Autoblog

Major car rental companies agree not to rent or sell recalled vehicles

Sharon Silke Carty — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:20:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety

Bowing to pressure from consumers and advocacy groups, major car rental companies have agreed to end the practice of renting cars that have been recalled for safety problems.

Legislators are introducing a bill to the Senate that would keep recalled rental cars off the road. The bill has the backing of all four major rental companies - Enterprise, which owns National and Alamo, Hertz/Advantage, Avis/Budget and Dollar/Thrifty, according to a statement released by Sen. Barbara Boxer. Those companies comprise 93 percent of the rental car market, and Hertz was the only one of the four major car rental companies to initially pledge not to rent cars under recall.

The bill will be named after Raechel and Jacqueline Houck (above, right), two young California sisters who died in 2004 in a rented Chrysler PT Cruiser that had been previously recalled for problems with the steering column. The steering fluid was prone to leaking, leaving drivers unable to control their vehicles. Enterprise Rental hadn't fixed the problem before renting the car to the Houck sisters.

"I remain very hopeful and optimistic" that the legislation will pass, Cally Houck, Raechel and Jacqueline's mother tells Autoblog. Houck has been pushing for the new legislation for the past few years. "But it's not done yet ... I remain a bit cynical, based on my history lobbying for this issue. But we do have a consensus of all the industry's major players."

Major car rental companies agree not to rent or sell recalled vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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3 of 4 major rental car outfits won't pledge not to rent or sell recalled vehicles

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:59:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety

In 2004, Raechel and Jackie Houck were killed when they were in a fiery accident in the 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser they had rented from Enterprise. The girls' mother, Cally Houck, sued Enterprise when it was discovered that their Chrysler was the subject of a recall to repair a power steering hose leak over a potential fire issue, yet the car hadn't been reparied before it was rented. The five-year trial concluded in 2010, with Enterprise admitting negligence, at which point it was ordered by a jury to pay $15 million in damages.

That hasn't stopped Cally Houck from campaigning. There is no law that requires rental car companies to repair recalled cars before they are rented or sold; companies have their own policies about how recalls are handled, but as one Enterprise manager testified during the Houck trial, getting cars repaired is balanced with getting cars rented. A report in the The Detroit News offered conflicting data about how quickly cars are repaired, but the real issue is that even if, as Enterprise says, "90 percent of recalled vehicles have completed or required inspections within 30 days," those cars might still be in the rental pool during those thirty days.

Senators Barbara Boxer (D) and Charles Schumer (D) are working to change that, having introduced rental car legislation last July called the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act, but nothing has come of it yet. Rental car companies were asked to sign a pledge not to rent or sell vehicles that hadn't been repaired, but only Hertz signed; neither Enterprise (which owns Enterprise, National and Alamo) nor Dollar/Thrifty would sign, with Enterprise writing its own letter saying that it wouldn't do so and Dollar/Thrifty saying it would fix cars "as soon as practically possible." Boxer has made it clear that she will continue pushing for federal legislation.

3 of 4 major rental car outfits won't pledge not to rent or sell recalled vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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14 female U.S. senators call on Saudi Arabia to lift female driving ban

Noah Joseph — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:01:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Middle East

The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia is a tenuous one. For better or worse, it usually involves the American government siding with the Saudi royal family - arguably at the expense of the people over which the latter rule. But this time, the roles have changed, with U.S. lawmakers taking up a cause championed by social activists on the street (quite literally) against the nation's historically conservative government and social mores.

The issue, as you may have been following recently, comes down to the right of Saudi women to drive in the Arabian kingdom. The fairer sex is banned from driving under the Wahhabi Islamic laws instituted in Saudi Arabia, prompting some women to call for change, risking imprisonment (or worse) for defying the edicts of the ruling family.

According to Bloomberg, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been gently pushing the Saudi government to lift the ban, and has now been joined by a group of fourteen female American senators in supporting Saudi Women for Driving and their cause. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) is leading the charge from her position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, calling for women's rights to be honored in a U.S. ally that has proven nothing if not resistant to change.

14 female U.S. senators call on Saudi Arabia to lift female driving ban originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bill proposed to keep NHTSA employees from getting automaker jobs for three years

Chris Shunk — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:31:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety

Toyota's very public recall problems have cast light on what critics suggest is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's sometimes cozy relationship with automakers. A new report in The Detroit News shows that new legislation is being proposed that aims to curb workers transitioning between the government agency and the automakers which NHTSA oversees. On Wednesday, Senator Barbara Boxer of California (above) introduced legislation that would increase the amount of time NHTSA employees would have to wait to work for an automaker to three years. The legislation, if passed, would reportedly only block NHTSA employees from working with OEMs in any capacity that included oral or written interaction with the government agency.

The Democrat senator called the movement of employees from NHTSA to OEMs a "revolving door," giving automakers "undue influence on agency decisions." Violators of the proposed requirements could face a fine of up to $55,000, while automakers could be fined $100,000 or more.

The legislation comes after news of some automakers hiring ex-NHTSA employees became public knowledge. In the case of Toyota's unintended acceleration recalls, it was discovered that two ex-NHTSA employees working at Toyota were directly involved with the administration's investigation into possible safety defects. Ex-NHTSA head Joan Claybrook said in a prepared statement delivered to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection that all three domestic automakers as well as Honda and Suzuki were among the automakers hiring workers from the government agency.

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Alex Wong/Getty]

Bill proposed to keep NHTSA employees from getting automaker jobs for three years originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Senate working to force EPA to grant California a waiver

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:02:00 EST

Senator Barbara Boxer said regarding the EPA's denial of California's waiver request: "Administrator Johnson's decision to deny the waiver was not supported by the facts, by the law, by the science, or by precedent. I will use every available tool to ensure that California and the nation are able to reduce the pollution that causes global warming. One of those tools is legislation that essentially overturns Mr. Johnson's actions."

The bill is in response to the discovery that the EPA's own documents that say that California has "compelling and extraordinary conditions" that would satisfy reasons for granting a waiver. In spite of those internal findings, Steven Johnson, EPA chief, denied the waiver, saying "it is my view that California does not have a need for these greenhouse gas standards to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions."

The internal EPA briefings also conclude that if the auto industry sued the EPA to overturn its new regulations, that the EPA would win. However, if California were to sue for its own standards, that California would win. So Boxer and seventeen senatorial colleagues (15 D, 2 R) have introduced a bill that would compel the EPA to grant the Golden State its wishes. And if California gets what it wants, then 18 states are in line right behind it to adhere to the higher standards.

[Source: Green Car Congress]

Senate working to force EPA to grant California a waiver originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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