Auto industry's recall issue; Trump and Musk charged by UAW; Benson's home attacked; more
Leah OlajideGood morning! Welcome to Wednesday.
☀️ Weather: Today will be mostly sunny and pleasant with an expected high of 84 degrees.
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Today, I'm passing the Daily Briefing to my colleague, Matthew Dolan, who has been investigating the nation's vehicle safety recall system.
The auto industry's recall problem
A Free Press investigation, just published this morning, reveals that millions of recalled passenger cars and trucks on the road across the United States haven’t been fixed. And chances are, if you own an older vehicle, you’re much more likely than a new car owner to have an unrepaired safety defect, some of which can cause serious injury or death.
Here’s what the investigation found about why so many vehicles remain unfixed:
- Without any federal requirement on auto companies to fix all of the potentially dangerous used vehicles, the annual repair rate rarely exceeds 65% — and much less than that for older vehicles.
- Parts to fix problems aren’t always available, even after consumers are notified about their faulty vehicles. Sometimes, no one knows immediately how to fix them.
- Used car retailers are able to sell potentially faulty cars and trucks with open recalls in most places while new car dealers legally can't.
The story also centers on the case of Jeffrey Wu, a married father who works in a Minnesota dairy plant. Wu had to have the lower part of one of his legs amputated after he thought he put his Jeep into park, but instead it rolled back on him at a gas station, crushing his leg.
Wu said he never knew that his Jeep had an open safety recall related to what has been described as a confusing gear shifter.
Read the full Free Press investigation here, and a rundown of our key findings.
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Also worth reading
📰 News: The UAW says it filed federal labor charges against former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, referring to them as disgraced billionaires and accusing them of illegally attempting to threaten and intimidate workers engaged in protected concerted activity.
🔵 Politics: Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Monday her home was the target of a pair of swatting attacks within the span of 48 hours, meant to threaten her as the state's top elections official. … Also, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will be a featured speaker at the Oakland County GOP Lincoln Day dinner in Novi next week.
🚗 Autos: Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday issued a do-not-drive advisory for owners of certain vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators who have not yet had their vehicles repaired under three past safety recalls. … Also, General Motors is recalling nearly all of its all-electric Cadillac Lyriq SUVs because of problems with the braking system that could result in a crash.
🏈 Sports: Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore says he isn't worried about texts messages he sent to alleged sign-stealing mastermind Connor Stalions being released. In fact, he said he welcomes it.
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