There is more wacky traffic enforcement news coming out of Missouri this month than any other state. Last week, the Missouri attorney general began proceedings to shut down the ability of thirteen speed-trap-infested towns to generate excessive revenue from traffic tickets. Also last week, the cities of O’Fallon, Lake Saint Louis and St. Peters filed suit against St. Charles County saying its residents illegally voted for a ban on red light cameras. The suit actually admitted that the rationale was the potential loss of revenue rather than due to any safety concerns. Even better, the former mayor of St. Peters was convicted in 2006 of accepting cash kickbacks from a red light camera company. (For a truly astounding list of government officials who have been caught taking bribes from photo enforcement companies, go here.)

The big story is that the Missouri ACLU is going after the police department in the Kansas City suburb of Grain Valley for issuing tickets to motorists who tried to warn other drivers of speed-traps by flashing their headlights or high beams. My first thought was: wow, people really still do that? Read More >

They call it vampire capitalism: corporate loan sharks preying on the poor and having them thrown in jail when they can’t pay interest rates often in excess of one thousand percent. The newest and most distasteful face of vampire capitalism is the title pawn provider. Although TTAC has discussed the issue in the past, I’m embarrassed to note that we’ve failed to be as aggressive as we could be in discussing the evils of the title pawn business, in part because this site was previously affiliated with a contributor who had strong ties to that industry.

Not to worry, I suppose; what we were unwilling to do, the New York Times has ably accomplished.

Read More >

25 years ago, every American automaker offered at least one vehicle that fit what Kim Clark and Takahiro Fujimoto called “the American Plan”: body-on-frame construction, rear-wheel-drive, V8 power, and a roughly 120-inch wheelbase. This was in stark contrast to the increasingly popular offerings from offshore, which were the antithesis of the American Plan. Today, no American automaker offers such a product.

The modern family car has abandoned the American plan in favor of the transverse, front-drive layout that was once the exclusive province of compact and subcompact cars. Chrysler’s dependence on the K platform meant that they were committed to such a change early in the game. They were also arguably the first of the Big Three to abandon the American Plan when their M-Body cars died in 1989. Today, however, they are the only ones that offer anything close to it.

Read More >

As the Explorer goes, so goes the Ford Police Interceptor Utility. Unfortunately for Ford, as the Taurus goes, so too goes the Police Interceptor Sedan.

Sales of civilian Explorers in the United States are up 6% through the first eleven months of 2014. Ford sold 14,949 Explorers in November, a 13% improvement. In addition to those Explorers, Ford sold 18,823 Explorer-based Police Interceptor Utilities between January and November of this year, a 47% increase compared with 2013’s first eleven months. The Police Interceptor Utility went on sale in March 2012. Its best month so far was May of this year, when 2277 were sold, a 98% jump from May 2013 and a 196% improvement compared with May 2012. Read More >

How much marijuana is too much before getting the wheel? No one seems to know for sure despite the overwhelming support for related impaired-driving laws.

Read More >

Takata’s North American unit has brought aboard attorney Bruce Angiolillo of New York-based Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP as its new general counsel effective January 1.

Read More >

Above is what the final Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X will likely resemble when it hits showrooms in the coming year.

Read More >

One of the most amazing elements of TTAC  is the utter consistency in the popularity of certain car reviews. While many other enthusiast outlets tout the latest and greatest hypercars and plutocrat barges, the B&B are consistent in their love of transportation for the common man and woman. This year was no different.

Read More >

It’s not quite the 31st yet, but since a few of us won’t be at our computers on New Year’s Eve (*ahem*), I figured this is an opportune time to turn the floor over to the B&B.

Read More >

What do the Honda Element, Honda S2000, Chevrolet Aveo, Mazda Tribute, Chevrolet HHR, Lexus HS250h, Cadillac STS, Mitsubishi Endeavor, Dodge Caliber, four Suzukis, and the Jeep Liberty have in common?

They all generated U.S. sales activity in 2013, and we all forgot about them in 2014. Read More >

TTAC Commentator raresleeper writes:

Hello, Sajeev!

I need your wisdom and sound advice, Kind Sir. After what could be called a much needed separation from my wife (undoubtedly the beginning of a very long divorce proceeding), I purchased myself a vehicle. A 2006 Accord Coupe v6 6-Speed. Read More >

It’s official: This is the Chinese-made Ford Edge Sport and Edge Limited.

Read More >

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has been indicted in South Korea alongside the local branch of the California-based transportation network company for violating the nation’s prohibition on non-licensed livery drivers.

Read More >

Over four years ago, Chevrolet introduced a Volt-based crossover concept that hinted at the style the brand would have crossed someday, had not the resources been diverted to the Cadillac ELR.

That day might now be sooner than never.

Read More >

Sales of the Audi Q7 in 2014 rose to a seven-year high in the United States. That’s a meaningful bit of information right there, given that the Q7 at your local Audi dealer now is basically the Q7 that first arrived at your local Audi dealer in 2006.

North of the border, Canadians registered more new Q7s in the first eleven months of 2014 than in any previous full calendar year. Q7 sales in both Canada and the United States have increased in each of the last five years.

It’s by no means the highest-volume player in the luxury SUV world, not in 2007 when U.S. Q7 volume peaked at 20,695 units; not in 2014 when the Q7 is outsold by low-volume premium brand utility vehicles like the BMW X1, Lexus GX460, and Volvo XC60. (Would the Q7 sell more often if Audi added the letter X to its badge? Probably not. Maybe. Definitely.) Read More >