Issues
Markey, Blumenthal Blast New Revelation of Fiat Chrysler Early Warning Reporting System Failure
Contact: Giselle Barry (Markey) 202-224-2742
Josh Zembik (Blumenthal) 202-224-6452
In wake of recent historic auto recall, Senators introduced legislation to increase transparency and earlier reporting of auto defects
In wake of Volkswagen scandal, cheating may actually get easier
The three crises that rollicked the auto industry in recent months – a rising death toll related to the General Motors ignition-switch defect, the Jeep Cherokee hack and now the Volkswagen cheating scandal – all have one thing in common. Outsiders discovered the problems.
Complex Car Software Becomes the Weak Spot Under the Hood
Shwetak N. Patel looked over the 2013 Mercedes C300 and saw not a sporty all-wheel-drive sedan, but a bundle of technology.
There were the obvious features, like a roadside assistance service that communicates to a satellite. But Dr. Patel, a computer science professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, flipped up the hood to show the real brains of the operation: the engine control unit, a computer attached to the side of the motor that governs performance, fuel efficiency and emissions.
After Battling Safety Agency, Recaro Changes Course on Car Seat Recall
The recall seemed to be straightforward enough: Recaro Child Safety needed to fix some of its car seats so that they would not break free during a crash.
But the path to that announcement, made last week, was anything but.
After more than 18 months of resistance by Recaro, about 173,000 child seats are being recalled, illustrating how long and fraught the recall process can become. The case follows another wide-ranging child seat recall, for models made by Graco Children’s Products, that was also fought by its company.
Volkswagen’s Diesel Fraud Makes Critic of Secret Code a Prophet
A Columbia University law professor stood in a hotel lobby one morning and noticed a sign apologizing for an elevator that was out of order. It had dropped unexpectedly three stories a few days earlier. The professor, Eben Moglen, tried to imagine what the world would be like if elevators were not built so that people could inspect them.
Mr. Moglen was on his way to give a talk about the dangers of secret code, known as proprietary software, that controls more and more devices every day.
Volkswagen Emissions Defeat Devices Violate EPA Emissions Rules
VW is a recidivist emission control violator using defeat devices to turn off emission controls used only in emission testing. Under former Administrator Bill Ruckelshaus, EPA warned VW in 1972 about defeat devices and then sued it in 1973 when VW failed to heed the warning. VW paid a $120,000 fine and promised to comply with the Clean Air Act in the future. So much for promises to obey the law. The only way to change auto company behavior is to put the responsible executives in jail.
Blumenthal, Markey Statement on Reported DOJ-GM Settlement
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For Immediate Release CAS Statement on GM Criminal Settlement with Justice Department
September 17, 2015 |
