China chastizes Beijing Motor Show over scantily clad models

Filed under: China, Etc., Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Beijing Motor Show, Design/Style Our post on China's "Tiger mom" phenomenon was illustrated with that above picture; it's the Jeep Wrangler Dragon Design Concept at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show, accompanied by a booth profess [more]

NHTSA proposes mandatory stability control on big rigs, busses

Filed under: Truck, Government/Legal, Safety Stability control was made mandatory on passenger vehicles for this current model year, but it's still not a requirement for semis and busses. But that could soon be changing, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed requiring t [more]

Chery requests Chinese approval of $1.9B joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover

Filed under: China, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, Jaguar, Land Rover, Luxury A month ago, Jaguar Land Rover signed a joint-venture agreement with China's Chery Automobile Company. JLR's 12.1 billion yuan ($1.9 billion U.S.) investment, if approved, will pay for a plant in Changsu to build [more]

Great Britain set to introduce laws making "drug driving" a criminal offense

Filed under: Government/Legal, UK It's taken three years but the Great Britain is finally ready to introduce laws to make driving while impaired by illegal and legal drugs against the law. While Britain's Home Office waitied for approval of a mobile drug-testing unit - currently drug testing is don [more]

Saab union asks Obama to pressure GM for licensing deal

Filed under: China, Europe, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, GM, Saab, UAW/Unions The door has not yet closed on Saab. Hoping for yet another 11th hour stay of execution, the defunct carmaker's chief union, IF Metall, has written directly to President Obama, asking him to intervene, accordin [more]

Why you should call 911 if you get pulled over in Mississippi [w/video]

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety, Videos It sounds like an urban legend: A serial killer posing as a police officer pulling over motorists and then murdering them in their vehicles on the side of the highway. But this is no hoax, as the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is on the hunt [more]

Senate OKs mandatory black boxes in cars for 2015, House expected to follow

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety It's been working its way through Congress for years, but according to Car and Driver, an event recorder mandate could soon become law. The Senate has already voted to adopt a transportation bill that would make the so-called "black boxes" mandatory by the 2015 [more]

Truck Nuts lead to overnight stay in jail for driver

Filed under: Truck, Government/LegalThankfully, Truck Nuts have proven to be more fad than fashion, but that hasn't stopped a few truck owners from donning the hitch-mounted clock weights. Those who continue to hold their Truck Nuts near and dear should keep in mind that South Carolina law enforceme [more]

Electronics makers wary of NTSB's proposed hands-free ban

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Technology, GM Here's one from the unsurprising file: The Consumer Electronics Association has written the National Traffic Safety Board in opposition to the proposed ban on hands-free calling. According to The Detroit News, CEA is all for efforts to create t [more]

Obama's latest campaign ads highlight auto recovery

Filed under: Government/Legal, Videos, Earnings/Financials As expected, the so-called auto bailout of 2009 has become a major talking point in the run-up to the 2012 Presidential Election. Somewhat surprisingly, however, both sides of the aisle are taking credit for the success seen by General Moto [more]

Treasury has no plans to sell remaining GM stock quite yet

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Earnings/Financials General Motors stock has been languishing for months, failing to climb past $30 per share since July of last year. Trading at around $22 per share today, the optimism that surrounded the company's emergence from bankruptcy and initial public of [more]

Ferrari corrals the Prancing Horses for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee [w/video]

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Ferrari, UK, Event Alert When Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, it will be a cause for celebration for her entire United Kingdom. But the Brits aren't the only ones marking Her Majesty's 60 years on the throne. The celebrations will apparentl [more]

The case of Heather Peters and the Honda Civic Hybrid sets an alarming trend

Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising, HondaWhat are you going to do, sue? Good luck. This week's Superior Court verdict suggests there's little to no recourse for consumers. As Autoblog readers likely have already learned, a Superior Court judge in California has tos [more]

Ford recalling 10,500 F-150, Mustang, Expedition, Lincoln Navigator models over faulty transmission sensor

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a recall of several recent Ford models due to a defective transmission sensor. Some 10,000 vehicles are affected, including some 2011 and 2012 F-150 pickups, 2012 Expedition and Lincoln N [more]

Ex-MG Rover workers to get check for £2.50

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, UK, MISC Until the Chinese began producing the rather attractive MG6, the initials "MG" had been ill omens for at least ten years to all who approached them. The era of the Phoenix Four - former MG execs John Towers, Nick Stephenson, Peter Beale and John Edwar [more]

Woman sued for sending text message to driver who crashed

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety Hiring a lawyer is like hiring a hitman. Except it's not against the law. A lawyer's job is to exert your will on your legal opponent - and on the legal system itself. So it should come as no surprise to see this evolution of distracted driving case law: The vi [more]

Ferrari dealership in trouble for burning rubber on the Great Wall of China

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, China, Government/Legal, Videos, Ferrari Ferrari is not an outfit that would miss out on the enormous opportunity presented by the Chinese market. Having won the grand prix there three times out of the first four it was held, the Prancing Horse marque launched a spe [more]

Chrysler recalling 471 minivans over liftgate issue

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Government/Legal, Safety, Chrysler, Dodge Chrysler has already sold over 84,000 minivans this year, but an unfortunate few were built with defective liftgate sensors. The 471 vehicles with the bad parts include both Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan model [more]

Honda wins appeal in Civic Hybrid fuel mileage case

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Government/Legal, Honda, Earnings/Financials A judge has reversed a lower court ruling against Honda over the automaker's fuel economy claims. Heather Peters successfully sued Honda in small-claims court in February, claiming her 2006 Civic Hybrid didn't return the adver [more]

Gov't unsure on who can establish distracted driving laws

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety Turns out the federal government's attempts to create enforceable oversight of cellphone use in vehicles has hit a Swiftian snag: it seems there isn't a government agency specifically empowered with the authority to do so. The legislative boundaries of the Fede [more]