Automotive Archive

Oh Crap! My Lamborghini Murcielago’s been Recalled!

May 25th, 2010. By AbiK

It’s one thing when your Toyota’s recalled. But when your Lamborghini finds itself on a little recall notice, well, this is serious business. At least that’s what my vicariously-living alter-ego—the one that thinks it actually owns a 2007-2008 Lamborghini Murcielago—tells me. After all, it’s just not every day that you hear of a car in the six-figure limited-production class being recalled. (Note, this baby goes for $350,000)

But alas, yes, it is so. As Fox News reported, there seems to be a little bit of a problem with the welds that hold the fuel pumps in place. They could fail under stress. The definition of “stress” would include driving at speeds that violate all local traffic laws within the continental US. And yes, there seems to be a correlation between owners of cars that are capable of going speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour and those very owners feeling the need to push the miles per hour over the 3-digit mark on the speedometer.

Oh, in case the potential outcome of such weld failure hasn’t occured to you yet, that would be a possible fuel leak. Leaking fuel can travel…right to an ignition source. Fuel + Ignition can = Fire. Not a good equation.

There haven’t been any reports yet of accident or injury and according the the Fox report, Lamborghini discovered the problem only during some testing, however the company will be replacing the fuel tanks on all affected Murcielago’s as a precaution. For free–not that the Lamborghini-driving set needs to worry about such minor details.

So, I’m thinking I’ll have my alter-ego call my boss and let him know that I may not be at work for a couple of days—you know, my Murcielago’s in the shop…

Tags: Lamborghini, Murcielago, Recall
Posted in Automotive | No Comments »

With where Cars are Heading, my Money’s Going in Funeral Homes

May 21st, 2010. By Hunter West

I love to drive—but I just may have to give it up and be done with it. Because I don’t like where the cars of the future are going. 

For that matter, I don’t like where they are now. 

A recent article in The New York Times focused on the cars of the future and what our dashboards are going to look like. Specifically, a demonstration by Cisco Systems showed how an LED dashboard display can be manipulated and customized much like the screen on your smart phone, iPad or laptop. 

In other words, if you don’t like the fuel gauge over HERE, you can drag and drop it over THERE. 

Same with the icons for the car’s web browser, the weather channel, the stocks channel, the news feed, the video screen, the keyboard and the GPS. 

Here’s the problem…  

It’s one thing to have the dashboard evolve from a collection of mechanical dials to integrated electronic bars, and graphs. This gee-whiz stuff has been happening since the 1980’s. 

The problem—and I’ll say it again—is all the interconnectivity that automotive manufacturers have, or are bringing into the car. 

Were cars to have the capacity to drive themselves, then I’d be all for it. Just like the cockpit of an airliner, where you can throw the multi-million-dollar jet on autopilot and play with your laptop while the plane overshoots the airport by an hour… 

Oh, wait a minute. That’s not so good, either. 

The point is, even if cars were to have the kind of sophistication that commercial jets have, Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Automobile, Automotive, Cars, Cisco, LED Dashboard, Smart Car
Posted in Accidents, Automotive, Defective Products | No Comments »

Lawyer to Discuss Defective Car Seats on FOX 11 Ten O’Clock News LA

May 19th, 2010. By AbiK

Given all the news over the past few months about sticking accelerator pedals, floor mat problems or defective brakes, it’s easy to see how an issue like defective car seats can get lost in the mix. And, in truth, you don’t hear about defective car seat stories too often in the news. Sadly though, it appears to be a growing problem and when there is a car accident involving a defective car seat, it’s often with fatal results.

Attorney Brian Chase is scheduled to appear on FOX 11 Ten O’Clock News Los Angeles at 10:00 pm tomorrow night (Thursday, May 20) as part of a special report on the issue. Chase’s firm, Bisnar Chase, has handled defective car seat lawsuits and Chase will discuss two of these cases.

One case involves a woman who sustained catastrophic injuries that rendered her quadriplegic due to a defective seat. The other case involves a woman whose seven-year-old daughter was killed as the result of a defective seat that careened backwards, crushing the child’s chest and causing her to sustain fatal injuries.

Chase is also set to discuss what’s described as “an inadequate, 40-year seat manufacturing standard that provides pathetic occupant protection in rear-end collisions—a standard that desperately needs changed.”  What’s more, he’ll speak about side-by-side crash tests that prove more rigid seat designs would offer significantly better occupant protection than “soft” designs currently being manufactured by a majority of today’s automakers.

Tags: Bisnar Chase, Brian Chase, Defective Car Seats, Fox News
Posted in Accidents, Automotive, Defective Products | 1 Comment »

Car Accident Fault and Getting What You’re Owed

April 21st, 2010. By Kristine B

If you’re one of those people who “don’t like to focus on fault”, you’ll quickly find yourself focusing on it should you be involved in a car accident. Not that anyone likes pointing fingers, but unfortunately, the state you live in probably uses a little finger-pointing to determine what damages should be awarded to each party in the aftermath of an accident. Some states use either Contributory or Comparative Negligence to determine damages…and you should know which, if any, your state uses.

 

Since I spoke with Missouri attorney John Page about comparative negligence, I thought it would be a great idea for this edition of Pleading Ignorance to explain what comparative negligence is, and compare it to contributory negligence. Knowing whether your state uses contributory negligence, comparative negligence—or even modified comparative negligence will help you to determine what damages you are entitled to if you are in a car accident. 

Note—here’s a refresher on negligence in general. Also, a number of you are probably familiar with the concepts of “Fault” and “No Fault” car insurance states—they’re related to this topic, but we won’t cover those here; look for them in an upcoming Pleading Ignorance. Now, back to car accident negligence… 

Contributory Negligence 

Contributory negligence is a system of fault in which the injured party can only obtain compensation for injuries and damages if he or she did not contribute to the accident in any way. This means that if you’re in a car accident and the driver of the other vehicle is 99 percent at fault but you are 1 percent at fault, you won’t receive any damages. You’re out of luck. You can’t in any way be even a little bit at fault for the accident or you’ll get nothing in monetary damages.  

So, to use an example: let’s say that Becky is attempting to make a left turn at an intersection. Chris speeds through the intersection on a red and hits Becky. The jury finds Chris 80 percent Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Negligence, Pleading Ignorance
Posted in Accidents, Automotive, Pleading Ignorance | 1 Comment »

Who Knew? Reason for over 50% of Accident Fatalities in Missouri

April 21st, 2010. By AbiK

Just read a press release that went out a couple of weeks ago from the Missouri State Highway Patrol—the release was about a new safety video regarding car accident safety in Missouri.

But here’s the interesting thing… Colonel Ron Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, is quoted in the release as saying, “Run-off-roadway crashes account for more than 50% of all fatal traffic crashes in Missouri each year.”

I don’t know about you, but that sort of surprised me. Not distracted driving. Not DUI/DWI. Not reckless driving. But run-off-roadway crashes.

The 30-second public service safety video, which can be seen at the Savemolives.com website, aims to show drivers what to do if the wheels of their vehicle drop off the edge of the roadway. You can also view a two-minute instructional video at the Savemolives.com site.

According to the video, there are three steps to take if your vehicle veers off-road:

1. Don’t panic and don’t overcorrect.

2. Ease off the gas pedal and stay off the brake pedal.

3. Turn your wheel about 1/8th of a turn to the left to get back on the road. When the tires hit the pavement again, turn the wheel a 1/4 turn to the right.

Sounds simple enough—just hope I never have to do it.

Tags: Missouri, Missouri Car Accident
Posted in Automotive | No Comments »