Volkswagen Sued by Justice Department

Seal of the United States Department of Justice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seal of the United States Department of Justice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Volkswagen was sued by the Justice Department on Monday. Illegal software was found in almost 600,000 cars. This may mean the company will face billions in fines.

The complaint was filed on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency in U.S. District Court. It accuses the company of illegally installing software which would make its “clean diesel” engine pass emission standards. This software then turned off, thereby polluting the air.

Failure to certify cars, affects the public and competitors. The public faces the prospect of being penalized for having illegally installed emissions controls. Competitors have properly installed emissions control systems. Profits and sales are affected from unfair competition.

All measures will be taken to redress the violations by the U.S. Government.

Volkswagen is currently in the midst of a recall.

The company faces more than $18 billion in fines for violating the Clean Air Act.

Criminal charges are possible.

Many lawsuits are pending.

Investigations are ongoing.

Volkswagen executives attempted to blame some software developers in Germany for the faulty software. This is being investigated.

The illegal software has been installed in car models since 2009. In total 11 million cars were affected.

The accusation is that Volkswagen deliberately deceived its customers and emissions control authorities.

The cars lacked a “certificate of conformity” which is routinely issued by the EPA.

The cars polluted the air, produced nitrogen oxide, and particulate emissions.

From 16-94 deaths occurred due to the added pollution.

The EPA is attempting to reach an agreement on acceptable recall measures.

The case was filed in Michigan but is expected to move to Northern California.

Tax Exempt Charity Accused of Defrauding Donors

The District Attorney said a North Hollywood car donation charity is accused of deceiving donors regarding their legitimacy as a charity. They are facing a $3 million lawsuit. The suit was a consumer protection lawsuit about the amount of money actually allocated for charity.

An injunction is sought in addition to the damages.

The organization was not available for comment.

It was said that the organization spent the money on administrative costs, advertising, towing and car repairs. This is compared to their claim that 100% of the money was given to charities. It appears that the claims of the organization were false. This is the basis of the lawsuit.

Audits revealed that of $700,000 that the organization claimed it donated, only $185,000 was actually donated.

The organization also claimed that towing services were free and that repairs could be done at a low cost when in actuality charges were made for towing and there  was no staff available to do repairs.

In addition, the organization gave money for donated cars, making it an unlicensed used car business.

This is a violation of California law.

If you need a car accident lawyer call accidentlawyers-nevada.com at 877-722-9777

Source: LA Watts Weekly

A Mazda MPV minivan being donated to a charitable organization. The flatbed of the tow tuck is being brought back to a 90 degree position. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Auto Recalls May Break a Record

05/15/2014

There have been almost 20 million vehicle safety announcements this year.

Lawsuits and the ensuing publicity about auto safety have made auto makers more aware and willing to issue recalls.

GM recently recalled 2.7 million cars and trucks in the U.S. Eleven million cars and trucks were recalled in 2014. These involve Corvettes, Sivarados, Malibus, and Cadillacs.

GM and Toyota lead the companies recalling cars. Ford, Chrysler, Honda, and Nissan also have high numbers of recalls.

European companies such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz can be added to the recall list. BMW recalled 156,000 cars.

Car manufacturers are on their way to breaking the record for auto recalls of 30.8 million which was set in 2004.

Federal fines, lawsuits, and publicity are the penalty for the sale of defective vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is being urged to force auto makers to take fast action in the recall of vehicles.

Toyota, admittedly has installed deadly safety defects and has been issued a fine of $1.2 billion.

GM is being investigated regarding the recall of 2.6 million cars for ignition switch issues. They waited over ten years to issue the recall. Their fines could exceed $1 billion.

The auto industry is becoming more and more aware of the costs in penalties and publicity that slow recalls of defective vehicles is costing. Auto makers are making an effort to become more and more alert and responsive to their responsibilities as it regards recalls.

They are not the only ones becoming more alert and aware of this issue. Law firm after law firm has taken up the issue. They are delineating this issue with expert witnesses and resources.

Industry analysts expect the number of recalls to decrease in coming years as auto makers intensify their efforts to reduce fundamental defects in the automobiles they manufacture in addition to responding more quickly with auto recalls.

NHTSA’s 2006 budget distribution NHTSA. “NHTSA Budget Overview FY 2006” (PDF). pp. 4 . . Retrieved 2007-06-19 . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you need a car accident lawyer call accidentlawyers-nevada.com at 877-722-9777

Source: LA Times

Jim Rogers, Philanthroper and Lover of Cars

06/15/2014

Jim Rogers asked John Katsilometes at a social affair recently about a 1967 El Camino that John’s Uncle James once owned. John replied that he had sold it seven months ago at 413,000 miles. The car was white. James worked for Mr. Rogers at one point in time. He frequently drove Mr. Rogers around in that car.

Rogers was a wealthy man. He had an estate in Indian Hills. He passed away last Saturday night. He founded the Intermountain West Communications. He served as chancellor of the state Board of Regents for a time. He donated part of his salary back to the university system. He was an advocate of the educational system. He donated millions of dollars to universities.

James Katsilometes was Rogers one time mechanic and property manager at his Indian Hills estate. Rogers had 200 automobiles in his collection. The car collection was his passion. At seven, he said he knew every make, model and year of every car on the road. When he was fourteen, his father bought him his first car. It was a 1940 Ford two door sedan. That started his Sunbelt collection. Included in the collection are a 1926 REO bus, a 1931 Cadillac 452A V-16 convertible, a 1951 Mercury Convertible, a 1953 Buick Skylark, a 1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta, a 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air and  a 1972 Rolls Royce Corniche convertible. The reader may not recognize many of these cars but this particular group is a select group of vintage vehicles that are exclusive and very difficult to find. The Sunbelt Museum continues to operate close to Channel 3 studios which Rogers owns.

Last January he made a surprise offer to sell fourteen of the automobiles.

It’s guessed that the collection is worth between $5-6 million.

When asked which car he would like to just take for a spin, he answered that he would choose the 1940 Ford but would like to take a ride in the 1967 El Camino again.

1982 Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Corvette Wins at Sebring

04/15/2015

Corvette won the Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at the GT Le Mans  race Saturday. Mechanical issues plagued Porsche during the final hour of the race.

Corvette has had nine wins at Sebring since 2002.

Porsche was expected to win before it was met with mechanical difficulties.

The left rear lug nut had to be repaired at a pit stop for the No. 912 entry. A repair was necessary for the left rear upright that caused a pit stop.

No. 911 then took the lead but later had a transmission issue.

A No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 took second place. The No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR followed that.

With 15 minutes left, No.23 Team Seattle Porsche 911 took a 10th class win.

Farnbacher gave the lead to the No. 33 TI Automotive/Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R. Farnbacher was back in the lead when Bleekemolen had engine temperature issues in the last five minutes and had to make a pit stop.

No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage finished second. The No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia finished third.

The second placed (#17; Ludwig/Stuck/Bell) and sixth placed (#19; Andretti/Andretti/Andretti) Shell-liveried Porsche 962C cars entered for the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Photographed at the 2007 Silverstone Classic meeting, Silverstone Circuit, UK. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you need a car accident lawyer call accidentattorneys-nevada at 877-722-9777

Source: carstories.com