Issues
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 DOT and IIHS announce historic commitment from 10 automakers to include automatic emergency braking on all new vehiclesAlmost Half of American Vehicles Aren’t Covered Under Existing Safety RegulationsHundreds of crashes involving defective cars are going unreported each year because under U.S. safety rules automakers aren’t required to report suspicious accidents for models more than 10 years old. AutoNation grounds vehicles under recall9/6/15 AutoNation Inc. will no longer sell any vehicle, used or new, with an open safety recall. The new policy will be costly, AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson says, but it’s the right thing to do for customers. Jackson declined to estimate the expense but noted that 5 to 10 percent of AutoNation’s inventory would be deemed unsellable at any given time under the new policy. |
