Category Archives: safety

More Japanese Price Fixing. Diamond Electric Execs Guilty

Including the latest charges, 28 individuals and 24 companies have caught in the government’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry. Continue reading

Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Tesla Recalls its Model S EV Chargers for Fires

It is not clear if Tesla complied with U.S. safety regulations requiring a recall within five days of a known defect since the awareness of the problem goes back to late 2012. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, electric vehicles, recalls | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Las Vegas Biofuels Fraud Revealed in latest EISA Scam

Two men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas for offenses involving the badly audited federal renewable fuels program that passed out taxpayer money for the production of biodiesel among other things. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Predatory Credit Charges on Used Cars Filed by DOJ

The defendants engaged in a pattern of “reverse redlining” by targeting African-American customers for installment sale contracts with inflated sales prices, down payments, and interest rates without meaningfully assessing the customers’ credit. Continue reading

Posted in litigation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Chevrolet to Sell 4G LTE Data Connections Next Summer

What this does for the deadly distracted driving problem remains to be seen and depends whether the driver or passengers are surfing the web. There is also risk involved; electronics in automobiles are now the largest single source of customer dissatisfaction if there are glitches, dropped voice commands, screen crashes or problems connecting portable devices. Continue reading

Posted in customer satisfaction, distracted driving, marketing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Texas RV and Motorcycle Importers Fined for CAA Abuses

Savoia, BMX Imports, BMX Trading, and their owner, Terry Zimmer, allegedly illegally imported motorcycles that didn’t comply with the Clean Air Act, or CAA Continue reading

Posted in fuel economy or emissions, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chesapeake Energy to Pay Millions for Wetlands Destruction

No criminal charges against executives were pursued, however. So the environmental rhetoric of the Obama Administration is put aside in the latest corporate friendly deal under Eric Holder, his politically appointed Attorney General. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, energy, litigation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hyundai Cops Plea on Mileage Fraud Class Action

The fraud produced mileage claims that could be as much as 6 mpg higher than EPA tests showed. About 900,000 vehicles are affected in the largest mileage fraud in history, including the best-selling Kia Optima and Hyundai Elantra sedans. Both makers heavily advertise and promote fuel economy as cornerstones of their brands, of course. Continue reading

Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Prison Time for Perp in Odometer Fraud Case

A North Carolina man, Francis Marimo, will spend 18 months in prison for his role in an odometer fraud scam. Continue reading

Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ally Settles Auto Loan Discrimination Case

The agreement is the first joint fair lending enforcement action by the Justice Department and CFPB, which Republicans and their Wall Street and banking cronies continue to fiercely resist. However, in AutoInformed’s view this is not exactly the strongest test case possible. Continue reading

Posted in litigation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

BP Engineer Guilty of Obstruction of Justice in Deepwater Horizon Spill

Kurt Mix, a former engineer for BP, was convicted yesterday of intentionally destroying evidence requested by federal criminal authorities investigating the 20 April 2010, Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Mix, 52, of Katy, Texas, was convicted by a federal jury in … Continue reading

Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Kia Korean-Built Sedona and Hyundai Entourage Recalls Active

Dealers will inspect for corrosion of the front lower control arms, and will either rustproof or replace them, free of charge as is required by U.S. safety regulations. Continue reading

Posted in recalls | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

More Japanese Price Fixing from Stanley Electric

While the Obama Administration is pushing forward on a secret and job-destroying trade agreement with Japan, another Japanese company, Stanley Electric is caught as part of a huge price fixing cartel, which is hurting the U.S. auto industry and autoworkers as Oriental disdain for U.S. law continues unabated Continue reading

Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Japanese Price Fixing Scandal Expands Again. Now Toyo

Diogenes’ search for an honest man would be futile in Japan if the latest, but by no means the last, price fixing scandal is indicative of Asian scorn for western laws. Including Toyo, 22 companies and 26 executives have been charged in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the automotive parts industry. All 22 companies have either pleaded guilty or have agreed to plead guilty and will pay more than $1.8 billion in criminal fines. Of the 26 executives, 20 have been sentenced to serve time in U.S. prisons or have entered into plea agreements calling for prison sentences. Continue reading

Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation | Leave a comment

Ford Escape Recalls Soar. Latest for Fires, Oil Leaks

The engine-compartment fuel line may have been installed incorrectly and could chafe and eventually leak fuel leading to more fires. It is not clear to AutoInformed that Ford is on top of the problems, as it appears to be recalling Escape recalls after it earlier had tried to limit the number of vehicles involved. Continue reading

Posted in recalls | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment