News tagged with 'Automobiles and Other Vehicles'

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler unit announced yesterday that the company is recalling 500,000 minivans because of a misplaced part that may affect airbag deployment as well as cruise control and horn systems. The recall involves 1996-1998 model year Dodge Grand Caravan, Dodge Caravan, Plymouth Grand Voyager, Voyager an

Michelin settled a lawsuit Tuesday with the families of four people who died when their church van overturned due to a faulty tire. In a press release issued yesterday, consumer interest group Public Citizen accused the tire giant of settling the suit to avoid the release of incriminating documents concerning the safe

Automakers are expressing concern over the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) new regulation requiring car manufacturers to install enhanced airbags in a large percentage of 2004 models. The NHTSA is demanding the installation of the safety devices, known as "smart" airbags, because of their abil

General Motors Corp. (GM) announced a recall today of 280,000 Cadillac DeVilles due to faulty seat belts. According to the automaker, company officials recently discovered that pretensioners installed on model years 2000 through 2002 DeVilles functioned improperly. Pretensioners help seat belts decrease the forward m

In an effort to make tires safer for consumers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) plans to implement new regulations that will require tires to run at higher temperatures, for longer periods of time and at faster speeds. The new standards, which may take effect later this month, extend from th

Continental Tire North America announced Monday that it is recalling nearly 600,000 size P275/60R17 Contitrac AW and General Grabber AW tires because of problems involving tread separation. The tires were manufactured between March 1999 and October 2000 and have Department of Transportation date codes that range from

A Texas jury recently awarded $29 million to the family of a 35-year-old man who was killed in an accident involving a Bridgestone/Firestone tire defect. Terry Tripp died in September 2000 after the tread separated on the left rear tire of his Chevrolet Blazer. Jurors determined that Sears Roebuck, the company that s

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania police departments have filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company alleging that their Crown Victoria police cruisers are built with a defective gas tank prone to explosion upon rear impact. The suit is seeking class action status for all Pennsylvania police departments currently using

Plaintiffs involved in a lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler AG over defective seatbelt buckles received encouraging news last week when a Texas judge granted nationwide class-action status to the suit. According to plaintiff attorneys, the Gen 3 seatbelt buckle installed in 14 million DaimlerChrysler vehicles since 1993

Three public interest groups filed a lawsuit against the Department of Transportation (DOT) yesterday over the inadequacies of a new tire pressure checking system. In the wake of the Firestone Tire recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a rule requiring all vehicles built after Novem

The families of two Arizona police officers who died when their Crown Victoria cruisers were rear-ended and caught fire have settled their lawsuits with Ford Motor Company. Officer Juan Cruz was killed in December 1998 and Floyd Fink died in February 2000 when their vehicles were struck from behind at speeds in excess

A Florida man left paralyzed after a horrific traffic accident in 1995 was awarded $9 million by a jury last week in a faulty seatbelt case involving General Motors Corp. Carl Porritt, 37, was riding in the passenger seat of his friend's Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck when a drunk driver rear-ended the vehicle. Porritt

An Illinois Federal Appeals Court has denied class action certification of millions of product liability claims stemming from the recent Ford Explorer/Firestone tire fiasco. The appeals court said competing state laws and the countless reasons for tire failure would have made class action litigation "unmanageable." B

Less than a day after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a warning concerning the safety of 15-passenger vans, officials with consumer watchdog Public Citizen released a statement calling the alert ineffective. On Monday, the NHTSA reissued a cautionary warning to users of 15-passenger v

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating several possible defects with Ford Motor Company's 2000 and 2001 Focus. The NHTSA initiated their inspection after reports of possible airbag malfunctions in both models emerged. Sixteen Ford Focus owners have suffered second and third degree