GM recalls more than 3,000 trucks, SUVs for new ignition switch defect. USA Today (10/17, Gardner, 5.23M) reported online that General Motors announced Friday that it would be recalling “about 3,300 large pickup trucks and SUVs” due to newly discovered ignition switch defects. This comes but “a month after agreeing to pay $900 million to settle criminal charges” related to the earlier faulty switch problems. In this new case, some GM trucks “have ignition lock gears with an outer diameter that is larger than specifications, making them difficult to turn.” 

GM adds vehicles to Takata air bag recall.

USA Today (10/18, Snider, 5.23M) reports in continuing coverage on the addition of 395 General Motors vehicles to the Takata air bag defect recall. The problem, according to the NHTSA is that the air bags “may rupture when deployed, causing possible serious injury or death.”

        The AP (10/18, Krisher) reports that the global issue of “exploding Takata air bag inflators” has now “spread to newer vehicles, this time hitting a small number of 2015 General Motors cars and SUVs.” On Saturday, GM announced the recall of “more than 400 vehicles” due to potentially faulty side bag inflators that can “rupture and send shrapnel into drivers and passengers,” according to documents posted with NHTSA. As the AP points out, the Takata question “continues to widen with no end in sight.” NHTSA’s Gordon Trowbridge comments that “All Takata-made ammonium nitrate inflators are within the scope of our investigation,” adding that the agency “will take action” should it find “that additional recalls are necessary.”

        MLive (MI) (10/18, Al Hajal, 739K) reports that the number of recalled vehicles was “395 vehicles of six different models,” bringing the number of recalled vehicles with Takata airbags to “more than 19 million.”

        WIMS-AM South Shore, IN (10/17) also reported online. 

Medical malpractice rates “essentially flat” in 2015.

Medscape (10/7, Lowes, 232K) reports on a survey of medical malpractice rates by the Medical Liability Monitor finding that rates were “essentially flat” for 2015 in “three bellwether medical specialties” namely, obstetricians/gynecologists (up 0.6 percent), internists (up 0.5 percent), and general surgeons (down 0.2 percent). Rates fell in the Northeast, West, and Midwest, but were up 0.9 percent in southern states, with Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia having 5 percent increases. The report also found that 71 percent of rates were the same in 2015 as in 2014, 12 percent were lower, and 17 percent were increased. Decreases outnumbered increases in every year since 2006 until this year. 

NHTSA: Fiat Chrysler under-reported vehicular deaths.

The AP (9/30, Krisher) reports that the NHTSA on Tuesday said Fiat Chrysler failed to disclose “some deaths, injuries and other information to the agency as required by law.” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx “told reporters he will call a meeting in Washington with all auto industry CEOs to address a long list of failures to meet reporting requirements. In the past several years, the agency has fined Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, General Motors, Ford and others for failing to follow the law,” the article reports. “We need to have confidence the information we get is real and accurate information,” Foxx said. NHTSA “said its investigators found a discrepancy in reporting by Fiat Chrysler and notified the company in late July,” according to the article. “This represents a significant failure to meet a manufacturer’s safety responsibilities,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said. “We’re still trying to uncover how deep the under-reporting is and how far back it goes,” Foxx said.

        CNN Money (9/29, Isidore, Marsh, 2.15M) reports that the Fiat Chrysler’s failure to notify the NHTSA resulted in fatal accidents not getting the attention they needed. “The news is obviously troubling,” Secretary Foxx said, adding, “NHTSA is still trying to uncover how far back this goes.” The article points to the TREAD Act, which “requires car companies to notify NHTSA every three months of accidents that caused injuries or deaths” and of mechanical problems. “NHTSA will take appropriate action after gathering additional information on the scope and causes of this failure,” said Rosekind. Fiat Chrysler for its part said it “takes this issue extremely seriously, and will continue to cooperate with NHTSA to resolve this matter and ensure these issues do not reoccur.”

        The New York Times (9/29, Vlasic, Subscription Publication, 11.82M) reports that Secretary Foxx said Fiat Chrysler’s admission is “troubling,” and “said it underscored the need for a meeting with automakers to emphasize the importance of safety reporting rules.” Foxx said, “We’re giving strong consideration to calling everybody in.” He explained, “There are a number of issues on the table right now that merit discussion across many of the manufacturers at this point.” New penalties could be levied against the company after it admitted to under-reporting, which was “discovered in an internal review tied to the company’s recent $105 million settlement over its handling of recalls.”

        The Detroit News (9/29, Shepardson, 493K) reports that Secretary Foxx on Tuesday said that “It’s time to bring everybody in here and have a deeper conversation about go-forwards.” He added, “There are a number of issues on the table right now that probably merit discussion across many of the manufacturers. And one of them is, ‘Look folks, we have millions of people who rely on what you make every day to get from everywhere from work to putting their most precious cargo — their kids — in cars, and we need to have confidence that the information that we get is real and accurate.’” Foxx said, “We’ve fined heavily where we can. We’ve also added in on top of that consent agreements that give us greater authorities to peer behind the veil.” He has called on Congress to increase “maximum fines for failing to recall vehicles to a maximum $300 million from the current $35 million,” the article reports. Foxx said he has yet to invite automakers.

        The AP (9/29) reports that Foxx said, “We need to have confidence the information we get is real and accurate information.”

        The Hill (9/30, Laing, 471K) reports that in light of the recent “revelations that German automaker Volkswagen has been cheating Federal pollution emission standards to trick regulators into believing their cars are more fuel efficient than they actually are.” Foxx “said Tuesday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which made the allegations against Volkswagen, is taking the lead on punishing them for their violations, which VW has admitted,” the article reports. “Because it deals with emissions, the EPA is rightly in the lead on this,” he said, adding that the NHTSA is backing the EPA’s efforts. “We’re playing an assist role here and following the lead of the colleagues at the EPA,” Foxx continued.

        The story was also reported by the Wall Street Journal (9/29, Spector, Subscription Publication, 5.95M), USA Today (9/29, Bomey, 5.23M), USA Today (9/30, Jansen, 5.23M), the Rochester-Rochester Hills (MI) Patch (9/29, Dalbey), and Reuters (9/29, Morgan). 

VW scandal highlights long history of emissions cheating by car manufacturers. The AP (9/30, Biesecker, 344K) reports that Volkswagen is not the first car company to attempt to circumvent required emissions testing, noting that since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, “major manufacturers of cars, trucks and heavy equipment have been busted for using what regulators call ‘defeat devices.’” According to Donald Steadman, a chemistry professor at the University of Denver “who specializes in testing the real-world emissions of cars and trucks, the economics of the automotive industry could encourage carmakers to cheat the testing process.” Steadman contended, “Every car company has an incentive to do this,” noting, “Some of them get caught.” The AP notes that in past years GM, Ford, Honda, and Volkswagen again “have been forced to pay hefty fines and recall vehicles after getting caught using defeat devices.” 

NHTSA considers expanding Takata air bag recall.

Bloomberg News (9/28, Trudell, 2.66M) reports the NHTSA, which is “overseeing the replacement of Takata Corp. air bags is considering an order that would expand the recalls and has contacted seven manufacturers who could be affected.” The NHTSA said in letters dated September 22 said Takata “identified the seven as companies that it’s supplied with air bag inflators that use ammonium nitrate propellant.” 

VW facing growing outrage, mounting legal challenges following debacle.

In continuing coverage of the Volkswagen emissions debacle affecting more than 11 million vehicles worldwide, the AP (9/28, Krisher) reports on the increasing outrage against the auto manufacturer, saying that the company will need to pay more than the $7.3 billion it has set aside for the scandal. According to the AP, experts said that the company must find a balance between appeasing regulators, ensuring customer satisfaction and minimizing cash expenses. A cheap fix could antagonize customers further by reducing performance, while a better solution, that maintains performance, could cost as much as $20 billion.

        The AP (9/28) also reports on the significant legal problems likely to face Volkswagen, noting that state and federal officials are investigating questions regarding “Who knew about the deception, when did they know it and who directed it.” According to David M. Uhlmann, former chief of the Environmental Crimes Section at the Department of Justice, “the company and any individuals involved could face criminal charges under the Clean Air Act, and for conspiracy, fraud and false statements.” William Carter, a former general counsel of the California Environmental Protection Agency, said in a statement, “They’re facing a tsunami of possible state and federal enforcement actions, and a potential large number of violations — including administrative, civil and criminal.” Commenting on the investigative procedure, Gregory Linsin, a former environmental crimes prosecutor at the Justice Department, said, “If a software package such as this were intentionally designed to defeat the emissions testing, there may well be email traffic, meetings, records that would establish that intent.”

        USA Today (9/27, Phelan, 5.23M) reports that the act of premeditation separates the recent Volkswagen debacle from prior emissions scandals, noting, “Volkswagen set out to cheat emissions tests and sell cars that would damage human health and the environment.” In contrast, “other automakers seemed legitimately baffled and eager to address their crises.”

        Volkswagen’s use of software to meet emissions tests examined. The New York Times (9/27, Danny, Hakim, Kessler, Ewing, Subscription Publication, 11.82M) reports on Volkswagen’s use of software to beat emissions tests, offering a history of the situation and possible reasons for the effort including quoting one expert as saying that the company may have thought it could develop technology to meet emissions standards and the software was installed as a stopgap, but the hoped-for technical improvements failed to arrive.

        The Detroit Free Press (9/26, Phelan, 910K) reports that Volkswagen’s action is “worse than GM’s ignition switches, Toyota’s runaway cars or Ford-Firestone’s exploding tires” because the company “set out to cheat emissions tests and sell cars that would damage human health and the environment.”

        Reuters (9/27, Barkin) reports that it shows how closely the German government and automotive industry are, that while European officials had supposedly been aware of the difference between actual driving results and emissions tests, they had not investigated.

        The Detroit Free Press (9/26, Priddle, 910K) reports that the US consumer’s interest in diesels is likely to be weakened as a result.

        The San Diego Union-Tribune (9/26, McSwain, 542K) reports that owners of the relevant cars are looking for those responsible.

        EPA announces tough new emissions testing on diesel cars following Volkswagen scandal. Emissions testing will be conducted on “every model of diesel car on the road to see if other automakers programmed their cars to skirt the tests like the Volkswagen Group did,” as the EPA seeks to root out companies trying to cheat emissions testing, The Hill (9/25, Cama, 471K) reports. The EPA transportation director, Chris Grundler, stated on Friday, “We’re putting vehicle manufacturers on notice that our testing is now going to include additional evaluation and tests designed to look for potential defeat devices.”

        Reuters (9/26, Gardner, Morgan, Schectman) suggests the stricter rules could result in more expensive recalls for automakers.

        Also providing coverage were US News & World Report (9/25, Neuhauser, 811K), the Chicago (IL) Tribune (9/26, Harris, 2.46M), AFP (9/26), and MarketWatch (9/26, Beene, 901K).

        Justice Department: “Working closely with the EPA” on Volkswagen investigation. CNBC (9/25, Imbert, 1.79M) reported the Justice Department on Friday said in a statement that it “is working closely with the EPA in the investigation into” Volkswagen, asserting “We take these allegations, and their potential implications for public health and air pollution in the United States, very seriously.” CNN Money (9/25, Kottasova, 2.15M) discussed the likelihood of any VW employees will face prison time over the emissions fraud.

        Bloomberg News (9/25, Plungis, 2.66M) also reported.

        Pension fund sues Volkswagen over plummeting shares. Bloomberg News (9/25, Pearson, 2.66M) reported a Michigan pension fund is suing Volkswagen AG “In what may be the first investor suit over Volkswagen’s use of so-called defeat device software to pass smog tests” for allegedly “scheming to defraud U.S. investors who paid artificially inflated prices for the company’s foreign shares.”