2008 Vehicle Safety Press Articles

New York Times, "Faulty Ford cruise control switch blamed for 1,500 fires"

          After six recalls to correct problems with millions of Ford Motor Company cruise-control switches blamed for almost 1,500 fires, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration took an unusual step. In February, it issued a consumer advisory urging owners whose vehicles had not yet been fixed to have the switches disconnected immediately. More...

CNN, "Study links rollover deaths to weak roofs on cars"

          The insurance industry released a major study on Wednesday regarding rollover auto accidents. More than ten thousand people die each year in rollover crashes. The study, which was conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, concluded that many of these deaths could be prevented with stronger roofs on vehicles. Rollovers are violent accidents, and the institute says roofs that crush can too easily lead to needless deaths and injuries. The institute tested the roofs of sports utility vehicles to see how much pressure they could take before collapsing. Although the models looked the same afterward, the force it took to crush each one varied. More...

Portfolio Media (NY), "Mitsubishi Ordered To Pay $11M In SUV Death Case"

          A Florida state court jury ordered Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to pay $11 million to the parents of a 25-year-old man who died after being thrown through the window of a Mitsubishi sport utility vehicle in a 2004 crash. On Tuesday, the jury found that there was a design defect in the SUV and that the defect caused Scott Laliberte's death, according an attorney for the plaintiffs (Laliberte's parents). The jury award totaled $11 million in compensatory damages. More...

Palm Beach Post , "Mitsubishi must pay $11 million to family of man ejected from SUV"

In a products liability case watched across continents, a jury this afternoon ordered Mitsubishi Motors to pay nearly $11 million in damages to a Maine couple whose son died after being partially ejected from a Nativa SUV. More...

IV Press Online, "Two Young Persons Killed Yesterday by Yamaha Rhinos at Same Dunes"

          The names of victims involved in two separate fatal crashes that occurred within hours of each other at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area were released Monday. Yucaipa resident Stephanie Ann Katin, 26, was killed Saturday after being partially ejected from a rented Yamaha Rhino all-terrain vehicle that slid sideways down a 30-foot sand dune. More...

Detroit News, "Ford faces lengthy lawsuits"

Carmaker wins merger of cases in Texas over faulty switches, but it still has other court fights.

          Ford Motor Co. won a legal battle last week to merge 77 lawsuits filed in Texas over a series of fires linked to a faulty cruise control deactivation switch. But the Dearborn automaker still faces many other court fights stemming from a series of engine fires linked to a faulty switch in 10 million vehicles that Ford has recalled in seven campaigns since 1999. Combined, the campaigns represent one of the largest recalls in U.S. history. The $21 Texas Instruments switches were installed in 16 million Ford vehicles over a decade before the automaker stopped using them in 2002. The switches have been linked to nearly 550 vehicle fires and 1,500 complaints. And now Ford faces more than 125 lawsuits around the country. More...

Palm Beach Post, "Suit Blames Mitsubishi For Design Flaws In Rollover Crash"

          A Maine couple has gone to court against Mitsubishi Motors claiming the auto giant covered up design flaws that caused the death of their 25-year-old son. In the first day of what is expected to be a three-week trial, attorneys representing Donna and Peter Laliberte told a Palm Beach County jury that the auto manufacturer was well aware of defects with the seat belt and seat recliner in the Montero Sport. In fact, the plaintiffs charged that Mitsubishi took the unprecedented step of putting out a new version of the Montero Sport halfway through the 2000 model year to correct the flaws. More...

AP, "Auto Recalls Increase in 2007"

          Automakers recalled nearly 15 million vehicles for repairs at dealerships last year, the government reported Thursday, an increase of about 30 percent over 2006. Automakers issued 588 separate recalls involving 14.5 million vehicles in 2007, or about 30 percent more vehicles than the previous year, according to data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2006, the industry recalled 11.2 million vehicles as part of 490 individual recalls. More...