TTAC's best and brightest were not slow off the mark on this one: GM's plan to put $50b into the hands of the United Auto Workers for a union-controlled health care superfund could lead to epic fraud, leaving union members without adequate coverage. The Director of the National Legal and Policy Center's Organized Labor Accountability Project and editor of Union Corruption Update sounds the alarm. "Union-controlled health and benefit plans often shortchange union members and retirees," Dr. Carl Horowitz warns. "Instead of getting the best deal for participants, these plans are often characterized by cozy, inside deals beneficial to the union bosses, and on occasion, organized crime. With the staggering size of this proposed health fund, the UAW bosses must be salivating." In case you didn't notice, Dr. Horowitz (who still has both legs intact) thinks Congress should hold hearings on the health care deal– or else. "Neither GM nor the UAW can be counted on to act in the best interests of workers. Putting the union in charge of this health fund creates a potentially huge conflict of interest for UAW leaders." 

[Interview w/Dr. Horowitz below.] 

From the land of sleeping policemen and speed cameras, gizmag brings news that will touch the inner hoon in all of us. Londoner Tim Brady is now the new British national automobile speeding ticket record holder. Brady broke the old record by 16mph, by doing 172mph (277kph) in a 3.6 liter Porsche 911 Turbo "borrowed" from his employer, a luxury car rental company. After the police clocked him, it took Brady almost 2300 ft (700 meters) to stop. Brady is now serving a 10-week jail sentence and lost his license for his actions. By the way, he still didn't beat the record for the top speed ever recorded on a British roadway. That belongs to motorcyclist Daniel Nicks who registered 175mph (282kph) on a Honda Fireblade. But the Brits still have a way to go to beat the Yanks– American Samuel Armstrong still holds the world speeding ticket record by doing 205mph (330kph) on a Honda RC51 superbike.

The Manchester Evening News reports that the local plod have crushed over 10k cars belonging to owners who are wanted for a criminal offense, dare drive without a proper registration or insurance, and/or haven't maintained their vehicle properly. This "bounty" stems from new police confiscation powers enacted in January 2006 and deployment of patrol car-mounted Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and software (which can identify a car's legitimacy or outstanding warrants attached to the registered keeper in seconds). As awesome as that may be for insurance companies and road safety– "police say uninsured drivers are six times more likely to have convictions for driving un-roadworthy vehicles and nine times more likely to have convictions for drink-driving"– the fines involved are equally staggering. Offending vehicles are hit with a £200 on-the-spot fine; or a larger one meted out later, in court. There's also a £105 charge for recovery, plus £12 a day storage AND offenders get points on their license. As the Greater Manchester Police seized 25k cars during this time frame, without storage charges, we reckon the crackdown has dumped over £4,575,000 in revenues into the City Council's coffers. You know, byproduct-wise. 

The International Trade Commission has ruled that Toyota did not pilfer key technology from Solomon Technologies to create the Synergy Drive system used in ToMoCo's hybrids. Solomon CEO Gary G. Brandt is undaunted. "We believe the ITC made serious errors in interpreting the pertinent patent law and precedents in this case and as we have reviewed the case transcripts more fully we are even more convinced that we will eventually prevail." Speaking to TTAC [below] Brandt says his company had "numerous documented meetings" with Toyota prior to the release of the Japanese automaker's hybrid system. What's more, since the Prius was released, Toyota has licensed [what Brandt claims to be] Solomon technology to Ford. The legal action continues. Meanwhile, Solomon has posted an animation on their website highlighting the similarities between the two systems.

CTV reports that a class action lawsuit suit filed in Ontario Superior Court claims carmakers and dealers conspired to violate “competition and consumer protection laws.” Lawyer Henry Juroviesky claims US car dealers suppressed cross-border shopping by limiting supply, inflating prices and voiding warranties. In the past, dealers “used the large gap between the Canadian dollar and U.S. greenback to justify the higher prices in Canada,” says Juroviesky. "Now that the dollar is at parity they can't use that cloud… to mask what they're doing.” Meanwhile, a recent study says the problem is going away. "In all of our 'popular' segments… the price gap between Canada and the U.S. narrowed in 2007," says Dennis DesRosiers, President of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. of Richmond Hill, Ontario.

The Register reports that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is set to test the StarChase Pursuit Management System. Officers involved in a chase will use a compressed-air laser-sighted launcher mounted at the front of a patrol car to fire a miniature GPS receiver, battery and radio transmitter embedded in an epoxy compound. The tracking device will stick to the absconding villains' car. Police can then back off during high speed pursuits, knowing that the GPS tracker and the cellular radio data will provide the fleeing felon's exact 10-20. The Register is not impressed: "You'd probably hear the trackers splatting into the back of your car – they'd need to be flying fast. If not, you'd notice the targeting lasers glaring from the pursuing police cruiser.." They theorize that GPS tagged criminals will switch on a GPS/cellular jammer or stop and "scrape off the sticky bug with a knife." We reckon the average criminal will do no such thing, and that the system could save thousands of lives lost during high speed police pursuits.

Over the last two days, there's been a definite upswell in UK government policies and plans that seem specifically designed to make UK motorists as miserable as possible. Yesterday, Pistonheads (birthplace of TTAC) reported that Nottingham City Council is planning a £350 annual tax on workplace parking spaces to force commuters to abandon their cars for public transportation. Subtext: Nottingham doesn't have the political or financial capital (or money) to create a London-style Congestion Charge; a parking spot tax is the next best thing. Eight other UK councils are considering the same idea. Also yesterday, Pistonheads revealed that the UK's Director of Public Prosecutions Ken McDonald said all UK drivers caught violating the ban on using a cell phone while driving should be charged with dangerous driving, which inflicts a driving ban and a maximum two year jail sentence upon convicted license holders. And today, Pistonheads says the Department for Transport and the satnav company Trafficmaster are secretly testing a system to monitor drivers' movements, as a possible prelude to a national, pay-as-you-go road pricing scheme and/or a method for speed enforcement. Can it get any worse for the UK's beleaguered motorists? Yes it will.

The European Union may soon force automakers to include health/global warming warnings on their car advertisements, similar to the list of possible side effects required on US drug ads. MotorTrader (MT) reports that English MEP (Member European Parliament) Chris Davies has submitted a report on the proposal to EU chiefs, who will debate the idea in October. Davies' report also calls for a Euro-wide ban on any car ad that promotes a vehicle's high speed performance (as is currently in place in the UK) and ban the sale of cars that can drive faster than 101mph. According to MT, Davies "noted that the power of new cars increased by 28 per cent between 1994 and 2004, making them heavier and thus increasing the amount of CO2 output. This increase is completely unnecessary, the MEP said, as no country has raised its speed limit to allow cars to use this additional power."  

The major automakers are breathing a bit easier, thanks to a recent court ruling. The International Herald Tribune reports that the California federal district court has dismissed a claim against General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Nissan and Honda for damages caused by vehicle emissions. In its case, the State of California was demanding several billion dollars in court-ordered and civil damages on the basis that these emissions constituted a public nuisance that inflicted climate change and health-related costs. Judge Martin Jenkins, a Clinton appointee and San Francisco native, ruled against the Golden State, opining that emissions regulations were the domain of the legislature and not under the jurisdiction of the courts. The state has hinted that it may appeal the ruling. No word yet from Sacramento as to whether the state will also be filing suit against its own Department of Motor Vehicles for permitting millions of state residents to drive all of those cars, or its Department of Transportation for building the highways that they used. 

The Jacksn Clarion Ledger reports that Mayor Frank Melton's plan to impound the vehicles of motorists with past-due city fines– designed to scarf-up some $10m in "missing" revenue– is running into strong political and practical headwinds. First, the Captain of the Hinds County Sheriff's Departmenthas publicly declared that he will do anything to enforce the law– but he won't do that. "We'll still be participating in a joint operation to serve misdemeanor warrants," Capt. Ken Magee said. "But as far as going to a person's home and towing their vehicle? No. We're not going to do that." Second, as University of Mississippi law professor Michael Hoffheimer points out, the campaign faces the law of severely diminished returns. "There are things cities can do to collect fines that are legal," he said. "But the problem is they are also expensive." And lastly, the Mayor's decision to target "high dollar" cars first will win him no friends amongst the cities movers and shakers– even if they are scofflaws.

The Committee of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars will petition King Abdullah this week to remove the blanket ban on women driving. Although the petition has a snowball's chance in Riyadh of receiving acknowledgement– never mind consideration– it highlights the lack of anything remotely resembling democracy in The Land of The Two Holy Mosques. As the Associated Press reports, Saudi Arabia's prohibition against women driving is not based on secular or Islamic law. It's down to fatwas issued by senior Islamic clerics, who claim driving "creates situations for sinful temptation." Automotively aspirational women have attempted to overthrow the ban before– without success. "In November 1990, when U.S. troops were in Saudi Arabia following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, some 50 women got behind the wheel and drove family cars. They were jailed for one day, their passports were confiscated and they lost their jobs." And these are our allies against Islamo-fascists? 

When TTAC revealed its Ten Worst Automobiles Today (TWAT) awards for 2006, the Jeep Compass "won" the second slot. "A pox on their house for building the Compass," William C. Montgomery wrote in his summary. It's "an ugly, gangly, underpowered, mud-aversive half-breed… turning all who see it– or God forbid buy it– into grotesque, bobble-headed morons." China Knowledge is reporting that Chrysler is now sharing this transformational tragedy with consumers in The People's Republic of China. In fact, they plan to sell 50k of them to unsuspecting Chinese. BTW, the move was initiated long before America received tens of millions of lead-painted toys. 

A debadged Ford Falcon blasts down a country road in what seems like a new car ad– and then fishtails and somersaults into a ditch. For some reason, Ford isn't exactly enamored by the New Zealand government's latest anti-speeding TV campaign. Ford claims the $2m (NZ)  TV spot is a riff on their ad for a Falcon XR6 aired three years ago. What's more, the new Falcon's stability control render the crash depicted in the ad "highly unlikely." Well, that's part of the argument Ford's lawyers will use in a high court petition if LTZN doesn't yank the ad inäianei. The New Zealand Herald reports that Ford Spokesperson Clare Ponton gilded the rhetorical lily by suggesting that a number of concerned customers contacted Ford about the ad, "indicating the car is easily identifiable as a Ford." And that some Falcon owners completely missed the point of the government's anti-speeding message. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, most new cars contain data recorders. While the information captured by the box (speed, direction, etc.) could work in your favor after an accident, things could just as easily go the other way. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) gets it, calling data recorders the “spy in your car.” According to the ACLU’s privacy director in Seattle, "It's my information not public information." Insurance companies and the police beg to differ. While that battle plays out, the public at large remains ignorant of their hidden homie. “Not one driver I interviewed knew they had a silent witness on board,” says KOMO TV reporter Michelle Esteban. As of 2011, automakers must notify car owners they’ve got a flight recorder on board. Be sure to check page 374 of your owner’s manual.

The International Herald Tribune reports that the European Union's man in Afghanistan, former German commando Brigadier General Eichele, has given up trying to beef-up the national police force, and quit the theater. Seems bureacracy and corruption left him stuck at base; the EU executive delayed approving a budget for 70 armored cars, computers and office equipment. "We cannot travel outside Kabul because the armored-plated cars have not arrived," an EU diplomat told the Trib. The [theoretical] vehicles originally cost €110k a pop, but increased to €170k when security specifications changed. The commission went back to drawing up a new budget, issuing new tenders, etc. And then there's a turf war between the EU and NATO…