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Report: NHTSA boss Strickland weighs in on Jeep recall fracas

Filed under: SUV, Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Jeep

David Strickland

Adding yet another chapter to the ongoing Jeep recall story, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) head David Strickland has gone on record to defend the government’s request that Chrysler recall 2.7 million out-of-production Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty vehicles after the agency investigated fiery rear-end collisions that have reportedly killed at least 51 people over the years. In statements made to The Detroit News, Strickland said, “We felt very strongly that the process that we undertook and the findings that we made and … we made the decision to issue a recall request. We do not take that very lightly.” The top US auto safety regulator stopped short of telling owners to park their cars until the automaker takes action. “They can make their own risk assessment and their own choices,” he said.

Chrysler does not intend to recall the models, insisting the “vehicles met and exceeded all applicable requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, including FMVSS 301, pertaining to fuel-system integrity” when they were manufactured and sold. “The company does not agree with NHTSA’s conclusions and does not intend to recall the vehicles cited in the investigation. The subject vehicles are safe and are not defective,” Chrysler announced last week in a statement. “We believe NHTSA’s initial conclusions are based on an incomplete analysis of the underlying data, and we are committed to continue working with the agency to resolve this disagreement.”

Legally, Chrysler has until June 18 to formally respond to NHTSA’s request. If the automaker does not take action, NHTSA is expected to issue a formal finding and seek a recall.

NHTSA boss Strickland weighs in on Jeep recall fracas originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Followup: Kubica recovering as Renault weighs potential replacements

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Lotus, Renault

Robert Kubica arrives at Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure, Italy

The Lotus Renault GP team has issued another update on the progress of its star pilot Robert Kubica. The Polish driver, for those who haven’t been following, crashed during the Ronde di Andorra in Italy on Sunday – just weeks before the start of the F1 season – and was airlifted to a local hospital where doctors treated him for multiple fractures and severed tendons in his right limbs.

With the bulk of the procedures now behind him, Kubica is conscious (some reports state that he was revived from a medically-induced coma), and conversing with his doctors as well as visiting relatives and colleagues. Later this week, Kubica will have to undergo additional surgery (for his right shoulder and foot), to be followed by another procedure a few days later. He’s expected to stay at the Santa Corona Hospital where he has been since the crash for another two or three weeks, after which he’ll likely be transfered to another location to rehabilitate, likely for between five months and a full year.

With his recovery underway but a long road ahead, Renault will need to find someone to temporarily take his place for the impending season. Although the team has both Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean – both recent F1 drivers – on contract, the team is reportedly examining all of its options. Among them are Force India drivers Tonio Liuzzi and Nico Hulkeberg, both of which raced last season and have proven themselves competitive drivers. Liuzzi lost his seat this year at Force India, while Hulkenberg took a test-driver role with the team when he lost his seat at Williams.

[Source: Lotus Renault GP, ESPN | Image: Silvio Fasano/AP]

Continue reading Followup: Kubica recovering as Renault weighs potential replacements

Followup: Kubica recovering as Renault weighs potential replacements originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Frank Sprongl weighs in on Travis Pastrana’s Mt. Washington Auto Road record

Filed under: Motorsports, Audi, Subaru

Frank Sprongl in his Audi Quattro

Frank Sprongl in his 1983 Audi Quattro

Frank Sprongl would like to chat with Travis Pastrana. You see, we recently reported that Mr. Pastrana established a new record for driving up the Mt. Washington Auto Road. Travis’ time of six minutes and 20.47 seconds in a rally-prepped Subaru WRX STI bested the previous time laid down by Sprongl. In 1998, Frank Sprongl and his 1983 Audi Quattro S2 attacked the Auto Road and set an official record time of six minutes and 41.99 seconds. Technology has advanced quite a bit in the 27 years since Sprongl’s Audi Quattro was new, as well as the 12 years since he set the record.

“It’s unofficial to begin with… it’s basically just a test day and he did it with a co-driver and pace notes,” states Sprongl. He adds, “The course has 76 turns and I ran it with no co-driver or notes, I memorized every turn.” He further notes that the Auto Road had longer gravel sections when he made his official run. It has since received more paving. In Frank Sprongl’s opinion, this run is simply Red Bull and Travis performing a stunt for advertising. He does say that he believes Travis put in an amazing effort and it was certainly an excellent run… but was it official or not?

[Image: Mount Washington Auto Road]

Continue reading Frank Sprongl weighs in on Travis Pastrana’s Mt. Washington Auto Road record

Frank Sprongl weighs in on Travis Pastrana’s Mt. Washington Auto Road record originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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