Government/Legal


Bogus car hauler stealing luxury autos from dealers in several states?

Luxury cars are nice. Most people would consider some kind of sacrifice to own one, while others plant their behinds in Corinthian Leather through ill-gotten gains. When something is desirable, there's no end to the scheming. The latest tactic for driving luxe without earning it is pretty blatant: just show up and take it! Automotive News reports that the FBI is currently looking into an operation that's using the identity of Atlas Towing and Recovery of Illinois, a real, legitimate business, to take luxury vehicles right out from under the ... Read more →

Here's the Plan: GM reveals how it will deal with shuttered dealers' complaints Jeremy Korzeniewski

Back in May, General Motors announced plans to close down a large portion of its dealership network. Since then, a number of those franchisees have lodged complaints to both the automaker itself ...

LA 2009: Lawsuit-happy U.S. kills chances for Lotus Exige Scura, but we'll get something similar Sam Abuelsamid

We had a chance to chat with Lotus USA spokesman Kevin Smith at the LA Auto Show and he shared a bit of news with us. He confirmed that while we unfortunately won't be getting the limited edition ...

REPORT: NHTSA proposing new side airbag standards expected to cost $54 per car Jeremy Korzeniewski

Naturally, safety is a top priority for both automakers and consumers alike. It's also of paramount concern to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, which is the government body ...

A Game of Chicken: Mitsubishi wants to import Triton pickup and Delica van - but can it afford to? Jeremy Korzeniewski

According to a report from Automotive News, Mitsubishi's North American CEO Shin Kurihara would like to bring over the Japanese automaker's funky little Delica van (right) and Triton pickup (above), ...

GM confirms Chevrolet Volt to be introduced in California before nationwide rollout 4 days ago on Autoblog

If environmentally-friendly transportation is your thing, there's no place like California. Not only is the state home base to Tesla – the first company to genuinely demonstrate that hugging a tree and hugging the road needn't be mutually exclusive – it was also chosen by General ...

Feds punt on E15 waiver decision, want to test ethanol's effect on more cars 5 days ago on Autoblog

There is some ethanol in almost all of the gasoline sold in the U.S. Usually, this amount is no more than 10 percent of the total and, if it's more than that, it jumps all the way to 85 percent and is sold as E85. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was supposed to come down on one side or ...

REPORT: Ford loses appeal in rollover case, must pay $55M 5 days ago on Autoblog

According to The Detroit News, the Supreme Court has let stand a ruling that Ford Motor Company is at fault for a 2002 rollover crash involving a 1997 Ford Explorer and the Dearborn, MI-based automaker must pay $55 million in punitive damages. Benetta Buell-Wilson's Explorer rolled over ...

REPORT: Lamborghini Gallardo cop car crashes in Italy thanks to careless driver 5 days ago on Autoblog

The Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia is a very capable police cruiser that just happens to also be an extremely desirable Italian exotic. How many police cruisers can go 200 mph while toting a vital organ in its specially made refrigerated storage? While Lambo and the Italian State Police ...

Saab, Swedish gov't in Detroit to discuss brand's future 6 days ago on Autoblog

Don't write off Saab just yet. While last week's announcement that Koenigsegg Automotive AB had pulled its offer for the homeless brand was a painful kick to the gut, it seems there are still a few companies interested in taking the automaker under its wings. With that in mind, and interested in ...

Bring the Noise: Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps reportedly safe... for now 7 days ago on Autoblog

Following earlier news that the Donington track, which was supposed to take over the British Grand Prix in lieu of Silverstone, had to declare bankruptcy comes a reversal of fortune for the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The longtime host of the Belgian Grand Prix looked to be in serious trouble ...

Texas unveils new vanity plates to raise money for state 10 days ago on Autoblog

Every state in the union is facing huge budget deficits and a number have turned to license plates as a way to raise some fast cash. First was New York, which recently unveiled a new "Empire Gold" license plate. The catch? Any citizen who wants to legally drive is required to buy one when his ...

BREAKING: Toyota to recall 3.8M vehicles to reshape and replace pedals 11 days ago on Autoblog

Toyota has announced that it will recall some 3.8 million cars and trucks to reshape and/or replace their accelerator pedals. The action is the result of fears that loose floormats may cause the accelerator pedal to stick, increasing the risk of an accident. The recall will be the largest in the ...

NHTSA opening probe into Ford Freestar/Mercury Monterey transmission defect 11 days ago on Autoblog

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating hundreds of reports that 2004-2005 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans are fitted with defective transmissions that could dangerously fail without warning. Most alarming is that many of the transmissions ...

Flash Mob: Police reportedly bust illegal night race on Hockenheim circuit 13 days ago on Autoblog

We don't condone illegal behavior here at Autoblog. Heaven forbid. But if you are going to break the law, this strikes us as a good way to go about it. Reports out of Germany indicate that a group of some 100 people in 43 cars descended upon the Hockenheimring (host of the German Grand Prix) ...

British GP track Donington Park declares bankruptcy 16 days ago on Autoblog

It's been one heck of a rollercoaster ride for Donington Park this year. The British racing circuit hosted a Formula One race back in 1993, and was set to take over the British Grand Prix from Silverstone until the race promoter fell on hard times. Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd signed a ...

Government reportedly encouraged by Fiat's plan for Chrysler, sees "huge sense of urgency" 17 days ago on Autoblog

Two weeks ago Fiat and Chrysler unleashed an ambitious five-year plan to return Detroit's number three automaker to financial and product health. The plan called for 14 all-new models based mostly on Fiat platforms and ten more vehicles which will receive much-needed attention. While Senator ...

Pole Dance: NHTSA to add new side-impact crash test? [w/VIDEO] 18 days ago on Autoblog

Not satisfied with cars that manage crash forces well enough to avoid spilling your drink, and engines that run so clean they'll barely asphyxiate ants, a new crash test is reportedly coming in the works from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Along with the test will come new ...

GM's RenCen headquarters in Detroit 'at risk' without tax credits? 18 days ago on Autoblog

According to The Detroit News, General Motors has gone on record as suggesting that without state tax credits designed to keep 2,500 employees ensconced at its Detroit Renaissance Center headquarters, the automaker could pull out of Motown's skyline and into the suburbs and surrounding areas. ...

Mitsubishi recalls nearly 30k 2008-2009 Lancer/Lancer EVO models over airbag sensors 18 days ago on Autoblog

Potential corrosion of the front impact airbag sensor has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall up to 29,353 2008-2009 Mitsubishi Lancer and Lancer Evolution models. NHTSA is concerned that long-term exposure to a mixture of melted snow and salt thrown up by ...

REPORT: January's Detroit Auto Show to be loaded up with political VIPs 19 days ago on Autoblog

After General Motors and Chrysler required a combined $80 billion in government assistance to keep their doors open, many speculated that Uncle Sam would want to keep a hand in the carmaking cookie jar. While it is debatable how much control (a lot) the White House and Congress have over the ...

REPORT: Michigan legislature pondering eco-friendly motoring tips in driving school 19 days ago on Autoblog

There's always a mouthful of teeth gnashing whenever lax US driver's ed standards are brought up. Yes, we need sixteen-year-olds on the road so they can get to their part time jobs at Taco Bell, but most are really lousy drivers. Or are they just uneducated drivers? Remember, even though 9 and 3 ...

REPORT: Senator John McCain doesn't believe Chrysler will make it 20 days ago on Autoblog

It looks like everyone is thinking about Chrysler these days. First it was former DaimlerChrysler CEO (and current Daimler CEO) Dieter Zetsche offering advice to Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne. Now it looks like former presidential contender and current Arizona Senator John McCain not only thinks that ...

GM loses $1.2B last quarter, ready to start repaying loans 20 days ago on Autoblog

This is one of the trickier press releases we've ever had to parse, but here goes. Despite losing $1.15 billion in the third quarter of 2009, General Motors sees this as a "solid foundation." GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson continues, "With a healthier balance sheet and a competitive cost ...

BREAKING: GM to begin repaying $6.7 billion in U.S. loans next month 20 days ago on Autoblog

digg_url = 'http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/16/breaking-gm-to-begin-repaying-6-7-billion-in-us-loans-next-mon/'; General Motors will announce later today plans to repay the U.S. government some $6.7 billion in loans ahead of its initial due date of July 2015. The payments are expected to begin ...

STUDY: Cash for Clunkers helped Japanese way more than Detroit 3 22 days ago on Autoblog

While there is no question that Obama's Cash-for-Clunkers program accelerated vehicle sales this summer, a new report by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute shows the big winners were from Japan, not Detroit. According to the study, nearly 85 percent of the ...

Koenigsegg reportedly rejects 81 out of 218 U.S. Saab dealers 23 days ago on Autoblog

According to Automotive News, Federal Express letters arrived at 81 of Saab's 218 dealers on Thursday stating that their franchises had not been selected to move forward and become a dealer for the post-sale entity, Saab Cars North America. The package from General Motors said that Swedish ...

REPORT: Secret Service vehicles strike and kill pedestrian 23 days ago on Autoblog

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/people/Biden_s_Secret_Service_Motorcade_Hits_and_Kills_Pedestrian'; Tragedy struck the streets of Maryland Wednesday when a pair of heavily armored Secret Service vehicles designed to escort the Vice President struck and killed a pedestrian at an intersection. ...

Naked Australians reportedly arrested at car wash 23 days ago on Autoblog

Nudity? Car wash? Sounds pretty hot, right? That's what we thought too, until we read the full story. According to reports from Down Under, a group of four men (two aged 19 and two aged 23) and their girlfriends pulled up on Sunday at the Smart Wash car wash in Biloela, Queensland, Australia. ...

REPORT: Court rejects rejected F1 team 23 days ago on Autoblog

Hell hath no fury like a racing team scorned. Among the dozen teams that lodged bids this year to join the F1 grid for 2010 was N.Technology. The racing outfit is known to some European fans as the squad that fielded race-prepped Alfas in various touring car series (pictured above), but its bid ...

REPORT: Chinese automaker SAIC accused of hybrid tech theft by SsangYong 23 days ago on Autoblog

In the beginning of the decade, before SsangYong got into really deep doo-doo, the Korean automaker began work on a hybrid control unit (HCU) with German engineering firm FEV. From 2004 to 2008, as the research continued, the South Korean government provided nearly half of the financial ...

REPORT: Germany wants GM's plan for Opel - and a billion dollars - "quickly" 24 days ago on Autoblog

General Motors' bouleversement on the sale of its Opel brand has caused the European head of Opel vacate his office, the head of Opel labor to gulp "a bottle of wine" to get over the shock, the German head of state to request "GM to present a reliable plan for Opel quickly," and Germany's ...

NHTSA to investigate 3 million 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee over gas tank fires? 24 days ago on Autoblog

The position of the plastic fuel tanks in 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees makes them potential fireballs, argues the Center for Auto Safety. The nonprofit organization says that the fuel tank's location makes the pre-2005 Grand Cherokees prone to catching on fire when involved in an accident. ...

REPORT: Australia to wage crushing war on 'monkey bikes' 24 days ago on Autoblog

Attention Australian mini bike riders: law enforcement is going all "iron fist" on your preferred method of transportation. The mini bikes, often referred to locally as "monkey bikes" are a big problem in South Australia, reportedly causing several deaths and numerous injuries. The bikes, which can ...

You Better Believe It: Christian license plate reportedly banned by U.S. District Court 25 days ago on Autoblog

Last year, the South Carolina state legislature approved a bill to establish a Christian-themed license plate depicting a cross in front of a stained-glass window and bearing the words "I Believe". The vote spurred public advocacy groups into action, decrying the move as a violation of the ...

Total Croc: Porsche suing popular shoe company over naming rights? 26 days ago on Autoblog

Porsche AG is known for vigorously defending its intellectual property. It's understandable, as the company has spent more than half a century building its performance-oriented automotive brand around design patents, logos, and the company's familiar vehicle nomenclature. Crocs, Inc., on the other ...

Next Page →






Autoblog Podcast #155: 'Twas the night before LA...

Chris, Dan, and Editor Paukert go over some LA Preview action and quietly whoop it up on the podcast.

 
 

Featured Galleries

  • Spy Shots: Baby Buick caught in Germany
  • 2011 Aston Martin Rapide
  • LA 2009: Allard J2X MkII
  • LA 2009: 2010 Spyker C8 Aileron Spyder
  • Cornell's SAE Baja buggy tour and test drive
  • 2010 Range Rover Sport Autobiography
  • 2010 Hyundai Tucson
  • LA 2009: 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Special Edition
  • LA 2009: 2011 Ford Mustang V6
  • LA 2009: 2010 Porsche Boxster Spyder
  • LA 2009: Scion xB Release Series 7.0
  • LA 2009: 2011 Ford Fiesta
AOL Autos

Find Your Next Car

Resources

10 Most Searched Cars on AOL Autos

Autoblog Video

Autoblog Green

Daily Finance

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Autoblog Spanish

Switched.com

FanHouse

Asylum