Three-year-old peer-to-peer car rental service Relay Rides has run into a rough ride in New York, accused by the state’s Financial Services Department of “repeated false advertising and violations of insurance law.” The two sides present different takes on what’s happened – a state official makes it sound like Relay Rides willfully misled consumers when…
Category Archives: Government Legal Automotive Issues
3 former Saab execs charged with tax evasion
The Associated Press reports three former Saab executives have been arrested on charges of accounting fraud. Swedish prosecutor Olof Sahlgren has refused to identify the individuals, but says they’re suspected of attempting to evade taxes by falsifying Saab accounts between 2010 and 2011 during the Spyker years. Other reports indicate the parties involved include former…
CO2 credits: The ultimate rebate?
Time For Buyers To Have Some Skin In The EV Game Politicians know that $8- or $9-a-gallon gas like in Europe would end their careers. The back-and-forth between those writing the fuel economy rules and auto manufacturers is designed to see how far the CO2 regulations can be pushed without inconveniencing the general public. Rather…
Of course, Dubai Police add Bugatti Veyron to fleet
Well, now it’s official: Nobody in Dubai is going to be able to outrun the police. You see, in addition to the Aston Martin One-77, Ferrari FF and Lamborghini Aventador that were already part of its stable of police cars, the constabulary in Dubai have most recently procured a Bugatti Veyron to add to the…
Lexus LFA owner gets town to remove speed bump
What do you do if you have enough money to buy a Lexus LFA but can’t get the car safely to your house? Get local government involved, of course. Rune Berge Vik, of Stavanger, Norway, did just that after he bought a Lexus LFA (the only LFA in the Nordic region according to tv2.no) last…
Ford sued over alleged 3.5-liter EcoBoost defects
Three Ford owners from Ohio have filed a lawsuit against the automaker over defects that they allege exist within the company’s twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine. Automotive News reports that the lawsuit claims the engine “contained serious latent design, manufacturing, or assembly defects.” Those defects, the suit claims, cause the vehicle to shake, misfire and…
F1 boss Ecclestone staring down bribery charges
Controversial Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is facing bribery charges from German prosecutors. The long-rumored indictments stem from the 2006 sale of the racing series from Germany’s Bayern LB bank to CVC Capital partners. The charge could result in Ecclestone facing jail time and losing his iron grip on the F1 series. Ecclestone, 82, is…
Toyota sudden acceleration class action may cover 22 million owners
A total of 22.6 million current and former Toyota owners have been sent notices that they may be eligible to receive compensation from the automaker for damages related to the unintended acceleration fiasco that has dominated headlines in 2009 and 2010. The total payout may be as high as $1.63 billion, according to The Detroit…
NTSB proposes lowering blood alcohol limit on drunk driving laws
Today that National Transportation Safety Board released a bold set of targeted interventions to put the country on a course to eliminate alcohol-impaired driving crashes. The 19 recommendations call for stronger laws, swifter enforcement and expanded use of technology. “Most Americans think that we’ve solved the problem of impaired driving, but in fact, it’s still…
Florida DOT quietly changed yellow-light standards, municipalities issuing more tickets
Red light cameras don’t appear to be going away, so it should come as no surprise that neither are the controversies around them. We’re told again and again that they’re about safety, not revenue collection, yet year after year, the studies and headlines compete to support and tear down those arguments. An investigative report by…