Archived Current Events Links

Minicars at risk in crashes Study finds smallest vehicles perform poorly in head-on accidents David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau 4/14/2009

Uninsured Accidents on the Rise? You may think you have full coverage on your automobile insurance policy until you get into an accident with an uninsured driver. ABC LosAngeles, 3/3/2009

One In Five Fatal Accidents Involves a Missing Airbag The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reporting that 1 in every 5 fatal accidents involves a vehicle with a missing airbag. The study looked at 1,446 fatal accidents between 2001 and 2006 and found 255 instances - nearly 18 percent - of vehicles that were lacking airbags because they had not been replaced following an accident. US News & World Report, 2/24/2009

Are Chinese Car Parts Safe? Even the simplest car parts can have deadly consequences. Which is why some safety advocates are raising red flags about the growing influx of Chinese auto parts. SmartMoney, 2/23/2009

Car Insurance Secrets: Repair Parts Most car repair parts are invisible once they're installed. Your insurance company, however, knows the difference. US News & World Report, 2/16/2009

A claim for auto theft was recently denied when the insurance company investigation revealed the vehicle was used as a rental car: 2/2/2009

Auto repair fraud can threaten lives A trustworthy auto repair shop can keep your vehicle running safely and protect you and your passengers from life-threatening harm while on the road. 2/2/2009

Carfax Reports Are A Useful but Incomplete Tool Car History Service Can't Catch All Used Car Dings, CBS5 San Jose 1/28/2009

CA Not Participating In Used Car Database More than one out of 10 cars on the road in the United States is registered in California. So if the state's information isn't public, California's 33 million vehicles will be excluded. And that increases the chance used car buyers could buy a previously wrecked or salvage vehicle, and not even know it. ABC San Francisco 1/27/2009

Air Bag Fraud Leads To $15 Million Verdict If the air bag in your car goes off, it can cost you up to $2,000 to replace it, which is why one dishonest auto body shop skipped this repair and then got sued for $15 million. CBS San Diego 1/22/2009

The Secret History of Cars: Used car history reports can lead you in the wrong direction. Originally broadcast on CBC-TV 1/16/2009

How to Keep Your Car on the Road. Experts say once you own a car free and clear, the longer you can keep it on the road, the better. ABC Augusta 1/16/2009

Insurers Accused Of Underpaying Patients CBS Evening News: New York AG Investigates Whether Health Care Companies Perpetuated Fraud. Randall Pinkton. 1/13/2009

Are women still more at risk for being 'taken advantage of'?. FOX 10 Phoenix, why women worry they don't always get what they pay for at auto shops. 1/7/2009

Top Five Insurance Industry Secrets INSURANCE IS many things, but straightforward isn't exactly one of them. By Stacey L. Bradford, Associate Editor,Smart Money.com 1/5/2009

Insurance Institute - Small cars making strides in safety. Small cars, which have become more popular with the fluctuation in gas prices, are becoming better equipped to protect motorists in serious crashes, according to tests by the insurance industry. 12/17/2008

If You Only Knew...Would You Accept These Collision Repair Procedures? Ford Motor Company has provided the examples below to highlight a few important repair procedures that might occur during your time in a body shop, along with suggestions on how to help make sure you and your vehicle stay on the right track. 12/17/2008

Stopping in a hurry Stopping in a hurry: Cars are getting better at avoiding collisions. Before long they may be communicating with each other to make roads safer. From The Economist print edition,12/11/2008

No clear answer for why some airbags just don't inflate: While some malfunctions can't be explained, others might be attributable to repair jobs that altered the safety device's trigger mechanism. Paul Aker, Columbus OH, 12/7/2008

Attorneys General Urge FTC to Tighten Used-Car Rule Standards: "Nothing diminishes the market value of a used vehicle more than detrimental history," commented Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who wrote the proposal. "The rule should go farther. Warranty information is valuable for used-car buyers, but prior damage information is at least as important. 11/26/2008

America's Most- And Least-Stolen Cars: Jacqueline Mitchell, 11/25/2008 Forbes Magazine

1 in 5 Used Vehicles Missing Proper Airbags With today's struggling economy, many people are opting to buy a used car...but those used cars might be more dangerous than you think. Little Rock 11/17/2008

Can Faulty Tire Valves Cause A Fatal Crash? You get in your car, turn the key, and head down the road. But what you don't know is you could be riding on a dangerous defect. ABC Cincinnati 11/17/2008

An Angel Watching Over Your Kids Those who have driving-age children must fervently wish that a guardian angel would keep watch over their children. With over 3,500 teen driving deaths per year in the United States, the issue of keeping your children safe when they are in the car has to be top-of-mind.Corpus Cristie 11/17/2008

California Cracks Down on Unlicensed Auto Repair Shops "Unlicensed activity hurts all Californians," said DCA Director Carrie Lopez. "It is a part of a multi-billion dollar-a-year underground economy which robs our communities of resources, threatens the safety of consumers and puts reputable, licensed trade and health-care providers at an economic disadvantage."CA, 11/17/2008

Airbag Fraud Blows Up, 1 out of every 25 previously damaged vehicles have phony or dummy airbags. New York News, NBC 11/14/2008

Airbags Don't Always Protect Drivers, Passengers, Often, repair technicians replace parts that affect airbag deployment. But body repair specialists said that insurance companies push them to install untested imitation parts. A federal government report said that body shops install billions of dollars worth of the untested parts each year. Columbus OH, 11/13/2008

Wrecked Cars Look As Good As New. Did Ex-Attorney General Delay Important Car Database? Body work and a new paint job can make a wrecked car look good as new on the outside. What you can't see in a salvaged car is its twisted frame, the cracks, its electrical problems and more. Channel 10 News, San Diego 11/12/2008

Insurance Group Admits Control of Labor Rates Massachusetts Automobile Insurers Bureau (AIB) stated in a report that if House Bill 5056 were passed, they would no longer be able to effectively "control the labor rate and other aspects of the repair process." 11/6/2008.

Erica Eversman's Letter to Ohio Department of Insurance - Re: Use of Unregistered Collision Repair Facilities in Insurer Repair Program Networks, 10/30/2008.

U.S.DOT Unveils Automatic Vehicle Safety Recall Notification Service Vehicle owners across the nation can be instantly informed of a safety recall under a new automated alert system, 11/8/2008

Chicago Tow Company Operator Helps Snare Cops On The Take CBS Pam Zekman reports 11/3/2008

OEM collision parts usage dropped 12% compared to last October 2007 11/03/08

Oregon's High Court Backs Consumer 10/23/08

New York judge permits suit against Geico to proceed collection of shortages in repair allowance

Era of Deregulation is upon us 10/28/08.

Flood Damaged Cars 10/17/2008 Personal Finance Magazine.

Thieves target wrecking yards for clean Titles Stolen cars with clean titles? 10/14/08

Big brother in your car Onstar service and you 10/14/08.

Air Bag Fraud: Underreported "Life and Death Scam" Does your used car have air bags? 10/12/08.

Chicago Tribune “Is your car a clip job?” Featuring Consumers' Auto Detective's Ken Klein, 10/5/2008.

“After 16 Years of Promises, Better Background Checks for Used Cars” Featuring Consumers' Auto Detective's Ken Klein, New York Times, Chris Jensen 9/26/2008.

Public Registry for Wrecks Is Back on Track On Monday a federal judge ruled in favor of consumer groups and gave the government a deadline to finally implement a law Congress passed in 1992. NY Times Chris Jensen, 9/22/2008 .

Ten Worst Insurance Companies American Association of Justice 7/9/2008

ABC 20/20 News Aged Tires, a Driving Hazard? 5/9/2008

“7 things the bodyshop won’t tell you” Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine 5/29/2008.

Car Repairs Dismantle Your Warranty SanFrancisco Video 5/20/08.

Fox News Austin Texas Video Direct Repair Programs (DRP) and Steering 5/12/08.

How a get-tough policy lifted Allstate's profits, Sarasota FL, 4/6/2008

Claims That Boost Your Insurance Rates 3/31/08.

Avoid buying a flood-damaged car. WMAQ Chicago 3/27/2007

Some state officials believe a program designed to expedite auto body repairs could put safety in jeopardy. Rocky Hill, CN, 2/27/2008.

Fox News Chicago “Are Insurance Companies Steering Car Owners to Bad Body Shops?” Featuring Consumers' Auto Detective's Ken Klein, 2/26/2008

Citing 15-Year Delay, Suit Seeks Action on Rebuilt Wrecks. More than 15 years after a law was passed to protect buyers of used cars, there is still no system in place to track seriously damaged vehicles. NY Times Chris Jensen, 2/10/2008.

Fox News Austin Texas: Reconditioned Wheels 11/25/2007.

Wheel repair Alcoa Aluminum

Flooded cars go to market with little to stop them 8/20/2007 ABC, USA Today.

Are certified used cars worth the cost? MSN Money 5/10/2007

Alberta car dealers warn against rebuilt wrecks, Alberta 4/26/2007

Should you repair damaged custom wheels? Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times, 2/28/2007.

CT Attorney General Drafts Stronger Law Prohibiting Insurers From Steering Consumers To Select Auto Repair Shops, 1/24/07.

10 Things Your Car Insurer Won't Tell You, Smart Money Magazine, originally printed February 1999, republished 1/10/2006.

Wrecks on the road: The episode offers a glimpse into this country's vast and lucrative wrecked or salvage vehicle business. Public Radio, 12/20/2005

Problems With Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles? 9/8/2005.

CCC Class Action Settlement Agreement The lawsuit alleged the insurance companies used a computer system to routinely pay below-market claims when vehicles were declared total losses, 7/13/2005.

CBS Some Tires Riskier Than They Look, Even Brand New, Could Be Old, And Perhaps Unsafe, New York, Nov. 17, 2004.

CBS Evening News Rebuilt Wrecks: Road Hazard An unknown number of frame damaged cars with serious safety issues are re-sold to consumers with no warning of the car's ugly history, 4/29/2004.

Steering Know your rights, Omaha car owners who need damage repairs say they are being pushed toward certain shops that are less expensive but might not do the job right, 3/9/2004.

Getting what you are entitled to from an insurance company, 9/23/2003.

CBS News slams repairers, DRPs. CBS News coverage of car repair shops, automobile insurers, 3/1/2003.

Hidden Cost of a Crash Kiplinger January 2003

CBS News Can You Trust Your Insurer? Sacramento 12/27/2002.

Blind-Sided By Shady Repair Shops: Fraudulent Repairs Happen More Often Than You Might Think. CBS News, 12/26/2002.

CCC Total Loss Evaluations 10/31/2002

Damaged Goods, Bodyshop Business September 2002.

Snake Killer: They call it "Snake Farm." Lawyers like Cal Thur battle State Farm to protect consumers from their own insurance company, 11/16/2000.

Salvaging the Total Loss Claim Trial Magazine, June 1999.

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