Articles by David Shepardson

Automakers Seek Changes to Federal Autonomous Vehicle Guidelines

President Donald Trump’s administration will unveil revised self-driving guidelines within the next few months, the head of the U.S. Transportation Department said on Monday, responding to automakers’ calls for regulations that will eliminate barriers and allow autonomous vehicles on the …

Toyota, BMW, Mazda, Subaru Settle Takata Airbag Economic Loss Claims

Four automakers agreed to a $553 million settlement to address class-action economic loss claims covering owners of nearly 16 million recalled vehicles with potentially defective Takata airbag inflators, court documents filed on Thursday showed. Toyota Motor Corp.’s share of the …

Apple, Tesla Want California to Toughen Proposed Self-Driving Car Test Rules

Apple Inc. urged California to toughen up its proposed policy on testing self-driving cars, a move that would result in more public data that could help Apple catch up to rivals in the self-driving space by giving it a better …

United Passenger’s Lawyers Preparing to Drag Airline Into Court

Lawyers for the passenger dragged from a United Airlines plane in Chicago filed an emergency request with an Illinois state court on Wednesday to require the carrier to preserve video recordings and other evidence related to the incident. Citing the …

Automakers Recalled Record 53 Million Vehicles in U.S. in 2016

Automakers recalled a record 53.2 million vehicles in 2016 in the United States after a massive expansion of the callback to replace Takata Corp. air bag inflators, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Friday. Under aggressive enforcement by the Obama …

Trump Administration Reviewing Obama’s Autonomous Vehicle Guidance

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said on Sunday she is reviewing self-driving vehicle guidance issued by the Obama administration and urged companies to explain the benefits of automated vehicles to a skeptical public. The guidelines, which were issued in September, …

Automakers Want Regulatory Road Cleared for Self-Driving Vehicles

General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. officials will tell a U.S. House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes to automotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads. “Without changes to those regulations, it …

U.S. Water Damage Class Action Settlement to Cost BMW $478 Million

German automaker BMW AG has agreed to pay up to $477.7 million to settle a class-action lawsuit covering about 318,000 U.S. luxury car owners who may have suffered water damage harming electrical components in vehicle trunks. According to settlement documents …

Takata Nears $1 Billion Settlement with U.S. Over Faulty Air Bags

Japan’s Takata Corp. is expected to plead guilty to criminal wrongdoing as early as Friday as part of a $1 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over its handling of air bag ruptures linked to 16 deaths worldwide, sources …

Volkswagen Agrees to $4.3 Billion U.S. Settlement Over Emissions Fraud

Volkswagen AG confirmed on Tuesday it has negotiated a $4.3 billion draft settlement with U.S. regulators to resolve its diesel emissions troubles and plans to plead guilty to criminal misconduct. The guilty plea is part of the civil and criminal …