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Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Read This

Safety and emissions regulations have long been touchy subjects in the auto industry, because they can dictate the legality of automobiles and are not the same from country to country. Fragmented regulations add costs to vehicle sales, and they inhibit the ability of automakers to offer the same products around the globe.

The US and EU are attempting to improve the situation with Free Trade Agreement negotiations that started this month in Washington, D.C., Wards Auto reports, which are expected to result in a deal that pushes the global auto industry toward a world vehicle-regulatory system, with an emphasis on safety requirements.

Thoughts of mandatory sealed-beam headlights and 100+pound impact bumpers – both of which were products of fragmented global vehicle-regulatory systems – still give us headaches decades later, so here’s to hoping the FTA negotiations help unify safety regulations to some degree.

Be sure to read the article for all the details on the trade negotiations, and feel free to comment below.

US and EU negotiating free trade pact to unify global auto safety regulations originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Jul 2013 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Mitsubishi, UAW/Unions

Mitsubishi emblem

The good ol’ Diamond Star Motors plant in Normal, Illinois – where such well-regarded vehicles as the original Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon and Plymouth Laser were built, among others – is apparently getting a new lease on life now that Mitsubishi, the United Auto Workers and laborers at the plant have all approved of a new contract.

At this point, it’s unclear what Mitsubishi plans to build in its only North American plant, and the present output of Eclipse, Endeavor and Galant are likely not long for this world. Would it be too much to ask for an Eclipse that hearkens back to the good old days of turbocharged engines and all-wheel drive? Probably, but we’ll settle for a new nameplate or two that escapes the automaker’s current mire of drab, dated and slow-selling sedans and coupes.

In any case, we’re told to expect a detailed product plan from Mitsubishi that will lay out the steps it will take to become relevant in the United States once again. And, incidentally, the Japanese automaker apparently has no intentions whatsoever of leaving the U.S. market… which means whatever it’s cooking up at the moment had better be rather impressive.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Mitsubishi, UAW reach Illinois plant pact – but what will they build there? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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