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REPORT: Chinese automaker SAIC accused of hybrid tech theft by SsangYong

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 resources for the development of the technology. In 2005, as Ssangyong's stumbles began, Chinese automaker SAIC took a majority stake in the Korean company. A year later, in 2006, SAIC saw the success SsangYong was having with the HCU and allegedly ... Read more →

REPORT: Utah DoT admits higher speed limits has worked out to less speeding Jonathon Ramsey

When the Utah DOT raised the speed limit on two pieces of I-15 from 75 mph to 80 mph, it discovered that driving habits didn't change. When the limit was 75 mph, the Utah DoT found that drivers ...

REPORT: Jeep Wrangler safe from CARB "Cool Cars" proposal Jonathon Ramsey

Remember California's "Cool Cars" regulation? Coming into force in 2012, the rule requires manufacturers to install windows that prevent 45% of the sun's energy from entering a vehicle by 2014, ...

REPORT: NY cracking down on cabbies using cell phones - only took 10 years Michael Harley

It's hard to believe, but cab drivers in New York City are prohibited by law from talking on cell phones, with or without headsets. That doesn't seem to stop them, says the city's Taxi and ...

Aim Higher: GM Daewoo reportedly suing TagAZ over fears they are planning to copy the Lacetti Jonathon Ramsey

In what looks like a serious-but-probably-the-norm case of industrial espionage, General Motors' South Korean Daewoo division is reportedly alleging that the Russian automaker TagAZ has tried to ...

Obama administration slaps hefty import tariffs on Chinese-made tires 2 months ago on Autoblog

The aggrieved parties are: the United Steelworkers and the U.S. government on one side, Chinese tire companies and the Chinese government on the other. The issues are, as always, jobs and money. The Steelworkers brought a case against Chinese tire companies for dumping tires on the U.S. market ...

REPORT: Auctioneer Dean Kruse in deep financial/legal doo-doo 2 months ago on Autoblog

Kruse International, the four-decade-old, Indiana-based auction house that's moved cars like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, is having a rough time of it. According to the Journal Gazette, lawsuits and actions have been brought against it by states, buyers and sellers – just about every entity an ...

REPORT: 'Old' Chrysler defaulting on loan obligations 2 months ago on Autoblog

Before there was a Motors Liquidation Co, post-bankruptcy GM's hived-off shelter for useless assets, there was Old Carco LLC. That's the company Chrysler built to house its useless assets, and unsurprisingly, it doesn't have good news for unsecured creditors. Old Carco was left with liabilities ...

Papa John's Camaro reward situation turns salty, ex-owners looking for bigger slice of the pie 3 months ago on Autoblog

File this under "No Cool, Wacky Deed Shall Go Unlitigated." John Schnatter, Papa John of Papa John's Pizza, put out a $250,000 A.P.B. to find his long lost 1971 1/2 Camaro Z28. According to the folks at Papa John, the person who won the money was the one whose name was on the title of the car ...

REPORT: U.S. psyched as China decides to cut auto part tariffs 3 months ago on Autoblog

China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, at which point it was given five years to adjust to the rules of open trade before any complaints were lodged against it. On schedule, in 2006, the complaints began, lodged by the U.S., Europe, and Canada. In one example of open trade ...

REPORT: GM gets out from under its polluted sites scot-free 3 months ago on Autoblog

Among those clamoring for attention and payouts from Motors Liquidation Co., the company that assumed General Motors' unwanted assets after its Chapter 11 filing, are the environmental and economic redevelopment departments of state governments. According to reports, when GM exited bankruptcy, ...

REPORT: New GM entitled to $16 billion in federal tax breaks courtesy of Old GM 4 months ago on Autoblog

Due to what appears to be a slight (additional) bending of the rules, the "new," post-bankruptcy General Motors has been allowed to carry the $16 billion net operating loss that was created by the "old" GM. That means that New GM will not have to pay taxes on its profits for a while, because the ...

Senators mulling a nationwide ban on texting while driving 4 months ago on Autoblog

Last time we checked in with the issue of texting while driving, the NHTSA practically claimed it was gagged by Congress. Fast forward a week -- after the New York Times report and the results of a Virginia Tech study -- and now a group of Democratic senators is proposing a nationwide ban on ...

REPORT: NHTSA withheld results of studies on cell phone use while driving because of Congress 4 months ago on Autoblog

As always, it ain't the crime, it's the cover-up. In what looks to be Congress protecting its turf, a planned study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on driver distraction – specifically, drivers using cell phones – was put on hold. The reason, according to The New ...

NHTSA: Drunk driving is down, but 16.3% of nighttime drivers are on drugs 4 months ago on Autoblog

Recently, the U.K. began to consider a law that would address drivers under the influence of drugs, and was looking at using a device that would act like a breathalyzer for narcotics instead of alcohol. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration might want to make the same recommendation ...

Neff (allegedly) uses Buick, rope to drag bull; police and motorists irate 4 months ago on Autoblog

We occasionally decry some of the daffy laws that are still on the books, and then things like this happen and we're reminded that we need some of them. Two men in King County, Washington allegedly tied a live bull to a Buick's door frame and were spotted dragging it down the road to another ...

New GM will take on future product liability claims, but not the current ones, against Old GM 5 months ago on Autoblog

A consumer group representing people who currently have product liability claims against GM and Chrysler looks like it won't be getting much, if any, restitution. When GM went into bankruptcy, it still planned to deny any liability claims -- ones that came up today, for instance -- when the new GM ...

GM worried about Magna deal for Opel, sign backup deal with RHJ, Beijing Automotive 5 months ago on Autoblog

When it came to buying Opel, Fiat's Sergio Marchionne told GM and the German government: "If you have a better offer, take it." They both took Magna, along with its Russian partners Sberbank and GAZ, because that consortium offered a better competitive arrangement and fewer job cuts in Germany. The ...

Comcast pulls ad criticizing GM, Chrysler to review claims 5 months ago on Autoblog

A group called the Ad Hoc Committee of Consumer Victims of GM and Chrysler put together a commercial to run on Comcast throughout the weekend. The group numbers 460 people, 300 of whom are plaintiffs against GM, the rest against Chrysler, all of whom claim catastrophic injuries or the deaths of ...

That didn't take long, either: FIA reportedly drops lawsuit against FOTA, wants to talk 5 months ago on Autoblog

Take a poll anywhere outside of Max Mosley's or Bernie Ecclestone's motor homes and you'll probably find a preponderance of F1 fans rooting for the Formula One Teams Association. When the FOTA announced a breakaway series for 2010, it took just about 12 hours for the FIA to uncork its laywers. Just ...

New Jersey bill aims to ban driver's use of GPS while driving 5 months ago on Autoblog

It is already illegal to manually use a cell phone for texting or calling while driving in New Jersey. A state legislator has aimed at the next in-car distraction: GPS devices. Democratic Assemblyman Harvey Smith wants a ban on manually programming GPS devices while driving. You would need to ...

That didn't take long: FIA sues the FOTA over breakaway series 5 months ago on Autoblog

Barely a half a day has passed since the FOTA announced it start a breakaway championship, and as predicted, the FIA has announced it's suing the rebel teams. The FIA's sternest words were aimed at Ferrari, saying "The actions of FOTA as a whole, and Ferrari in particular, amount to serious ...

Ironic Twist: Renault reportedly banned from selling in China over "serious safety risks" 5 months ago on Autoblog

The Renault Laguna, Scenic, Megane and Megane Coupe-Cabriolet were designed by Renault, built by Renault factories in France, and have all earned five stars in European NCAP tests. They have also all been banned by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine for ...

Fiat to Chrysler: "We won't walk away" 5 months ago on Autoblog

In spite of pleas from the White House and the Justice Department, the Supreme Court yesterday put a hold on Chrysler's sale to Fiat. On one side are Indiana pension funds who want to protect their investment. On the other side are Chrysler and Fiat, who want to protect Chrysler's very existence, ...

It's a Shame: Songwriter Evan Dando reportedly suing GM over music copyright [w/VIDEO] 5 months ago on Autoblog

Bankruptcy is often not a clear-the-books-and-start-over process, but a continuation of one's troubles with people still piling on top of a business on its knees. Evan Dando, founder of alt-rock band The Lemonheads, is the latest to throw himself onto the GM scrum. The songwriter is suing General ...

Dealer Bailout: Chrysler to redistribute all new inventory 5 months ago on Autoblog

After the suggestion of Congressional hearings on the matter, Chrysler's Jim Press assured Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) that Chrysler dealers with leftover inventory after June 9 would "receive a fair and equitable value." It appears that Chrysler is making good on that promise. The ...

Chrysler bankruptcy taken to Supreme Court by unhappy shareholders 5 months ago on Autoblog

As the movie Hoosiers amply demonstrated, Indiana natives don't quit. That's also true for three Indiana state pension funds who have fought Chrysler's bankruptcy all the way to the federal appeals court in New York and, having lost their case there, are filing papers with the Supreme Court today. ...

FOLLOWUP: Chrysler, Fiat reportedly agree to honor lemon law claims 6 months ago on Autoblog

On a recent episode of The Chrysler Files, customers who purchased Chrysler vehicles that were later officially certified as lemons were being reimbursed by the company with checks... that bounced. The snafu stemmed from the fact that while said claims were made before Chrysler's bankruptcy, after ...

REPORT: Slighted dealers line up to criticize Chrysler tactics 6 months ago on Autoblog

A story in the New York Times shines a light on some reasons for the Committee of Chrysler Affected Dealers to challenge the car company's bankruptcy efforts. The element common to all of the dealers profiled is that they did extraordinary things Chrysler asked them to do, such as buy too many cars ...

Warren mayor wants requirement for all municipal works to 'Buy American' 6 months ago on Autoblog

Calling it "economic and consumer patriotism," the mayor of Warren, Michigan wants to make it compulsory for city officials to buy American cars. Jim Fouts says that 15% of his fiscal budget depends on the auto industry, and the city's two most lucrative tax payers are General Motors and Chrysler. ...

REPORT: Chrysler affidavits reveal crippling problems that hurt chances for success post-bankruptcy 6 months ago on Autoblog

History could eventually reveal that Chrysler declaring bankruptcy may have just been the easy part. According to CNN, affidavits taken from Chrysler engineers and executives do a pretty good job of showing that things will get really tough when it's time for the automaker to start making cars ...

Chrysler bankruptcy lawyers reportedly ask to be paid up-front 6 months ago on Autoblog

Attorneys from Jones Day law firm representing Chrysler during bankruptcy have taken the unusual step of asking the judge to "give their fees special priority." Two reasons have been hypothesized for the move: the lawyers don't think there will be any money for trade debts from the leftover pieces ...

UK looks to implement roadside drug testing 6 months ago on Autoblog

According to the UK Telegraph, Britain's government is no longer willing to let those who have illegal drugs in their system slip through any more checkpoints. It has let the Department of Transportation know that it is looking at creating a new law that would ensnare anyone with illegal drugs in ...

Chrysler's dissident lender group withdraws objections 6 months ago on Autoblog

There was a minority group of some 20 Chrysler lenders that were fighting the repayment arrangements Chrysler was trying to make before Chrysler declared bankruptcy. Led by Oppenheimer and Stairway Capital, they were owed $2.9 billion and didn't feel they were getting all they could. After Chrysler ...

ACLU throws its weight around in... battle for Colorado vanity plates? 7 months ago on Autoblog

If you LVTOFU, the ACLU might go to bat for your right to let the world know you love tofu. A Colorado woman was recently turned down by the state's DMV when she wanted a plate reading "ILVTOFU." The Department of Revenue said the letters "FU" are a banned combination, and cited a statute that ...

Auto Espionage: Koenigsegg dealer caught spying on competing Ferrari dealer 7 months ago on Autoblog

It's a story that's befitting of a James Bond plotline. Possibly disgruntled after being let go by Ferrari-Maserati of Fort Lauderdale-Long Island, former employees Giacomo Ciaccia, Leka Vuksanaj, and Michael Lussos started up a firm of their own called Universal Autosports, LLC. Still dealing ...

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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.

 
 

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