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California Attorney General Bill Lockyer today filed a lawsuit against leading U.S. and Japanese auto manufacturers, alleging their vehicles’ emissions have contributed significantly to global warming, harmed the resources, infrastructure and environmental health of California, and cost the state millions of dollars to address current and future effects.

“Global warming is causing significant harm to California’s environment, economy, agriculture and public health. The impacts are already costing millions of dollars and the price tag is increasing,” said Lockyer. “Vehicle emissions are the single most rapidly growing source of the carbon emissions contributing to global warming, yet the federal government and automakers have refused to act. It is time to hold these companies responsible for their contribution to this crisis.”

Filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the complaint names as defendants: Chrysler Motors Corporation, General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor North America, Inc., Honda North America, and Nissan North America. The lawsuit is the first of its kind to seek to hold manufacturers liable for the damages caused by greenhouse gases that their products emit. Lockyer filed the lawsuit on behalf of the People of the State of California.

The complaint alleges that under federal and state common law the automakers have created a public nuisance by producing “millions of vehicles that collectively emit massive quantities of carbon dioxide,” a greenhouse gas that traps atmospheric heat and causes global warming. Under the law, a “public nuisance” is an unreasonable interference with a public right, or an action that interferes with or causes harm to life, health or property. The complaint asks the court to hold the defendants liable for damages, including future harm, caused by their ongoing, substantial contribution to the public nuisance of global warming.

As stated in the complaint, the automakers produce vehicles that emit a combined 289 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in the United States each year. Those emissions, the complaint alleges, currently account for nearly 20 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions in the United States and more than 30 percent in California. The defendants rank “among the world’s largest contributors to global warming and the adverse impacts on California,” according to the complaint.

“Global warming has already injured California, it environment, its economy, and the health and well-being of its citizens,” the complaint alleges. “California is responding to the ongoing impacts and the inevitable additional future impacts of global warming. The State is spending millions of dollars on planning, monitoring, and infrastructure changes to address a large spectrum of current and anticipated impacts, including reduced snow pack, coastal and beach erosion, increased ozone pollution, sea water intrusion into Delta drinking supplies, response to impacts on wildlife, including endangered species and fish, wildfire risks, and the long-term need to monitor on-going and inevitable impacts. California has already begun to address the decline in the snow pack and earlier melting of the snow pack in order to avert water shortages and flooding in the future.” Dealing with global warming’s harmful effects, the complaint adds, “will almost certainly cost millions more.”

The AG’s office did not comment on the impact of the suit on consumer prices for those automobiles.

Posted under Automotive

Carfax today announced an expanded role in the Jaguar Select Edition Certified Pre-Owned program. Carfax Vehicle History Reports, a continued requirement of the Jaguar certification process, will be available free wherever Jaguar Select Edition vehicles are sold online. Starting tomorrow, used car shoppers will have instant access to the reports from each vehicle listing with the simple click of a mouse.

Since 2002, Jaguar dealers must run a Carfax Vehicle History Report on every vehicle submitted for certification. In addition to qualifying for the Carfax Buyback Guarantee, each car must undergo a stringent 140-point quality and reliability inspection performed with an exacting level of scrutiny and attention to detail to become a Select Edition Certified Pre-Owned Jaguar. A free Carfax Vehicle History Report is provided for each certified Jaguar car for sale at the dealership and online.

“Our customers are incredibly savvy shoppers and expect nothing but the best from the Select Edition program,” said Glenn Drake, National Remarketing Manager at Jaguar Cars Land Rover North America, Inc. “We’ve taken another step forward to ensure the most discerning online shoppers know they’re purchasing a top quality Jaguar automobile. Carfax Vehicle History Reports make the best certified program even better.”

Jaguar Select Edition recently clinched the independently-audited IntelliChoice award for Best Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle Program in the luxury class segment for the fifth consecutive year.

Tags: Carfax , Jaguar , cars

Posted under Automotive

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety today announces 10 cars (2006 models) that win its first ever Top Safety Pick award. The awards recognize car designs that afford the best protection for people in front, side, and rear crashes, based on performance in Institute tests. The winning vehicles were chosen from among current models of small, midsize, and large cars plus minivans. There’s a winner in three of these four groups. The winners include 2 large car designs, 7 midsize cars, and 1 small car. No minivans meet the Institute’s criteria to earn a Top Safety Pick. Pickups and SUVs weren’t included in this round of awards because side impact tests of most of these vehicles haven’t been conducted yet.

“Now that we’re rating vehicles’ front, side, and rear crashworthiness, based on test performance, we decided to give consumers an overall assessment based on all three tests. These Top Safety Picks are replacing our previous ‘best pick’ designations that were awarded separately for front and side crash test performance,” Institute president Brian O’Neill explains.

“The new awards mean consumers can compare cars’ ratings more quickly and easily. They won’t have to review multiple sets of test results separately. And when we test new car designs as they are introduced next year, it’s possible that some additional models will be added to the 2006 Top Safety Picks.”

Criteria to win gold and silver awards: Top Safety Pick winners reflect an elite fraction of the car market. Winners of the gold award have earned good ratings in the Institute’s frontal offset and side impact crash tests, and their seat/head restraints are rated good for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. Silver awards go to vehicles with good performance in the front and side crash tests plus acceptable seat/head restraint ratings. Awards are by car size class because vehicle size and weight influence occupant protection in serious crashes. Larger, heavier cars generally afford more protection than smaller, lighter ones. Top Safety Picks indicate the best choices for safety within each size class, but they don’t mean a small car that’s an award winner affords better protection than a larger car that didn’t win a Top Safety Pick.

Almost all of the 10 winners are relatively new designs, and they all have side airbags designed to protect people’s heads. This reflects the improvements manufacturers have been making in the side and rear crash protection afforded by their newer cars (most vehicles have afforded good occupant protection in frontal crashes for several years).

“This is one reason Volkswagen and Audi cars are 5 of the 10 award winners. This company has introduced 5 new designs since the 2005 model year and made the commitment to ensure that these designs perform well in Institute tests,” O’Neill points out.

Winners by vehicle size class: Among large family cars, the Ford Five Hundred and its twin Mercury Montego were new designs for the 2005 model year. However, only the models with optional side airbags are Top Safety Pick winners. Another winner is the Audi A6, a large luxury model that was redesigned for the 2005 model year.

“The midsize group is the heart of the car market,” O’Neill says. “About 40 percent of new cars sold every year are midsize, so it’s good news that consumers have a number of Top Safety Pick choices in this size group from moderately priced to near luxury models.” Seven of the 10 Top Safety Picks are midsize. The Saab 9-3 and Subaru Legacy are gold award winners. The Audi A3, A4, Chevrolet Malibu with optional side airbags, and Volkswagen Passat and Jetta are silver award winners.

The Honda Civic is the only small car among the 13 the Institute has evaluated that meets the criteria for a Top Safety Pick. It’s the only car in this size group that has earned a good overall rating in the Institute’s side impact test.

No minivans are among the award winners. This doesn’t mean minivans are unsafe. It means none of the current designs the Institute has tested meets the award criteria. The Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, and Nissan Quest are rated good for front and side crashworthiness, but their seat/head restraints are marginal or poor.

Posted under Automotive, Safety

Free Carfax Flood Checks (www.carfax.com/flood) are now available to help prevent consumers from unknowingly buying a flood-damaged car.

“Anyone buying or selling a used car needs to be aware of potential problems that may exist,” says Larry Gamache, communications director at Carfax. “We’re committed to providing our customers with the resources they need to protect themselves.”

Carfax also has developed an advisory that identifies any vehicle last registered in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster area. The advisory will appear through the Flood Check and Carfax Vehicle History Report for applicable vehicles.

Current estimates are that 571,000 cars may have been destroyed following Hurricane Katrina and could be significantly higher because of Hurricane Rita. Over the coming months, Carfax will be working with law enforcement, state agencies and private companies to make sure all of these vehicles are properly branded.

Posted under Automotive

In its annual consumer survey, advocacy company and publisher Consumer Reports announced that “Japanese and Korean automakers once again produced the most trouble-free vehicles overall”. The organization also noted that reliability for domestic cars and trucks improved, while reliability from European makes declined.

Overall, the survey of more than 800,000 consumers found that the 2004 Hyundai Sonata was the most reliable vehicle with only 2 incidents per 100 owners. Subaru led all brands with an average of 8 problems per 100 vehicles.

Surprisingly, luxury brands such as Lincoln and Mercedes Benz finished at or near the bottom with more than 20 incidents per 100 vehicles.

The full report is available in the April issue of Consumer Reports.

Posted under Automotive, Products