Archive for the ‘NHTSA Investigations’ Category
VW officials say it wasn't possible for him to know early.
by Michael Strong on Dec.10, 2018
VW Chairman Hans Dieter Poetisch denies having knowledge of the scope of the diesel cheating scandal
Volkswagen officials are denying reports that Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch knew about the diesel emissions cheating allegations before they were revealed by U.S. authorities in September 2015.
German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that Poetsch found out about the carmaker’s violations of the rules in late June 2015. He was Volkswagen’s head of finance at that time. The company was led by Martin Winterkorn, who later resigned due to the scandal.
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The paper cites a confidential presentation from the VW legal department, which was made available to investigators handling alleged market manipulation. One of the investigations centered on VW is if executives acted quickly enough and if not, was it done to manipulate the company’s value. (more…)
Tags: Poetsch denies early diesel knowledge, TheDetroitBureau.com., VW Chairman Hans Dieter Poetisch, VW denies Poetsch knew early, VW's Poetisch, auto news, diesel news, lawsuit claims Poetsch saw presentation, michael strong, thedetroitbureau, vw diesel scandal, vw news
Posted in Automakers, Automobiles, Business, Diesel, Europe, Executives, Financials, Investors, Lawsuits/Legal, Markets, NHTSA Investigations, Personalities, Safety, U.S./North America, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Agency hasn't yet issued a recall over the matter.
by Michael Strong on Nov.23, 2018
The 2014 Chevrolet Silverado is being investigated for a brake problem. The query covers 2.7 million vehicles.
Federal safety regulators are investigating problems with 2.7 million General Motors full-size pickups and sport-utility vehicles after fielding more than 100 complaints with the brakes on those vehicles.
A brake vacuum pump may break down, requiring the driver to employ increased braking effort resulting longer stopping distances, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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The safety agency has fielded 111 complaints, which include nine crashes and two injuries. (more…)
Tags: GM 111 complaints about brakes, GM full-size truck brake issue, GM probed by NHTSA, GM trucks and utes brake problem, NHTSA investigates GM brake problem, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, gm news, michael strong, nhtsa news, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automakers, Automobiles, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Executives, GM, GMC, Markets, NHTSA Investigations, Personalities, Pickups, Politicians, SUVs, Safety, U.S./North America | Comments Off
Initial action taken in 2013 covered about 370,000 vehicles.
by Michael Strong on Nov.06, 2018
GM may be forced to recall an additional 1.7 million SUVs due to a faulty windshield wiper.
General Motors is under investigation by U.S. safety regulators that are considering forcing the company to expand a windshield wiper recall to cover 1.7 million additional sport-utility vehicles.
The company recalled 368,000 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain SUVs for the 2013 model year. The government is mulling having the expand the action to include vehicles from 2010 through 2016, according to multiple reports.
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GM issued the initial recall of the SUVs in August 2016 because the wipers could fail. Water and other debris could get into the wiper assembly ball joints, leading to wear and eventual joint failure. (more…)
Tags: GM Recall, GM SUV wiper recall, GM may be forced to expand recall, GM wiper recall expansion, TheDetroitBureau.com., U.S. regulators considering expanding recall, auto news, michael strong, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automakers, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Lawsuits/Legal, Markets, NHTSA Investigations, Recalls, SUVs, Safety, U.S./North America | Comments Off
Agency accuses automaker of dragging heels on issuing recalls.
by Michael Strong on Oct.30, 2018
The 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class is part of Daimler's recall of 1 million vehicles to resolve and airbag problem.
Mercedes-Benz USA is alleged to have dragged its heels on mailing recall notes to the owners of 1.4 million vehicles in the U.S.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it found after an extensive review the German automaker has been exceeding the time limits for mailing informational letters to owners about recalls for their automobiles.
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The safety agency also has questions about the company’s process for making recall decision, specifically the time it takes to make the call and inform the U.S. government. (more…)
Tags: Mercedes NHTSA query, Mercedes being investigated by NHTSA, NHTSA investigating Mercedes, NHTSA questioning Mercedes recall practices, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, michael strong, recall news, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automakers, Business, Executives, Lawsuits/Legal, Markets, Mercedes, NHTSA Investigations, Personalities, Politicians, Safety, U.S./North America | Comments Off
Power tailgates fall for no reason.
by Michael Strong on Oct.18, 2018
NHTSA is investigating a problem with power tailgates on some 2017 Ford F-250s and F-350s.
The power tailgates on some Ford F-Series pickups are opening for no reason causing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to open a preliminary investigation to determine the cause of the problem.
There have been five instances in which the tailgate has opened while the truck was driving, according to the agency. Right now, the query covers 54,400 F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks from the 2017 model year.
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Complaints reveal the tailgate just falls open while traveling at speed, sometimes causing damage. One person said it fell while they were driving 65 mph, damaging the tailgate and the trailer they were towing. Another person said opened at least 12 times while driving. (more…)
Tags: Ford tailgate problem investigation, Ford truck investigation, Ford truck tailgates falling, NHTSA investigating Ford, NHTSA investigating Ford truck problem, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, ford news, michael strong, nhtsa news, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automakers, Automobiles, Ford, Markets, NHTSA Investigations, Pickups, Safety, U.S./North America | Comments Off
Four top leaders have departed in last month.
by Michael Strong on Sep.21, 2018
Four of Tesla's top executives have departed the company during the last four to six weeks.
Tesla’s been hit by wave after wave of difficult news, situations and investigations, apparently causing some executives to rethink the viability of the company.
Liam O’Connor, Tesla’s vice president of global supply management, is the latest of a group of executives to depart the company. He joined Tesla in 2015 after a four-year run with Apple, Bloomberg reports an unnamed insider said O’Connor is leaving the company within the next several weeks.
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His departure marks at least the fourth executive to leave California-based EV maker within the last month. Justin McAnear, vice president of worldwide finance and operation; Gabrielle Toledano, human resources chief; and Dave Morton, chief accounting officer, have also put in their notices. In all, more than 40 executives have reportedly left Tesla in 2018 alone, the news service reports. (more…)
Tags: Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Tesla executives leaving, Tesla leaders leaving, Tesla's Liam O'Connor leaves, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, four Tesla execs leave company, michael strong, tesla news, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automakers, Automobiles, Autonomous Driving, Designers, Driverless Vehicles, EVs, Electrified Vehicles, Executives, Funding, Markets, NHTSA Investigations, Personalities, Recruiting, Safety, Safety, Sales, Semi-autonomous Driving, Technology, Tesla, Traffic Fatalities, Trends, U.S./North America, UAW, Union | 4 Comments »
Efforts to reduce toll coming up short warns National Safety Council.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Aug.23, 2018
Two teens were killed in this fiery Tesla crash in Florida earlier this year.
The U.S. highway death toll remained stubbornly high during the first half of 2018 and as many as 40,000 are now expected to die on U.S. roads for the full year, the National Safety Council warned as the country headed into the Labor Day holiday, one of the deadliest times of the year on American roadways.
After decades of decline, highway fatalities began to rise again mid-decade, experts pointing to a variety of possible factors, ranging from distracted driving to the fact that, as the economy recovered, U.S. motorists were simply clocking more miles. Whatever the reason, efforts to improve highway safety have had little seeming effect.
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“When it comes to this leading cause of accidental death, we aren’t making progress – we’re treading water,” said Ken Kolosh, manager of statistics at the National Safety Council. “We cannot accept more than 18,700 deaths as the price of mobility. We hope these numbers remind drivers to slow down, buckle up, pay attention and drive defensively so we can get on the road to zero deaths.”
(more…)
Tags: Highway Deaths, auto news, auto safety, car news, car safety, distracted driving, drug driving, highway fatalities, nsc highway deaths, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, roadway deaths, safe cars, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Advocacy Groups, Automobiles, Markets, NHTSA Investigations, Safety, Safety, Traffic Fatalities, U.S./North America | 1 Comment »
But no plans to give up post as CEO.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Aug.17, 2018
Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that he feels like this has been the toughest year of his life.
Forget the amusement park. Anyone who wants to ride a roller-coaster might be better off purchasing Tesla stock. But no one has faced more ups-and-downs during the last year than the automaker’s co-founder and CEO Elon Musk.
Even as Tesla appears to be resolving its production problems and seems poised to deliver a long-promised profit, the automaker and its CEO are facing a probe by the SEC, lawsuits filed by several short-sellers, additional investigations by the NLRB, NHTSA and the NTSB, and allegations of safety and quality problems by several self-styled whistleblowers.
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No wonder, “This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career,” Musk said in an interview newly published by the New York Times. “It was excruciating.” (more…)
Tags: Musk news, Musk's toughest year, SEC investigates Tesla, Tesla 2018, Tesla production hell, Tesla short sellers, Tesla's Elon Musk, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, paul a. eisenstein, tesla news, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Advocacy Groups, Automakers, Automobiles, Autonomous Driving, Driverless Vehicles, Electrified Vehicles, Executives, Funding, Markets, Monthly Results, NHTSA Investigations, Personalities, Safety, Sales, Technology, Tesla, Traffic Fatalities, U.S./North America | 2 Comments »
Five complaints filed, but no recall issued yet.
by Michael Strong on Aug.07, 2018
NHTSA is investigating a series of fires involving the truck's seat belts.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is exploring complaints about fires occurring in 2015–18 model year Ford F-150 pickup trucks. The fires may have been caused by the truck’s seat belts.
Ford officials say they are cooperating with the query involving more than 2 million trucks. A Ford spokeswoman said the automaker takes “the safety of our customers very seriously. We are investigating the matter and will cooperate with the agency, as we always do.”
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No recall has been ordered yet. (more…)
Tags: Ford F-150 fires, Ford F-150 seat belt fires, Ford truck news, Ford truck seat belt fires, NHTSA investigation, NHTSA investigation F-150 fires, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, michael strong, nhtsa news, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Advocacy Groups, Automakers, Business, Ford, Markets, NHTSA Investigations, Pickups, Safety, U.S./North America | Comments Off
Foreign competitors are gaining on U.S. in the arena.
by Michael Strong on Jul.09, 2018
Nissan is conducting on-road autonomous vehicle testing in Europe, including London, shown here.
As automakers scramble to find what U.S. states are best for testing autonomous vehicles, Congressional efforts to communize rules for all 50 states, once on the fast track, appears to have stalled and there is no timetable for a restart.
In today’s political climate, it would be easy to assume that partisanship is the reason the efforts have ground to a halt in the U.S. Senate, but the bill had strong bipartisan support coming out of committee.
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However, the Senate is tied up with other responsibilities, such as the looming Supreme Court justice approval process and other legislative agenda items, according to the Automotive News. (more…)
Tags: AV START is stalled, Senate autonomous vehicle bill stalled, Senate halts autonomous vehicle testing legislation, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, michael strong, self-driving car bill stalls, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automakers, Automobiles, Autonomous Driving, Driverless Vehicles, Markets, NHTSA Investigations, Personalities, Politicians, Safety, Semi-autonomous Driving, Technology, U.S./North America | 1 Comment »
