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Shopping for a used vehicle in New York City? Thanks to city officials, the used car you buy will likely be a bit safer, as all 800 used dealerships must fix recalled vehicles prior to purchase, as well as fix those sold after the fact.
The Detroit Times reports the move is the result of an investigation by the city's Department of Consumer Affairs, where 200 such dealers were subpoenaed "to provide their policies on selling unrepaired recalled cars, to reveal how many such vehicles they have sold in the past year, and whether the consumer was notified at the time of sale."
The new requirement uses a city ordinance requiring dealers to certify their wares as roadworthy, and to not mislead customers regarding the safety of any vehicle on the lot. Dealers will also be ordered to send notices to consumers owning recalled vehicles, and to repair any that come into the shop at the dealer's expense.
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Please welcome Jim Yu to TTAC. Jim is an attorney, a contributor to Hooniverse and the author of the highly recommended "Tamerlane's Thoughts". Jim is also the owner of a manual wagon.
In the face of GM's ignition debacle, the General hired noted mass torts expert Kenneth Feinberg to set up and execute a compensation scheme for injury victims and families who have lost loved ones. So, is it fair?
First, a little bit of background on Feinberg. I do not know him personally, but I took a semester-long course with him in the late '90s. He is extremely sharp and engaging. Moreover, his compassion for victims is always tempered by his calculated pragmatism.
In virtually every case we studied in class, a company is responsible for injuring hundreds, if not thousands, of people. And in every instance, the same issues arise:
Solvency: A company will declare bankruptcy or simply go under if it compensates every victim the "full" value of their claim, given the sheer number of victims.
Expediency: Large disasters also tend to clog the courts and drag on for years through expensive and unpredictable litigation and appeals. As the old legal maxim goes, justice delayed is justice denied.
Burden of Proof: Finally, it is unfair to victims who were injured by a bad actor when they cannot muster the requisite burden of proving fault and causation in court, whether it's because of lost or destroyed evidence or because the victim does not have the financial resources to hire the experts to build up their case.
Given these challenges and the competing interests of the parties, Feinberg customizes compensation protocols in a manner that is as fair as possible. Given his experience and credibility, Feinberg is often the go-to guy for gigantic, catastrophic, disasters. He set up and managed the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund and the BP Oil Spill Fund– no easy tasks.
Now, let's look at the GM compensation scheme:
Administrator Independence: GM hired Feinberg and gave him free reign on compensating victims. This is a net positive for GM, from a public relations perspective, as it gives the impression that GM accepts responsibility and is giving Feinberg a blank check. But keep in mind that GM hired him, is compensating him, and he wants to be hired again in the future by other companies in GM's position. I have every confidence that Feinberg will be fair and do his best, but GM is also confident that Feinberg is not going to go rogue and write six- to eight-figure checks to every Tom, Dick, and Harry who makes a claim.
Who Is Covered: Media coverage gives the impression that the fund will compensate anyone who has been physically injured by the defect. Not so. First, compensation is not available if an airbag or seatbelt pretensioner deployed during the crash sequence.
After jumping over the first hurdle, the injured are divided into three categories. There is the fatality category, a no brainer. There is the catastrophic injury category (quadriplegia, amputation, severe brain injury, burns). Then, there is the third, more subjective, moderate injury category. Feinberg and his staff will have some leeway with respect to this last category, which will probably constitute the vast majority of the claims. It will be interesting to see how much these claims are compensated.
Driver Negligence: The protocol states that in determining whether the defect directly caused the claimant's injuries, the claimant's contributory negligence, if any, will not be taken into account. This is definitely a net positive for claimants, as evidence of impaired driving, speeding, or unsafe driving will not come into the picture.
Fatality Compensation: As a baseline, for each fatality, $1,000,000 will be awarded and $300,000 will be awarded to the widow(er) and each surviving dependent. More money on top of the above figures can be awarded based on the victim's earnings history and age. This scheme on its face penalizes stay-at-home moms, children, and the disabled, as they often do not have incomes. For the victims' families, the silver lining is that compensation will come within 90 to 180 days, rather than years. Furthermore, there is certainty and finality to the compensation. A family that chooses to go to court instead may receive millions more down the road, but could also easily lose and receive nothing.
Injury Compensation: There are many variables in determining the compensation amount for the injured. If a seriously injured person is relatively young and needs a long term life-care plan, compensation will be in the millions. For the moderately injured, compensation is based strictly on how many days they were hospitalized. For those who were not hospitalized, $20,000 may be the limit.
Documentation: The types of documentation required, such as medical records and wage history, are fairly standard in personal injury claims and are not particularly onerous.
The biggest advantage in terms of proof is that GM is already admitting fault. The victim simply has to prove eligibility and damages.
"Due Process": Serious injury victims and families who have lost loved ones are entitled to a face-to-face meeting with the administrator before the compensation is awarded. But the protocol is silent on what takes place at the meeting and whether the administrator even has to take into account any information provided at the meeting.
Is this process fair? It depends on whom you ask. The scheme helps victims by getting them compensation relatively quickly. There is value in certainty and finality. But by accepting the scheme and foregoing litigation, the victim waives their right to a potentially larger jury award.
*Disclaimer: All of the above, of course, is simply a mental exercise, written by a car enthusiast for fellow car enthusiasts. This is most definitely NOT legal advice.
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Several years prior to the February 2014 General Motors ignition switch recall, car rental companies did their best to get the automaker's attention regarding a series of accidents and fatalities linked to the latter's low-cost fleet offerings.
Bloomberg reports that as early as 2005, companies such as Enterprise, Alamo and Hertz all reported accidents to GM involving the Chevrolet Cobalt. Each report noted the failed deployment of the vehicle's airbags, such as the September 2006 fatal accident involving an Alamo unit, as well as braking and steering issues that led up to the accidents.
Though the companies did their best to get the automaker to do something, GM believed there wasn't "sufficient information" to link the problems experienced to the accidents reported, as explained to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in one of their meetings between 2005 and 2013. The reports are now part of a growing collection of evidence of both parties' inability to act quickly prior to the February 2014 recall.
In the present, GM has modified its safety-monitoring system to handle questions and concerns from the car rental industry over potential flaws, as well as backing a U.S. Senate bill that would prohibit affected vehicles from being rented or sold without having first been repaired.
The post GM Warned Of Rental-Car Crashes As Early As 2005 appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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A combination of one research institute, eight automakers and 15 utilities are working together to create a smart grid charging platform for PHEVs.
Autoblog Green reports General Motors, BMW, Honda, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi and Toyota, as well as utilities like Con Edison, Manitoba Hydro and the TVA, are working with the Electric Power Research Institute to develop a demand charging platform where the PHEV and the utility exchange information that would reduce the former's charging during peak hours, then boost it back up during off-peak.
In turn, such a system would allow for increased service reliability for all customers "by helping to mitigate the impact of strain on the grid during peak periods and could contribute to curbing greenhouse gas emissions." Further, utilities would better be able to manage usage without needing to upgrade their infrastructure, with the savings passed on to their customer base.
As for when this project would get off the ground, no timeline was given as of this time.
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Gas prices ticked up a fraction of a penny Thursday, ending a 33-day streak of declines at the pump, but the news on the fuel front for motorists was otherwise positive during the month of July. AAA said the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded fell 16 cents during the month to $3.52 on Thursday, the largest July decline in six years. Motorists are now paying the lowest prices for gas since mid-March. Moreover, domestic refineries processed a record amount of crude oil during July, averaging 16.5 million barrels a day, and the boost to the gas supply helped push down pump prices at a time of year when they usually go up.
Related: Gas Prices Approach Month of Daily Decreases
"Falling gas prices are nearly the opposite to what we usually see this time of year," AAA spokesman Avery Ash said in a statement. "Refineries are running at full tilt, and there is more than enough gasoline in the market, which has helped bring down prices despite multiple overseas conflicts."
A year ago, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.63, 11 cents higher than now, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The $3.84 average price for diesel fuel is 4 cents lower than a year ago. The 16-cent monthly decline for regular unleaded was in marked contrast to the three previous Julys, when prices increased by an average of 16 cents per gallon.
AAA said gas prices are likely to stay below last year's levels during August barring disruptive events, such as hurricanes, which frequently occur this time of year. "Gas prices may cost less than in recent years this August as long as refinery production remains strong and oil costs do not rise due to unexpected issues," Ash said. "The biggest threat to continued falling prices would be a major hurricane striking the U.S. Gulf Coast. Prices also could rise or remain flat if refineries cut back on production or if there are any major refinery outages."
The lowest gas prices on a statewide basis were in South Carolina, where the average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.24, followed by Alabama at $3.26.; Tennessee, at $3.29; and Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma, at $3.30. The most expensive gas was in Hawaii, where the state average was $4.34 a gallon. Alaska was next highest at $4.13 a gallon, followed by California, $3.98; and Oregon and Washington, $3.92. Prices in California have dropped 15 cents during the past three weeks to bring the statewide average below $4 for the first time in four months.
AAA graphic
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Ever wonder what would happen if Dethklok decided to go into the automotive business, especially with the virtual band's use of pain wavers as a legal means to protect themselves from whatever death and/or dismemberment would likely occur during a concert?
Wonder no more: Honda is asking its dealers to ask their customers to sign a waver acknowledging the used car they're about to buy off the lot may have an Takata airbag that, in the event of a crash, could kill them upon deployment.
Automotive News reports the automaker's Airbag Inflator Recall Disclosure and Acknowledgment waver affects the following Honda and Acura vehicles:
Most dealers believe the waver is a smart move by Honda, citing liability concerns. However, New Jersey lawyer Eric Chase says the waver could prove to be a problem for both parties:
If a dealer called me and said, "We're talking about something that is under recall but we can't repair it and it's dangerous to the point we'd have to warn them about death," I'd say, "You've got to do everything you legally can to make sure a consumer does not get behind that wheel."
Meanwhile, a Honda representative said that once the automaker has gone through its VIN database and those of all 50 states' DMVs to find and recall all vehicles affected by the Takata airbag crisis, dealers won't need to issue the wavers come purchase time, instead using a VIN search to determine any potential problem with a given vehicle.
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