Issues
Ex-GM Executive Turns Courtroom Crusader
Expert witness, lawyer use automaker’s data to win $26M test case
Safety Test Ignores Real-Life Conditions
Automakers argue decades-old test is fair and easy to repeat
WASHINGTON – In an age of computer-aided design, high-tech crash tests and multimillion-dollar dummies, the test the federal government uses to assess roof strength is a relic of an earlier era.
Thousands Killed, Hurt as Auto Roofs Collapse
Brandy Baker / The Detroit News;Dan McCord
Penny Shipler was riding in this Chevrolet S-10 Blazer.
European Vehicles Exceed Standard for U.S. Car Roofs
Detroit automakers insist the existing rule is adequate
At a demonstration in Gothenburg, Sweden, Volvo rolled an XC-90 SUV in 2002. With a roof made from high-strength Boron steel, the XC-90 rolled more than three times. There was minor cosmetic damage to the roof, but no significant intrusion into the occupants’ safety cage.
Lawsuit Targets Ford SuperCab Roof
Brandy Baker / The Detroit News
Tony Alaniz says his older brother, Paul, who was killed in a rollover accident, was not a reckless driver. Alaniz is standing near the spot where his brother’s body was found.
Jury links vehicle’s roof design to ejection
Seat Belts Not Enough to Save Lives in Rollovers
Man’s death mirrors thousands each year
Noyes family photo
Clyde "Ray" Noyes of Nebraska died when the roof of his pickup crushed in a rollover accident.
Dodge Ram Information
Dodge Ram Information
Ford Stonewalls on Evidence, Judges Say
Ford has dragged its feet, misled plaintiffs and lied in a number of lawsuits, jurists in those cases contend. The automaker calls the incidents ‘honest mistakes.’
By Myron Levin, Los Angeles Times
Tough” is a word that Ford Motor Co. likes to use in marketing its popular pickup trucks, as in “Built Ford Tough.” The term could also be applied to Ford’s take-no-prisoners style in defending itself against product liability suits.
Volswagen – All Models
February 2001
Dear Volkswagen Owner:
Thank you for contacting the Center for Auto Safety (CAS)
about your VW. CAS has received numerous complaints from consumers on
stalling, premature brake wear, engine
and transmission failures, defective
heater cores, and unintended acceleration.
VW Must Face Up to a Sooty Little Problem with its Diesel Engines
By Christopher Jensen
Plain Dealer Auto Editor
Sunday, March 21, 2004
Volkswagen has a big decision coming up that could have a huge effect on how favorably American consumers see the German automaker and diesels.
To its credit, Volkswagen has been offering diesels in the United States for years. That has allowed driving enthusiasts to enjoy its entertaining 1.9-liter TDI four-cylinder while getting as much as 38 miles per gallon in the city and 46 mpg on the highway, according to the Environmental Protection Agency estimate.