongoing hurricane season, and as Michiganders continue to enjoy summer travel plans.” Continue reading
Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, economy, environment, news analysis, people
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Ken Zino, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, reformulated gasoline, reid vapor pressure, X @KenAutoinformed
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Mattia Binotto Returns to F1 as CEO at Sauber Motorsport
“I am delighted that we have been able to recruit Mattia Binotto for our ambitious Formula 1 project,“ said Gernot Döllner, CEO of AUDI AG. “With his extensive experience of more than 25 years in Formula 1, he will undoubtedly be able to make a decisive contribution for Audi.“ Following his university degree in mechanical engineering at EPFL in Switzerland, the Italian immediately joined the F1 test team of Ferrari in 1995. He subsequently had various positions, from chief engineer to manager of the engine department and technical director. In 2019 he was additionally appointed as team head of Scuderia Ferrari.” Continue reading
New Porsche Panamera Bests Old Time at Nürburgring
“On the Nordschleife, the transverse dynamic capabilities of a car are particularly important,” said Kern. “The new Panamera has made significant gains in this area. In technically demanding corner sequences in particular, such as between the ‘Hohe Acht’ and ‘Brünnchen’ sections of the track section, it responds with noticeably greater agility.” Continue reading
NHTSA Issues Consumer Alert on Faulty Replacement Airbags
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that used car buyers and owners need to be aware of cheap, substandard replacement air bag inflators that can cause death or serious injury in a crash. In the last year, three people have been killed and two people have suffered life-altering, disfiguring injuries due to these faulty aftermarket replacement air bag inflators. Continue reading
Posted in aftermarket, auto news, fools 'n frauds, news analysis, quality, safety
Tagged airbag fatalities or serious injuries, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Homeland Security Investigations office, Ken Zino, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, NHTSA Consumer Alert on Replacement airbags
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Annals of Marketing – Porsche 4Kids and LEGO
Porsche said today that its free Porsche 4Kids summer holiday program this year is Porsche meets LEGO. To celebrate the latest LEGO Technic GT4 e-Performance model, the program running from 30 July to 18 August 2024 is entirely about the … Continue reading
June 2024 U.S. Transportation Sector Unemployment at 4.8%
Unemployment in the transportation sector was higher than overall unemployment. BLS said that the U.S. unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, in June 2024 was 4.3% or 0.5 percentage points below the transportation sector rate. Seasonally adjusted, the U.S. unemployment rate in June 2024 was 4.1%. Continue reading
Biden Administration Sets Job Creation Record at 15.7 million
“Too many Americans are still feeling squeezed by the cost of the living. I’m fighting to lower costs by taking on corporate price gouging, capping the cost of insulin and prescription drugs, and calling on Congress to lower rent by building 2 million new homes. Congressional Republicans have a different vision that sides with billionaires and special interests and will supercharge inflation. They’ll impose high consumer tariffs that will cost middle class families thousands of dollars each year, give a giant tax cut to the wealthy, repeal the Affordable Care Act, and allow big corporations to keep ripping off Americans. While they fight for Park Avenue, I’ll keep fighting for working families like the ones I grew up with in Scranton,” said President Biden in a White House statement. Continue reading
Posted in economy, labor issues, news, news analysis, people
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Biden-nomics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Joseph Biden, Julie Su, June 2024 Unemployment rates, Ken Zino, US June employment report
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The Fourth of July 2024 – March to the Spirit of 1776
These ideas that they were – in the course of human events – ultimately fighting for in our following War of Independence were bigger than the despots, Redcoats, Hessians and other mercenaries deployed against us. We overcame this oppression and the Divine Right of Kings against long odds. Continue reading
Ex VP of KanRus Trading Guilty Exporting Avionics to Russia
Douglas Edward Robertson, 56, of Olathe, Kansas, the former vice president of KanRus Trading Company Inc., pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a years-long conspiracy to circumvent U.S. export laws by filing false export forms with the U.S. government and, after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. KanRus continued to sell and export sophisticated and controlled avionics equipment to customers in Russia without the required licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Justice Department said. The so-called Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB aka FSS) the main security agency of Russia, successor agency to the KGB of the Soviet Union also used KanRus. Continue reading
Posted in aviation, electronics, engineering, fools 'n frauds, people
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, controlled avionics equipment, Douglas Edward Robertson, fbi, KanRus Trading Company Inc, Ken Zino, Matthew G. Olsen, Putin’s war on Ukraine, Russian FSB or FSS, Russian KGB, Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System
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Annals of Marketing – Shohei Ohtani and Taycan Turbo S
In an updated social media twist on what was once known as the rag trade in the New York garment district, Porsche said this morning there was a meeting Shohei Ohtani – the two-way player* – recently in Los Angeles, his adopted home. With all the well-deserved tsunami level of publicity surrounding Ohtani since his arrival in 2018, many were hoping to sign the Japanese-born athlete as the next star player on their team following the announcement of his departure from the Los Angeles Angels in late 2023.
*A two-way player is one who both pitches and hits. Babe Ruth was a hitter and pitcher between 1914 and 1935. When the owner of Red Sox traded him for enough cash to finance a stage show called My Lady Friends, The Curse of the Bambino was born – keeping the Red Sox (dead sox) from winning a World Series for 86 years from 1918 to 2004. Ruth as a ballplayer hit 714 home runs, won seven World Series titles, played on the 1927 Yankees, arguably the greatest team ever, and made the All-Star team twelve times. He was among the initial players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Full disclosure here as an ex-New Yorker who spent time in Yankee stadium with relatives, and even more time watching and talking baseball, the Dodgers have always been known in my clan since 1957 as that team that used to play in Brooklyn. Continue reading →