Photo Ticketing Company Cashes In
By Edward NiedermeyerAugust 26, 2008 - 1,109 views
Thenewspaper.com reports that Aussie photo enforcement firm Redflex has announced record profits after camera-issued tickets jumped by 50 percent in the U.S. this year. In fact, $71m of Redflex's $88m annual revenue comes from the states where camera enforcement is taking off. In 2003, Redflex operated fewer than 200 cameras, a number that now stands at 1305 and will hit 1745 by the end of next year. Redflex is on top of the world, bragging there's no end in sight for growth in its business. Except that there is. Some five percent of Redflex cameras have been shut down by court rulings, and cameras are banned from several states. Furthermore, Redflex sold radar units to the state of Arizona which were not approved for use by the FCC, and faces civil penalties as a result. In the course of that investigation, Arizona's Secretary of State found that a Louisiana notary employed by Redflex had falsified certifications for her employers speed cameras. This comes on top of revelations that municipalities are manipulating yellow light times to increase camera revenue. Once again, government and business take whatever measures they deem necessary to extract maximum revenue for minimum effort. Your tax (and fine) dollars at work.
Posted in Crime & Punishment | Law and Order | Legal | News Blog | Politics | 23 comments 
Chrysler: In-Car Internet Router $499 + Monthly Subscription
By Justin BerkowitzAugust 13, 2008 - 1,296 views
By the end of this month, Chrysler will offer EVDO routers (that's for CDMA services Verizon, Sprint and Alltel) for their cars. This for a whopping $499 a pop. And then there's the monthly service fee– which could be as low as $30. Or whatever the major carriers charge (i.e. more like $60 a month). While you can pick up an EVDO computer modem for free at your local cell phone store, when purchasing a new car, a $500 option may not feel expensive. Then again, is Chrysler kidding? It's bad enough when the guy in front of me is trying to pair his Bluetooth headset to the phone while driving. Now he's going to be on G Chat and Facebook? The system might operate only when parked, at which point I'd just go inside whatever Starbucks I'm parked in front of and use their internet for free. Speaking as an incipient lawyer, how Chrysler's in-house counsel signed off on this project, I have no idea.
Posted in Future Vehicles | Gizmology | Legal | News Blog | 23 comments
FRESPCH and VNTY PL8S
By Frank WilliamsJuly 5, 2008 - 9 views
Should states be allowed to sell specialty license plates with religious messages? Stefan Lonce, author of a book on vanity license plates, doesn't think so because he wants The New York Times to promote his book and we all know where they stand on the old church-state thing. The one-time New York Times op-ed contributor points out that federal courts consistently rule that vanity plates are protected under the First Amendment. Unless, that is, someone finds the plate offensive. Lonce advocates establishing a national database of "prohibited vanity plate messages, created with advice from First Amendment experts and open to public scrutiny." States would use the db to determine what's PC and what's not. Lonce doesn't even consider the fact that a plate that's considered "offensive" in one state would be perfectly acceptable in another. For example, religious messages prohibited by state law in Vermont are perfectly acceptable in most southern states. "As long as we have a reliable method for deciding what's allowed and what isn't," Lonce concludes. "I say the more, the merrier." And Lonce and his pals at The Grey Lady need to stop trying to say how the First Amendment should be interpreted for the rest of us.
Posted in Law and Order | Legal | News Blog | 21 comments
New Pininfarina Rolls-Royce Hyperion
By Edward NiedermeyerJune 25, 2008 - 166 views
Automotive News [sub] reports that Pininfarina is building a one-off based on Rolls-Royce's unobtainable Phantom Drophead Coupe. The Pininfarina Hyperion is a stylish convertible boulevardier built for a mysteriously unnamed private collector. The Hyperion will debut at the Pebble Beach Concourse d'Elegance this August. No word on what this monument to excess will cost its lucky owner, but given the bloated price points of other Italian reskins of the latest and hottest, one can only expect a price tag that would make Croesus blush. That saidm, besides a fresh new Italian suit, the Hyperion doesn't offer anything that's not available at the Drophead's if-you-have-to-ask price of $412k. Besides envious looks at even the toniest of locales, of course. Which we can all agree is more important than mere money.
Automotive News Europe [sub] »
Posted in Design | High Finance | Industry | Legal | News Blog | The Bob Lutz Award | 8 comments
CO2 Rules Kill Eurozone’s SUV Market
By Martin SchwoererMay 21, 2008 - 1,225 views
Several European countries are introducing severe taxes and penalties against vehicles with high CO2 emissions (read: SUVs). Auto Motor und Sport reports that Porsche Cayenne S buyers in the Netherlands will have to pay a luxury tax of about €38k at purchase. Finland's surcharge plans are relatively moderate at €26k, as are France's €10k– especially when you compare them to Norway's penalty of 54 friggin' thousand Euros. That means the Cayenne S is effectively twice as expensive in Norway as in Germany. The UK's €23.7k surcharge for Porsche's turbotractor is nothing to sneeze at, either. France also plans to introduce a yearly CO2 tax which, for the Cayenne, will amount to €3k; Austria is following suit with €5k per year. According to CSM Worldwide (a consultancy), the market for SUVs is collapsing in several European countries. This year, sales of large SUVs were down 46 percent in France and down 40 percent in Spain. It looks like Porsche has a bit more legal action in store; merely going to court against London's road-pricing autocrats won't cut the mustard. Perhaps Porsche was smart to buy those VW shares after all.
Posted in Green | Law and Order | Legal | News Blog | 9 comments
Tesla Birth Watch 43: Magna Sues Tesla Over Transmission
By Edward NiedermeyerApril 16, 2008 - 7,618 views
The EV game is getting nasty. We've heard about Tesla suing Fisker, now Earth2Tech reports that Tesla is being sued by Canadian supplier Magna for breach of contract. The suit alleges that Tesla failed to pay Magna for development work on its troubled transmission system. Transmission woes have long been the Achilles heel of the Tesla Roadster's development. Initial plans called for a two-speed transmission to be supplied by X-Trac, That unit was quickly proven incapable of reliably handling the EV's zero-RPM grunt. Tesla then went to Magna for a replacement two-speed– which proved equally unsuccessful. After attempting an in-house development, Tesla has given-up on the whole multiple gears thing in favor of the golf-cart elegance of a single-speed box. But wait, says Magna, we told you to try a single-speed solution in the first place. Not only did Tesla not listen, but according to the suit filed California, they didn't pay some $5.6m in development fees that Magna claims it was owed under the development contract. Oops. Better collect quickly guys, before you have to squabble for it in, dare I say it, bankruptcy court.
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Legal | News Blog | Tesla Birth Watch | 11 comments
Tesla Motors Sues Fisker for Stealing EV Secrets
By Frank WilliamsApril 15, 2008 - 3,305 views
It's hard to keep track of what's going on between Tesla and Fisker. But if you've got the time… First, Tesla mouthpiece Daryl Siry trash talks Fisker's range-extended vehicle, the Karma. After Fisker unveils their EV prototype at the Detroit Auto Show, Siry wonders if his rival's got what it takes to make it so. Next, Tesla's hires Henrik Fisker to design Tesla's Whitestar sedan. And now CNet News reports that Tesla is taking Fisker to court for stealing trade secrets and copying design ideas. Tesla's suit alleges that Fisker accepted the design contract "to gain access to confidential design information and trade secrets, then announced a competing vehicle." Fisker's brief had no comment on the case, other than "the firm's policy [is] not to comment on litigation." Meanwhile, Tesla says they've scrapped Fisker's design for the Whitestar in a fit of pique favor of… something else. On the positive side, this intra-vaporware legal contretemps will provide Tesla for a convenient excuse when the Whitestar doesn't appear as promised. And for us, the case could expose the reality behind Tesla's endless hype. [Props to JT for the link]
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Insurance | Legal | News Blog | Tesla Birth Watch | 8 comments
Chrysler Transmission Defect Blamed in Death
By Edward NiedermeyerApril 9, 2008 - 10,133 views
In a twist on the "unintended acceleration" debate raging here and elsewhere, a jury has found Chrysler liable for $5m in damages in a case of park-to-reverse transmission malfunction. The Saint Bernards Parish (LA) jury decided that a defect in a Grand Cherokee's automatic transmission caused the Guillot family's SUV to reverse suddenly, trapping the pregnant Mrs Guillot against a carport column, rupturing her uterus and fatally injuring their unborn (en route to a hospital for delivery). The police had considered charging Mr Guillot, who was driving at the time, with criminal negligence. Although Chrysler had sent an investigator to look into the incident, the Guillots found out about the Chrokee's long-standing park-to-reverse transmission defect when contacted by the L.A. Times– more than two years after the accident. "We suffered the worst loss any parent can experience," Mr. and Mrs. Guillot told reporters. "When we learned that Chrysler knew for years that its vehicles had a defective transmission, we were outraged and determined to hold the corporation accountable. We thank the jury for its careful review of the evidence and verdict against DaimlerChrysler."
Posted in Crime & Punishment | Legal | News Blog | 20 comments
Porsche Points to Study: Congestion Charging Increases CO2
By Justin BerkowitzApril 9, 2008 - 3,835 views
Porsche's battle against London's car-hating Mayor, Ken Livingstone, continues. PistonHeads reports that Porsche now claims a study by London's own government transit authority, Transport for London, shows congestion charging would increase greater London's CO2 levels by 182k tons by 2012. The argument is simple: if people can't go in straight lines through London, they'll be driving longer routes around the congestion zone. More driving, more CO2. The reduction of CO2 in central, congestion-charged London would be only 2200 tons– a tiny fraction compared to what happens in the surrounding areas. Meanwhile and in any case, Porsche is getting maximum PR benefit from the fight. Everytime someone reads about Porsche pouring millions of pounds into this legal struggle, they create David and Goliath associations. Sure, the greens share Livingston's anger. But they're not buying Porsches anyway.
Posted in Green | Legal | News Blog | UK | 8 comments
Maine’s Lax License Laws
By Glenn SwansonApril 2, 2008 - 10,603 views
For illegal immigrants looking to obtain "documentation" here in the U.S., getting a driver's license in Maine is a good place to start, according to WMTW. Back in March, Brazilian Guilherme Malaquias, whose tourist visa expired almost two years ago, drove another Brazilian illegal immigrant from Massachusetts up to Biddeford, Maine, where they were arrested after attempting to obtain a drivers license. But wait, there's more: According to the Bangor Daily News, a federal immigration agent claims Malaquias has allegedly transported other illegal immigrants on day trips from Massachusetts to Maine to get licenses. The Biddeford case is similar to one that transpired last month, when Anderson Dos Santos, a Brazilian from New Jersey, was arrested at the motor vehicle bureau in Augusta after he allegedly brought two women to Maine to get driver's licenses. Dos Santos told court officials that "Maine is known among Brazilians for having lax rules for issuing drivers licenses." Maine requires neither proof of citizenship nor proof of residency from applicants, but the state legislature is "considering" the idea of changing the rules to require proof of residency. Little wonder that the Feds are "pushing" Maine to conform to the Real ID Act of 2005, which establishes new national standards for state-issued driver licenses.
Posted in Law and Order | Legal | News Blog | 12 comments
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