Senate

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday invalidated Obama-era guidance aimed at preventing auto lenders from charging borrowers higher rates based on factors such as race or national origin. The Senate voted 51 to 47 to disapprove the guidance, which was issued in 2013 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and regarded by critics as an overstep of the agency's powers.

Details will be coming out today.

A bid to force manufacturers to make cars and other devices more secure.

US Senator John Thune wants some answers from Tesla CEO Elon Musk about that fancy Autopilot thing.

Self-driving car executives and Congressional leaders alike warned this week that the lack of a cohesive national policy toward autonomous vehicles would hinder their development. But that wasn't their only concern.

Provisions in House and Senate transportation bills would benefit CNG-powered vehicles. It isn't clear which, if any, of them will make it to the final legislation.

Senators Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar are requesting that the Department of Justice pursue civil and criminal charges against VW for its emissions evasions. They don't want the agency to accept any kind of plea deal from the automaker.

The Senate and House are moving toward a showdown over a must-pass transportation bill this week. Highway aid payments to states could stop.

A group of 36 Senators are pushing for the Environmental Protection Agency to increase the proposed volume of biodiesel under the revised Renewable Fuel Standard.

The Senate Commerce Committee accepted some amendments to improve auto safety in the new transportation bill, but several wider reaching ones failed. Among them, auto execs aren't going to face criminal punishments for safety lapses, and used car dealers don't need to fix recalls before selling a vehicle.

An amendment to a bill in the Senate would force rental car companies to repair recalled vehicles before handing over the keys to customers.

Despite government urging, Takata says that it has no plans to create a compensation fund for those harmed by the company's faulty airbag inflators. US Senator Richard Blumenthal plans to keep pressing the issue, though.

Senator David Vitter of Louisiana - home of Elio Motors - would create a new category for NHTSA and the EPA that would regulate three-wheeled vehicles that are neither car nor motorcycle.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee gave its full support to a bill that would encourage whistleblowers in the auto industry. Under the legislation someone that speaks out could get 30 percent of any federal fines against automakers for safety lapses.

The Autodromo Nazionale Monza has been a mainstay of Formula One since its inception, but if it doesn't get the funding it needs, it could find itself in serious trouble - and lose the Italian Grand Prix in the process.

Drivers in the US might be stuck with quite a wait to get their vehicles repaired under the Takata airbag inflator recall. As things stand now, the Japanese supplier could need as long as two years to produce enough replacement parts to service every affected model in America. If the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is successful in Chris Bruce

Amid two of the greatest safety crises in automotive history, the federal agency charged with protecting American motorists may finally have a new leader.

With the Takata airbag debacle still yet to be resolved, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found itself in hot water again. Parties both from within and from without the agency's ranks are asking hard questions about NHTSA's handling of the widespread recall, and now the agency's leadership will have to answer some of those hard questions.

Tesla Motors has been fighting to sell cars in many states, but has come up against laws prohibiting the electric automaker to exercise its direct-to-consumer business model. Such has been the case in Pennsylvania. Recently, though, Tesla worked out a deal with the Pennsylvania senate to appro