Chrysler rejects NHTSA's request for recall of 2.7 million Jeeps

Chrysler Group said today it does not intend to honor a request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall as many as 2.7 million Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty SUVs. NHTSA said a recall is needed to address safety problems with the vehicles' fuel systems.

Chrysler said it had received a letter Monday from NHTSA proposing a recall of 1993-2004 Grand Cherokee and 2002-2007 Liberty vehicles, which the agency says have defective fuel systems that pose an unreasonable risk to safety in rear-impact collisions.

The automaker said in a statement that it has been sharing data on the issue with NHTSA since September 2010.

"The company does not agree with NHTSA's conclusions and does not intend to recall the vehicles cited in the investigation. The subject vehicles are safe and are not defective," Chrysler said in the statement.

"We believe NHTSA's initial conclusions are based on an incomplete analysis of the underlying data, and we are committed to continue working with the agency to resolve this disagreement," the statement said.

In a related document, Chrysler argued that its analysis showed fire incidents involving the named vehicles occurred "less than one time for every million years of vehicle operation."

But in the letter to Chrysler, dated Monday, NHTSA said its investigation "revealed numerous fire-related deaths and injuries," and the agency's defect investigation office believes that the vehicles "contain defects related to motor vehicle safety."

The government's top auto safety official reiterated concerns about the Jeep vehicles in a statement issued late Tuesday.

"Our data shows that these vehicles may contain a defect that presents an unreasonable risk to safety, which is why we took the next step of writing Chrysler," NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said in a statement. "The driving public should know that NHTSA is actively investigating this issue and is requesting that Chrysler initiate a safety recall and notify all affected owners of the defect. NHTSA hopes that Chrysler will reconsider its position and take action to protect its customers and the driving public.”

Rare denial

It is rare for an automaker to deny a request from NHTSA for a recall, said Allan Kam, a former senior enforcement attorney at the agency.

The main reason is that NHTSA has the authority to order an automaker to recall their cars. Usually, if a car company initially refuses to recall its cars, the company will later settle with NHTSA to minimize costs and unfavorable publicity.

"Even if they believe in their hearts that a safety-related defect does not exist, a manufacturer will not get involved in a public controversy with the agency over 70,000 vehicles," Kam said. "When you're talking about millions of vehicles, and hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, those are the rare occasions where a manufacturer digs in their heels."

By refusing to recall the vehicles, Chrysler will avoid those costs for the time being, and avoid giving legal ammunition to Jeep owners who are suing over accidents in which their vehicles caught fire. To go along with NHTSA's request, Chrysler would need to send Jeep owners a letter saying their cars have a safety-related defect. Chrysler has insisted, including in today's white paper, that they do not have a defect.

"I think a jury would give such a letter a lot of weight," Kam said.

Push for recall

An influential safety advocate has been pushing for the recall.

Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Automotive Safety, wrote a letter to NHTSA director David Strickland in May 2012 to alert him to the high number of most harmful event, or MHE, rear impact fire crashes reported in 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees.

Ditlow said testing by the Federal Highway Administration and the Center show that the Grand Cherokee suffered catastrophic fuel system failures at energy levels far below NHTSA standards.

Ditlow urged NHTSA to order a mandatory safety recall if Chrysler refused to voluntarily recall the vehicle.

When reached for comment today, Ditlow accused Chrysler of putting profits before safety.

"When you get right down to it, the U.S. government bailed out Chrysler. Chrysler's since paid the money back, but there would be no Chrysler but for the U.S. government," he said. "The way I look at it is, Chrysler owes the American public a recall."



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Toyota recalls 250,000 hybrids, 86,500 in U.S

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling 242,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide, including 86,500 Toyota Prius and Lexus HS 250h hybrids in the United States, to fix a braking glitch.

The problem affects only model year 2010 Prius and HS 250h vehicles. Those cars are equipped with a brake pressure accumulator that may develop a fatigue crack due to vibration, Toyota said in a statement today.

No accidents or injuries have been linked to the problem in any market worldwide, spokesman Dion Corbett said.

The Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid, accounts for about 233,000 units of the global recall. The HS comes in at 9,000.

The recall targets only Prius models manufactured from March-October 2009 -- that car is the current third-generation Prius. The suspect HS hybrids were made from June-October 2009.

Cars produced after October 2009 were not affected because Toyota began using a different part then, timed with the October start of production of the Toyota Sai, Corbett said. The Sai is a Toyota-badged version of the Lexus HS that is sold in Japan.

Toyota received its first report of the problem in May 2010.

In the United States, about 81,500 Prius and 5,000 HS sedans are being recalled, Corbett said. Dealers will inspect the brake booster pump. If it has a potentially defective accumulator, the dealer will replace it at no cost to the owner.

In other markets: Toyota recalled 30,000 Prius and HS hybrids in Europe as part of the action and 117,000 in Japan.

The recall is the biggest targeting the Prius since November. At that time, Toyota called back 670,000 of the second-generation Prius in the United States to fix a possible water pump problem and steering defect, as part of a global action.



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new trends in auto insurance

Car insurance companies are constantly changing their rates and insurance plans in order to offer the best options available. Keeping up with these new plans and trends can be exhausting and is nearly impossible; however, some of these new trends can be quite rewarding and can save you money on car insurance. Here is a look at some of the leading insurance plans that are fairly new but quite unknown to the general public.


There is a fairly new insurance plan in which few people know about but is quite interesting. Imagine having the ability to pay for car insurance based on how many miles you drive per year. This could be beneficial for people who drive few miles compared to other people. For those who drive lots of miles, this is not something to get excited about.

For those who do drive few miles, this may be something that you want to get more information on. The pay-as-you-drive insurance trend is popular because it does not check normal things that affect your insurance score such as driving history. The pay-as-you-drive plan is also only for newer cars that are equipped with OnStar. Insurance companies keep track of the mileage that your vehicle has and your driving habits. By monitoring your driving habits using telematics technology such as OnStar tracking, insurance companies determine whether you can pay less for your insurance.
This pay-as-you-drive insurance plan is very detailed and depending on the insurance companies, different aspects of your driving habits are measured and monitored. For example, the Progressive and Allstate insurance companies take detailed driving patterns to determine how much you have to pay. They examine you braking and acceleration patterns to see if you are more likely to get into fender benders. Those who have a tendency of accelerating a lot faster or constantly braking at high speeds will more than likely pay higher insurance rates. They also look at the time of the day that you are more likely to drive.


Those who drive late at night or early in the morning are expected to pay a little more for their insurance because driving at these hours means that you are more likely to be tired or fatigued. Even though there is less traffic at these hours, insurance companies consider the fact that falling asleep at the wheel is more dangerous than heavy traffic.Teenagers with new driver's licenses can benefit from this insurance plan if they know that they will be careful. Teenagers tend to pay higher prices with their insurance plans because they are more likely to have accidents. By joining in on the pay-as-you-drive plans, teenagers can prove that they are not part of the teenagers who drive with bad habits. By driving safely and not driving too late at night, teenagers can benefit from great prices. On the other hand, teenagers who drive with bad habits could end up paying very high prices. The pay-as-you-drive plan is dependent on your own driving habits and how safe you drive as an individual.


This new insurance trend seems great for those who drive well but it is not all it's made out to be even for good drivers. Some people do not agree to use this plan because of the reduced privacy. Insurance companies begin following your every move and can figure out exactly what time you are driving during the day and how dangerously you drive. Some people argue that insurance companies may use this information against them by eventually raising prices for bad drivers without notice. Although this plan seems very good for careful drivers, it reduces your amount of privacy and can be annoying for people who enjoy going for drives late at night. It is a good insurance trend for some drivers but for those who want more freedom with their vehicle, this may not be the best insurance plan available.

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BMW 6M

A grand tradition of timeless fascination: the BMW 6 Series Coupé and the BMW 6 Series Convertible are a unique combination of agile dynamics and exclusive elegance. The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé continues this philosophy in an intelligent and consistent way. With technologies from motor sport, stylish elegance and state-of-the-art equipment, the vehicles from BMW M GmbH – the BMW M6 Coupé, the BMW M6 Gran Coupé and the BMW M6 Convertible – all put on a stunning performance.

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How to Compare Car Insurance Quotes by the Internet

In order for you to be allowed to drive in most states, you'll ought to get a will contract. Since you'll don't have any alternative however to induce coverage for your automobile, you may in addition notice a automobile insurance company which will give you with each low-cost policies and adequate coverage. sadly, not all automobile insurance corporations will try this for you. this can be why it's a requirement for everybody to grasp the way to compare automobile insurance quotes. By knowing this, individuals can have an improved likelihood of finding a good deal once buying automobile insurance. There square measure many ways to match automobile insurance quotes. one in every of the best ways that is by victimization the net to your advantage.

Calling or visiting automobile insurance corporations and asking for details regarding their quotes can still be a decent approach. However, not everybody these days have the time to try to to this. as luck would have it, individuals will currently do all of this and a lot of through the net. Nowadays, nearly each automobile insurance company has its terribly own web site. create an inventory of native automobile insurance corporations and visit their websites. this can solely take some of minutes of it slow. Visit their websites one by one and check their quotes out. you'll ought to submit thusme info as you go on so check that that you just square measure ready before visiting these sites.

In addition to visiting the automobile insurance companies’ sites, you'll be able to additionally search on-line for reviews and feedbacks created for these corporations. this can provide you with an improved plan regarding however they treat their shoppers and if they're extremely as reliable as they claim they're. don't be in a very hurry once searching for vital components of their policies as this might result in a lot of issues within the future



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Search for used cars at a good price.

If you buy a used car on a regular basis, then you would be wise to go to the dealer that you know you can trust: All dealers are not credible. There are some who may try to sell the car at a very high price to sell vehicles and some try to distort history, there are some negatives you may encounter.

When you first start your habit to buy a used car in the area where you live, you may want to look at some things. You have to compare prices at different dealers vehicles on Kelly blue book value. When you do some research, you can also check the contents of the recording, as well as accidents. Compare what you read about the car that is for sale. If they lie to you, even once, you should try a different dealer.

Another thing is that the office is that they have a Garage where they maintained vehicles. If you have, then you need to find out whether there is any discount for those who purchase the equipment there. This can be a free examination or free oil changes for a number of years: It is always nice when companies offer benefits.

If you are planning to visit a dealer, you would be wise to learn about them. If you get to know them, chances are you will not get the benefit. You will have friends, good cars, and you should be loyal dealer you can trust, there are people who may not have any desire to get close, and if yes, then you can look the other agent pm

If you really want to make a habit of getting a good price for used cars, you need to think about more than price. As noted above, in honesty, comfort, convenience and dealers. Price is important, but for many years, but may be even more useful features.

When you find a dealer that sells used cars and we are confident that you can always get a good used car from them, you will never want to leave you another. Some people do not want that. They can go to a dealer and they can get the service in random locations throughout the year: The relationship is very important to have a reliable support for many years.

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How to buy used cars for private sellers to verify

If you look at the used cars, and plans to acquire a private seller, I know that there is no checking is done before you buy a car that way. This means that you will be on your own before making a decision. Learn some ways to make sure that the car you plan to buy a good condition.

The main way to see this, as well as test-drive the car. How do you run, you need to pay attention to how to deal with the road. Consider if there is a lot of road noise, or if it's quiet, and if the trip or rough or smooth. Think about it, how to respond to the Wheel, gas and brake pedals on your connection. Experiment with different vehicle speeds, so make sure that you have not heard strange noises when you go fast or slow, and heard a noise Squeak or as you press down on the brake pedal. If everything sounds good on the test drive, you need to look at how you come out of the car.

Used cars often scratches and chipped paint due to normal wear and tear. People, it is normal and should be expected, however, if you feel extreme and quite large, you should get a paint job, as soon as you buy the car. This can be costly, so make sure that you, the seller tried to reduce the price, the sale price can not be sure if dents or other signs of damage to the body of the car you need to look for rust, especially in hidden areas, such as at the bottom of the car. Then Check out the wheels and tires to make sure they can not be replaced immediately after purchase.

Finally, check on any used car you are looking at the interior. Be sure to not stained or torn, and that all seat belts continue to work. Be sure that the GLOVE box open and close properly, then check out all the buttons and the screen on the dashboard, and the car has been working to make sure they all work. This is very important, provided that the car, so you need to make sure that there are no problems, the seller may or may not be trying to hide even know.

If you find a problem, be sure that they are pointing to the seller. In many cases, sellers will reduce prices of used cars that you can not afford to fix it. They can also offer to pay for the repairs or to do their job to sell you a car Develop a deal that works well for both of you, so that you can get a result that is satisfactory.

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