Inventorspot reports that a California hi-tech start-up named Eureka Aerospace is developing a microwave gun to zap an automobile's Electronic Control Unit (ECU), disabling the car. The prototype's pulse lasts 50 nanoseconds– enough to overload wires and/or damage the car's central microprocessor. The radiation energy unleashed by the 300 megahertz burst (compared to 2.45 gigahertz in a microwave) doesn't interfere with common radio frequencies and won't turn a human's internal organs into goulash. Speaking to TTAC (podcast below), CEO James Tatoian said the U.S. Marine Corps are helping sponsor the research in their search for ways to protect themselves against car bombers. The LA Sheriff's office is also in on the deal, loaning Eureka vehicles for their ECU frying tests, hoping they can put "World's Wildest Police Chase Videos" out of business. Tatoian says his company hopes to have a field tested working gun within two years. [You can watch a news report on the microwave by clicking on the avi file here .]

Now that's what I call a marketing! The Associated Press reports that Ford has settled a four-state class action lawsuit regarding the rollover dangers inherent in Ford Explorers sold from 1991 to 2001. As part of the deal, Ford has agreed to provide plaintiffs with a $300 voucher that can be applied to the purchase of any Ford, Lincoln or Mercury product; or a $500 voucher for a new Explorer. (Needless to say, the vouchers are transferable to anyone living in the same state as the plaintiff.) The settlement also requires Ford to distribute information about SUV rollover dangers and to limit safety claims in its advertising (our SUVs are safe-ish?). Safety campaigners are spinning the deal as a major win for consumer rights, albeit in their own special way. "The $300 or $500 vouchers should be enough to cover the cost of optional electronic stability control systems on new vehicles," pronounced consumer advocate Rosemary Shahan of California-based Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, blissfully unaware that Ford's stability control system is now standard on the Ford Explorer, SportTrac, Expedition, Edge, Escape; the Mercury Mountaineer and Mariner; and the Lincoln Navigator and MKX. 

BusinessWeek reports that VW board member Ferdinand Piëch is in the crosshairs in the German automaker's sex and bribery scandal. You may recall that VW took a bit of heat when investigators discovered that management had slipped $2.9m in secret payments to VW labor boss and supervisory board member Klaus Volkert. Oh, and $518k to Volkert's Brazilian former lover Adriana Barros. Two years after the initial revelations, Volkert's trial is finally underway, and the union boss is singing like a Kanarienvogel. Volkert's lawyer has produced a smoking gun: a letter signed by Piëch authorizing the illegal payments. The development jibes with claims made by Klaus-Joachim Gebauer, the personnel manager on trial for his part in the crime. Gebauer has already testified that VW's executive board knew about the slush funds, since they triggered monthly reports on budget overruns (filed as "executive board miscellaneous"). Since the scandal first broke, Piëch has denied any knowledge of the pay-offs. It's unlikely VW's largest stockholder will face perjury charges, but not impossible. [thanks to starlightmica for the link]

You may recall that electric car maker Zap was set to import thousands of Smart cars into the U.S., after [what was then called] DaimlerChrysler decided to pull the plug on its own American ambitions for the brand in 2004. Now that [what is now called] Daimler has changed its mind and teamed-up with Penske to get Smart stateside, Zap is plenty pissed, in a "we're going to sue your ass" kinda way. They've filed a $500m suit against Daimler in California, alleging "intentional interference with prospective economic relations; negligent interference; trade libel; defamation; breach of contract to negotiate in good faith; breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; common law unfair competition and statutory unfair competition." In papers filed with the court, ZAP claims it collected $2.2b worth of signed purchase orders for some 156k Smarts. The legal action, first filed two years ago, stumbled when a CA court claimed it had no jurisdiction in the matter. WardsAuto reports that Zap will learn if their efforts to reverse that decision have been successful in the next 90 days.  

When does art become a public menace? According to Toronto police, when it's driven on city streets. Canada.com reports Dean Baldwin was pulled over whilst "driving" artist Michel de Broin's Shared Propulsion Car (SPC). The vehicle in question is a 1986 Buick Regal that's been stripped of engine, transmission and suspension (it uses votive candles to meet the Canadian requirement for daytime running lights). In case you're wondering, the pedal-powered Buick is part of a solo exhibition at the Mercer Union art gallery. No matter. Baldwin has been charged with driving an unsafe vehicle. It isn't the first time the art car has caught the attention of the po-po. In Montreal, the art car went all of two blocks before it was pulled over. However, it went unchallenged (and probably unnoticed) when it appeared in New York City. When Baldwin's case comes up, de Broin said he plans to have the car towed to court. After winning the case, he'll "drive it away 'slowly' and 'freely'."

 [You can see the Shared Propulsion Car in action on YouTube]

The Statesman reports that former GM CEO Roger Smith (of "Roger and Me" fame) and former Charlie's Angel Farrah Fawcett (no longer major) have both pleaded with a federal judge to go easy when sentencing convicted Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt. The 83-year-old CEO of Coastal Corp has already cut a deal with the feds over bribery charges (i.e. embargo running) relating to the United Nations' Oil for Food program. Three weeks into his trial, Wyatt agreed to spend 18 to 24 months in the hoosegow and fork over $11m in ill-gotten gains. His supporters are worried that U.S. District Judge Denny Chin may set aside the deal and whack Wyatt with some more alone time (as is his right). GM's former big cheese vouched for Wyatt's moral fiber. "I know of no way to better measure a man's character and traits than to hunt together," Smith wrote in a letter to Chin. "Oscar ranks as number one in the character traits that really count — integrity, responsibility, loyalty and dependability." I guess three out of four ain't bad.

When Chryslerberus announced their new "lifetime warranty" last July, the fine print revealed that the security blanket only covered the vehicle's original owner. It also stated the hot-to-trot SRT models were exempt. Fair enough; these highly-horsed Hemis are likely experience a bit more than "normal" wear and tear. That said, Chrysler seem to be playing Three Card Monte (Find the Lady for our British audience) with that particular rider. The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 sitting on the company's LA Auto Show display stand proudly proclaims its lifetime warrant-age. If you look closely– just below that sticker– there's a line that's so small it looks like a row of dashes. It states "Not available on SRT…" When confronted about this declarative discrepancy, Mr. Lawence Oswald of Chrysler LLC agreed that we'd identified a mysterious automotive anomaly. "That's a good question." So how about a good answer?

News10 reports that Solano (CA) County Sheriff's Deputies hit Vacaville Ford yesterday, seizing 66 vehicles (the entire inventory) and all the dealership's spare parts. The Solano County DA did the deed at the behest of the Blue Oval Boyz, who haven't been paid jack in quite some time, apparently. As you might expect from the written version of a local TV news story, pithy quotes abound. "'The dealership was very surprised when we showed up,' said Solano County Sheriff's deputy Seth Garcia." Saying that, props to reporter Cornell Barnard for not jumping the gun, fact wise: "It remained unclear if the dealership would reopen for business Thursday." And also not making that old journalistic faux pas of putting two and two together. "Unrelated to the repossession, a D.A's office spoken said the office had been investigating the dealership for alleged fraud, claiming the dealership took in vehicle trades with outstanding payments, but allegedly never paid the balance off before reselling the car. Authorities said more than 200 potential victims have contacted the District Attorney's office."  

[Thanks to Factotum for the tip.] 

Our favorite motorists' rights crusader, The Newspaper, reports that Washington, DC's upcoming "Performance Plan" eliminates parking offenders' right to their day in court. No really. "The DMV will complete the phase-out of in-person adjudication of parking tickets in favor of mail-in and e-mail adjudication by December 2008." In case you hadn't figured it out already, The Newspaper says the move to suspend D.C. citizens' right to due process stems from a good old-fashioned cash grab. "As one-third of those who contest citations in the city are successful, the hearings cut significantly into the $100 million in revenue tickets generate each year." The new, more efficient (if entirely less personal) protesting policy comes on the heels of the D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's decision to equip street sweepers with automated parking enforcement cameras, destined to spit out $30 tickets at a fearsome clip. Meanwhile, one wonders if any legal challenge to the removal of a live Judge for parking offenses would have to be posted as well. 

After a speeder killed toddler Bianca Leduc while she was playing in her baby-sitter’s backyard in a residential neighborhood west of Montreal, the Quebec government has decided to rush through the mother of all traffic safety bills. CTV reports the details: hand-held cell phones will be banned, the legal BAL (blood-alcohol level) drops from 0.08 to 0.05 (bringing it inline with other Canadian provinces), those caught under the influence will have their license suspended for three months (up from one month), 15 intersections will get red light cameras, all new drivers will have to take driving lessons and operate under probationary permits (not just those under 25), speeding fines in residential zones will double, license points for speeders will double and there’ll be a new offense called “major speeding” (which leads to an automatic license suspension). 

England continues their jihad against driving speeding. Pistonheads relates a report in the Times newspaper that some ministers want to increase the penalties for speeding. A single violation would result in six points and a £100 fine. Under the existing "totting-up" system, motorists caught exceeding the speed limit as few as two times could be banned from driving for six months. Under the new law, the 1.1m drivers who already have six points on their license would be banned immediately for one more speeding offense. With all the speed cameras already blanketing the country, it won't be hard identifying the ne'er-do- wells. It must be comforting living in a country where the crime rate is so low they can focus so much law enforcement effort on minor driving violations.

SFGate reports that a former quality control inspector at Toyota and GM's joint production facility in Fremont, California is suing her old employer for emotional distress. Katy Cameron, 54, claims supervisors at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) factory subjected her to a campaign of intimidation after Cameron refused to ignore production defects. Cameron said cars were rolling off the assembly line with "defective seat belts," "water leaks throughout the vehicles," "mirrors falling off," "steering wheel alignment defects" and "missing radiator caps." Managers allegedly began altering her defect reports eight years ago to lower her daily Defect Per Vehicle reports. She says the alterations became "more substantial" two years ago, when she was recording an average of nine to 15 defects per car. At that point, Cameron began retaining her original pencil written reports (to document the changes) and turning-in photocopies. NUMMI spokesperson Lance Tomasu said that while he couldn't comment on the lawsuit, "we will investigate these claims thoroughly."

London's infamous congestion charge is having an unintended if not unpredictable consequence: a rise in the number of stolen or counterfeit license plates. The Wall Street Journal reports that unscrupulous motorists attach someone else's "number plate" to their car to avoid the $16 daily charge for driving in downtown London. When a scofflaw's car gets caught on camera with a plate that doesn't match those who have paid the fee, the genuine owner of the license plate gets a citation in the mail. (As you can imagine the paperwork involved in contesting the fine/rectifying the identity theft is listed in the OED under both "enervating" and "labyrinthine.") England's Automotive Association estimates that up to 300 cars with illegal plates amble about in the congestion charge zone every day. While some companies are selling anti-theft devices to cut the number of stolen plates, that doesn't stop the counterfeiting. All you have to do is order a set of "decorative plates" from several companies on the internet with whatever license number you desire. 

Not one to fear revealing his age, TTAC's Frank Williams says the key to his '65 Dodge Coronet unlocked and started at least four cars: his parents' '64 Plymouth Belvedere and '67 Plymouth Fury; a co-worker's '66 Dodge Polara, and a '68 Valiant belonging to a customer at the grocery store that employed the future blogger. Ancient history, from the time before encryption, yes? Uh, no. KUTV 's consumer sleuth has uncovered the secret truth behind a spate of damage-free break-ins inflicted upon GM vehicles: "master" keys. "Bobbo's friend and co-worker, Clay Collett, owns a 1997 Chevy Blazer. And guess what?  The key for Bobbo’s truck opens Clay’s SUV and vice versa Clay’s key opens Bobbo’s door… When we first called General Motors about all this, the spokesperson said there are only so many combinations possible…but he had not heard of any issue with GM keys in the past. Is that so? At Bob’s Lock & Key in west valley, they say they’ve known all about the GM door key situation for GM cars for more than 10 years… when technicians learn that the vehicle is a GM between ‘94 and ‘04, they start with the key from their own Chevrolet service vans. Bob’s say their own GM keys opens the locks of other GM vehicles more than half the time." KUTV's Gephart says Chevy's tackled the problem– leaving owners of vehicles made between 1994 – 2004 SOL. The only possible remedy: change the door locks.

The LA Times reports two California cities are following LA's lead: they're no longer impounding the cars of unlicensed drivers. Scofflaws apprehended in Bell Gardens and Huntington Park can now reclaim their cars immediately– instead of waiting a month and paying hundreds of dollars in fines and fees. Huntington Park City Attorney Francisco Leal said the impound law imposes an "unfair hardship" on the state's illegal immigrants: "There is no way these people can afford that." Immigrant rights advocate Cynthia Anderson-Barker filed a lawsuit against the state and several cities challenging the 30-day impounds. She underlined Leal's point. "The hardship on these families is just phenomenal. When the car is gone and the family loses their transportation, it pushes them further into poverty." State Sen. Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), sponsor of several failed bills to give California's illegal immigrants the right to apply for a driver's license, called for a statewide moratorium on the impounds. Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), countered that ending impounds would send a clear signal that California welcomes illegal immigrants. Imagine that.

[Interview with FAIR Media Director Ira Mehlman below]