automotive

The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, has introduced a bill to expand the authority of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall unsafe vehicles and increase automotive safety funding. The bill S.2559 was proposed due to the number of recent recalls and vehicle safety concerns.

Ford has issued six separate recalls that affect 100,610 vehicles in North America after finding safety issues through internal tests and warranty claims. The company has stated there have been no injuries, accidents or fires reported from any of these defects.

Imagine for a moment that you are trying out a brand new car: you slide into one of the ergonomic seats, start the engine and, to make things perfect, would like to listen to some music. However when you switch this on, you suddenly notice interesting side effects. The light comes on in the passenger compartment, for example. Or the radio starts whistling and whimpering.

A recall of an approximate 3 million vehicles by Honda Motor Co and other Japanese auto manufacturers was prompted due to the possible explosion of air bags supplied by Takata Corporation. This recall is part of numerous recalls over the past five years that have affected close to 10.5 million vehicles.