Category: Blog

Trying to understand what happened, I looked up on Wikipedia the profile of NY Times Editor Dean Baquet.  Here’s what I found to my surprise:“In 2006, ABC News reported that Baquet had killed a story about NSA wiretaps of Americans.[14] Commenting on Baquet’s role in suppressing the NSA story, constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald said of Baquet “…Dean Baquet does have a really disturbing history of practicing this form of journalism that is incredibly subservient to the American national security state, and if his past record and his past actions and statements are anything to go by, I think it signals that the New York Times is going to continue to descend downward into this sort of journalism that is very neutered and far too close to the very political factions that it’s supposed to exercise oversight over.”[15]“  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Baquet

“An auto safety advocate is calling on the government to reopen an investigation of rear-crash fires in older Jeep SUVs after finding at least 11 more deaths since the vehicles were recalled.

The deaths show that the recall repair — installing a trailer hitch to protect gas tanks in low-speed crashes — hasn’t been effective, said Clarence Ditlow, head of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety.

He is calling on the government to investigate, saying the Jeeps are unsafe and a remedy should be developed that saves lives.

“As far as Fiat Chrysler is concerned, Jeeps can continue to crash and burn until they are all off the road,” Ditlow wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx dated Thursday.

It’s been almost three years since Fiat Chrysler, which makes Jeeps, began recalling 1.56 million SUVs with plastic gas tanks that are mounted behind the rear axle and can rupture in a crash, spilling gasoline.

Ditlow said he found a total of 19 fire deaths in older Jeeps in a fatal accident database maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Eleven were in Jeeps that had been recalled, with eight more in SUVs not included in the recall, he said.

The deaths since the June 2013 recall bring the number of people killed in fiery crashes involving the Jeeps to as many as 86. Before the recall, NHTSA counted 75 deaths. The recalled vehicles include 1993-1998 Grand Cherokees and 2002 to 2007 Libertys….  

The article continues and contains the information that 

“Fiat Chrysler has agreed to offer $1,000 above market value trade-in prices on a new vehicle to owners of 1993 to 1998 Grand Cherokees. Owners of both the recalled Liberty and Grand Cherokee SUVs would get $100 gift cards to have their vehicles repaired.”

See  http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/safety-advocate-asks-govt-reopen-jeep-fire-investigation-37055293

Safety leader Rosemary Shahan asks that we warn the safety community and provides information resources:“warn our friends and allies about this horrible anti-safety legislation, on the brink of passage in VA. It’s similar to legislation that Joan opposed in CA (her letter of opposition to the CA legislation is linked below), along with CARS and many other consumer / safety organizations.  Faced with burgeoning numbers of recalled cars, the dealers are seeking legislation in various states to insulate themselves from liability when they knowingly and deliberately sell consumers unsafe recalled used cars — without bothering to get them repaired first.  All they would have to do to comply with the new law is “disclose” that the car is being recalled. No matter how they advertised the car. Even if they claimed in their ads that the car had “passed a rigorous 125+ point inspection” and was “Quality Certified.” And charged EXTRA for it. Even if they claimed verbally that the car was perfectly safe — something their victims would find it hard to prove. And of course, it would be impossible for them to prove, if they are dead. For many decades, such inherently deceptive disclosures have been held to be illegal, in appellate court decisions regarding dealer’s fraudulent and misleading practices / unsafe vehicles. So far, auto safety advocates have succeeded in beating back these cynical attempts to undermine existing state law protections, defeating dealer-backed bills in NJ and CA.  But the dealers are close to winning in Virginia, where they have snookered legislators into voting for a bill that would shift liability from unscrupulous car dealers onto their victims. Now that we’re raising alarms about the bill, the dealers are claiming that legislators and the public shouldn’t worry about this anti-safety legislation, because, to quote the dealers: “the vast majority of recalls are for minor things.” Direct quote: Don Hall, president and CEO of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association, said ….His group requested these bills, which Del. Greg Habeeb and state Sen. Ryan McDougle – both attorneys – are carrying through theGeneral Assembly.

“It is a disclosure bill,” Hall said. “None of that changes liability at all.”  Hall also noted that the vast majority of recalls are for minor things.

Read more:

http://www.dailypress.com/news/politics/dp-nws-ga-automobile-recall-20160207-story.html The VA bills, HB 1232 and SB 709, are similar to bills the dealers backed in NJ and CA that consumer groups defeated last year. Here are letters of opposition to the CA legislation:James Sturdevant and Former NHTSA Administrator Joan ClaybrookConsumers for Auto Reliability and SafetyConsumers UnionNational Association of Consumer AdvocatesConsumer Federation of CaliforniaConsumer Attorneys of CaliforniaInternational Association of Machinists and Aerospace WorkersConsumer Action, CALPIRG, Housing and Economic Rights Advocates, Courage Campaign, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Consumer Watchdog

“In the months since it admitted it designed its diesel cars to cheat on tailpipe-emissions tests, the company has struggled with its messaging. A low point came last month when Matthias Müller, the new chief executive, visited the United States and told NPR, “We didn’t lie,” when VW clearly did. The outcry forced Mr. Müller to call NPR back and revise his statement.

The reaction to the scandal has been swift. A recent Harris Poll of Americans’ attitudes toward the 100 most visible companies ranked Volkswagen dead last.”

Matthew Avery, Thatcham’s director of research, said: “There is no longer any excuse for carmakers to launchnew cars without AEB as standard across the board and, along with dealerships, to promote and explain AEB more effectively to consumers.

“Not only will this reduce insurance premiums, but give peace of mind for motorists by significantly reducing crashes and associated injuries.”  See 

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/644503/Campaign-launched-to-improve-car-safety-for-just-40