6/29/2015 According to a Sunday press release, Fiat-Chrysler announced that an assembly error detected last month may cause a suspension component to fail in some 2015 Dodge Durango SUVs and Jeep Cherokee models. The automaker said that the rear control arm was not properly heat-treated, causing a defect which is estimated to occur in no
6/26/2015 In a dramatic press briefing in Tokyo following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting, the president of embattled Japanese airbag manufacturer, Takata, Shigehisa Takada, made his first public apology for the faulty airbags responsible for at least 8 deaths and over 100 injuries. First bowing to the media, Takada said, “I apologize for not having
6/26/2015 Many beer drinkers may be shocked to find that their favorite “import” beer is actually brewed in the U.S., including popular brands like Stella Artois, Red Stripe, Foster’s, and Killian’s Irish Red, among others. In fact, many of these brands are brewed by the same companies that make Budweiser, Coors, and Miller. Among these
6/24/2015 For the first time in nearly 40 years, significant reforms to the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) may finally take place as the House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday by a 398-1 vote on HR 2576, offering major changes to the law. The passage comes as a Senate panel advanced another
6/23/2015 The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee alternated flaying both Japanese airbag manufacturer Takata, and the U.S.’s top auto regulator, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) during a contentious hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday. The hearing accompanies two separate reports that highlight extreme failings by both the manufacturer and the agency. The hearing
6/17/2015 America is a land of wacky museums, including ones honoring Pez dispensers, barbed-wire, and even the Museum of Bad Art in Massachusetts, but there is no law museum despite there being myriads of museums dedicated to similarly significant professions. That is about to change, however, as legendary consumer advocate and not-so-legendary presidential candidate, Ralph
6/11/2015 It looks like the U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into General Motors’ pre-recall knowledge is tightening its grip around the company, as the agency is now considering wire fraud charges against the company. Star Manhattan U.S. Attorney, Preet Bharara, and his office are leading the investigation in conjunction with the Department of Justice.
5/25/2015 A lawsuit will continue in U.S. District Court in Minnesota regarding Target’s widespread 2013 pre-holiday data breach as banks rejected a $19 million settlement proposed last month. Over 40 million debit and credit cards were compromised during the breach, putting millions of cardholders’ information at risk. The settlement set aside by Target would have
5/18/2015 As mentioned in my last post, Google has just launched the first self-driving car onto public roadways near its California headquarters. This comes after the company recently admitted to the vehicles being involved in 11 minor accidents, with no injuries and little damage during 6 years of testing. These revelations confirm many people’s concerns
Despite recent news that the Justice Department is pursuing criminal charges against Lumber Liquidators, the world’s largest hardwood flooring retailer, over its importation of illegally-sourced Chinese laminate flooring containing extreme levels of formaldehyde, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing massive pressure to roll-back its proposed regulation of the substance. Formaldehyde is a common chemical,