Ferrari raised $601,000 for Haiti relief efforts in auction last night. At the gala event, Ferrari auctioned the first Ferrari 458 Italia to arrive in the United States for $530,000. The money raised went to the Catholic Medical Mission Board and the William J. Clinton Foundation. Over 500 guests and Ferrari aficionados, including John Mayer, Jeremy Renner, Patrick Dempsey, Aaron Eckhart, Joel McHale, Malin Akerman, Molly Simms, Katie Cassidy, had the opportunity to bid on Ferrari Formula One driver Fernando Alonso's original racing suit and on two experiences as a Scuderia Ferrari team member at the Canadian Gran Prix in Montreal next June. The auction of the Ferrari 458 Italia was conducted by the Wall Street Journal automotive journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Dan Neil.
Pictured above are actors Aaron Eckhart, Olivia Munn, Jeremy Renner, TV personality Maria Menounos and Actress Molly Sims. Actor Jeremy Renner and Katie Cassidy are in the photograph below.
Wiredreports that 100 drivers in Austin, Texas woke up to find their cars either disabled or honking out of control. The vehicles had been disabled by a former Texas Auto Center employee who had been laid off. The former employee got revenge by using the dealership's remote immobilization system to disable cars the dealership had sold.
The dealership used a system called Webtech Plus as an alternative to repossessing vehicles that haven't been paid for. Operated by Cleveland-based Pay Technologies, the system lets car dealers install a small black box under vehicle dashboards that responds to commands issued through a central website, and relayed over a wireless pager network. The dealer can disable a car's ignition system, or trigger the horn to begin honking, as a reminder that a payment is due. The system will not stop a running vehicle.
The drivers who had their cars disabled must have been very annoyed. The incident reveals a problematic side to this type of technology.
A California driver in a Toyota Prius was saved by the California Highway Patrol after it went out of control. The driver called 911 when his accelerator stuck. The driver said he was standing on the breaks trying to get the car to stop. The police told the driver to simultaneously put his foot on the break pedal and pull on the emergency break. The police officer also used his car to help slow the vehicle. These methods eventually safely stopped the vehicle. Take a look:
Some owners of Toyota vehicles are complaining that they are still experiencing unintended acceleration problems even after Toyota has repaired their recalled cars. Bloomberg reports that the NHTSA is keeping a close eye on Toyota's gas pedal repairs. There have been at least 60 complaints from owners that the fix did not work according to the NHTSA.
"We are determined to get to the bottom of this," David Strickland, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said in e-mailed statement yesterday. NHTSA had reported 10 such complaints a day earlier.
The agency questioned whether Toyota has fixed the defects that caused unintended acceleration. The Toyota City, Japan- based automaker, the world's largest, has recalled about 8 million vehicles worldwide to reshape and replace gas pedals.
"If it appears that a remedy provided by Toyota is not addressing the problem it was intended to fix, NHTSA has the authority to order Toyota to provide a different solution," the agency said in its e-mailed statement.
Toyota owner Stewart Stogel told VOA news that he was nearly in a serious accident after the repair was made that was caused by unintended acceleration. Stogel said, "I almost got into a serious accident after the fix was done. I was saved only by a few feet and about a second going down an embankment and smashing into a brick wall."
The Detroit Newsreports that a House Energy and Commerce Committee is requesting more details from Toyota about the repairs.
CNN's Jim Boulden reports on some of the new luxury cars on display at the 2010 motor show in Geneva. Some of the cars he shows include Spyker and Morgan. Boulden also shares Ferrari's hybrid plans. Take a look:
The Detroit Free Pressreports that GM is recalling 1.3 million cars because of power steering complaints. The recalled vehicles include 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007-10 Pontiac G5s, ·2005 - 2006 Pontiac Pursuit (Canada) and 2005 - 2006 Pontiac G4 (Mexico). The recall follows a National Highway Traffic Safety Agency probe.
"After our in-depth investigation, we found that this is a condition that takes time to develop. It tends to occur in older models out of warranty," said Jamie Hresko, GM vice president of quality, in a statement. “Recalling these vehicles is the right thing to do for our customers' peace of mind.
GM said even if the problem occurred, the vehicles are “safe to drive” but would require more steering effort under 15 m.p.h., with a chime and “Power Steering” warning light coming on.
GM's press release about the recall can be found here.
Louis Vuitton is suing carmaker Huyndai for using its trademarked logo without permission in an ad it ran during the Super Bowl. The logo appears briefly on a basketball.
In a trademark infringement suit filed in Manhattan Federal Court, Louis Vuitton described its logo as "famous and incontestable."
The lawyers argued that Hyundai could have gotten its point across without using the posh pattern -- a registered trademark since 1932.
It was the only logo used in the ads. The other scenes featured cops eating caviar, a yacht parked between modest homes, blue-collar workers lunching on lobster and a Hyundai driving under street lights transformed into chandeliers.
If you look closely at the photo, you'll see that the basketball is not actually covered with the real Louis Vuitton logo -- that's the fake, Canal street version which has an "LZ" instead of an "LV." The other graphic elements are also incorrect, although you can't see that in the film version because it is onscreen for so little time. It is quite clear that Huyndai meant for consumers to think it was a real Louis Vuitton logo. This was Huyndai's (or the ad firm's) way of trying to get around having to ask Louis Vuitton for permission to use its logo (which certainly would have been denied).
So, to sum up: Huyndai used a fake Louis Vuitton logo to deliberately confuse viewers into thinking it was seeing a real Louis Vuitton logo. Besides being really tacky, it also constitutes the intentional use of someone else's trademark (okay, the perception of its trademark) to create confusion in the marketplace and make a profit. Should be an interesting case.
Honda will unveil this three-wheeled, single person vehicle that looks like a futuristic snowmobile at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show. The Honda 3R-C is powered by a lithium ion battery. The vehicle has a lockable storage area in front of the driver.
General Motors (G.M.) has decided to close its Hummer brand. The New York Times Dealbook blog that the planned sale of Hummer to the Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Company has fallen through. Dealbook says G.M. did not explain why the deal did not work out. Fox News says there had been reports that Chinese regulators were refusing to approve the sale.
John Smith, G.M.'s vice president of corporate planning and alliances, said in a statement. "G.M. will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner."
Toyota got some good news for a change: the Prius has retained its nod of approval from Consumer Reports as the most environmentally friendly car. Toyota recently recalled 437,000 hybrids to fix a brake software flaw. Bloomberg reports:
The carmaker's $76,572 Lexus LS460L was named best overall vehicle among more than 280 autos tested, the publication said at a news conference in Washington today. The Prius was ranked best "green" car for the seventh straight year.
The Consumer Reports rankings, used by U.S. car buyers, may help Toyota weather recalls now totaling more than 8 million vehicles worldwide and widening probes into its handling of the faults. A federal grand jury has asked for documents related to unintended acceleration and braking in the Prius, and three congressional panels are planning hearings, starting with a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee today.
The publisher of Consumer Reports, Consumers Union, has recommended that the Prius be redesigned so that it is easier to turn the car off in an emergency when the brakes fail. Apparently the push button starters are difficult to turn off in an emergency. Right now, the button has to be held down for three full seconds in order to turn off the ignition. That's much too long in an emergency situation.
Eight "Naomi for Haiti" Lotus Evora vehicles are being auctioned off for charity. The vehicles have the Haitian flag emblazoned on the front doors along with the words "Naomi for Haiti." Top Speed reports that the first of the eight vehicles was sold for $500,000. Naomi Campbell's boyfriend, Vladimir Doronin, made the winning bid. Naomi Campbell also helped put on the Fashion For Relief Haiti show at New York Fashion Week, which you can watch here.
CBS News reports that Toyota may recall Corollas over power steering issues. Nicole Nason, the former NHTSA administrator, talked to Maggie Rodriguez about Toyota's recent recalls. She says recalls are not usually like this. She said it is very significant that the government has issued a letter to Toyota asking what they knew and when they knew it. She also says there are "cultural differences" when dealing with Toyota and that they are "very formal" - which slows down the investigation process. Take a look:
Update:Toyota's president Akio Toyoda said Wednesday that the company is not hiding auto defects.
As the Toyota disaster continues to unfold, attorneys now say
that lost sales, image damage and payout from all the lawsuits over the recalls will end up costing the company around $2 billion. Shareholders are not happy.
People who purchased Toyota vehicles in the U.S. have filed at least 41 class action suits against Toyota, seeking damages that range from loss of car value to a return of profits. Toyota faces at least 13 individual lawsuits claiming deaths or injuries caused by unwanted acceleration of vehicles. Customer lawyers said they're considering filing dozens more.
In similar class actions against carmakers, some customers settled claims by taking discount coupons for future purchases, most of which were never used. Toyota customers will demand cash, said attorney Michael Louis Kelly, who has filed two such suits in California. The Kelley Blue Book, the used-auto pricing service used as a guide in private-party transactions, reported last week that values of Toyota vehicles had already suffered a loss of up to 3 percent of resale value.
"The damages could be in the billions of dollars in the loss of value alone," Kelly said in an interview. "I don't think we’re talking about coupons under any circumstances."
Recent reports say the recalls of 2010 Priuses are being extended to include earlier models that also have braking problems.
The T3 Series Electric Stand-up Vehicle was featured in last night's Super Bowl XLIV broadcast. Four of T3's vehicles were featured in a 60-second commercial by Audi entitled "Green Police." The commercial main focus was to promote Audis' diesel wagon, the A3 TDI. Cheap Trick also rewrote the lyrics to their hit song, "Dream Police," for the soundtrack to the commercial which aired in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. Take a look:
The Wall Street Journalreports
that Toyota may begin recalls of 2010 Priuses for the defective braking issue.
Toyota Motor Corp. will likely start recall or voluntary repairs to fix the braking system problems of the latest model of its highly-popular Prius hybrid in Japan as soon as early this week, people familiar with the matter said Sunday.
One person said Toyota also intends to take similar steps in the U.S. and other overseas markets simultaneously, but didn't elaborate. Toyota will likely "take an action early this week," the person said.
The move goes a step further for Toyota, whose president Akio Toyoda, a member of the founding family, gave "a heartfelt apology" for causing a massive world-wide vehicle recall affecting over 8 million cars related to problems with its accelerator pedals and floor mats.
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In Japan, Toyota has already provided information, including what caused the Prius problems, to its dealerships, but the company has not specifically decided what form the customer support would take--a recall or voluntary repairs, the people familiar with the matter said.
One of the people said service to owners of the newest Prius model may start as soon as soon as Monday. The fix will take 20 to 30 minutes to rewrite a software program.
Toyota has received a great deal of criticism in both the U.S. and Japan for its slow response to the crisis and lack of communication with customers. The CEO of the company finally apologized on international television last week, but many felt his words were insufficient to stem the tide of bad PR the recalls have engendered. It didn't help that Akio Toyoda looked uncomfortable in front of the cameras. He looked like he would rather have been anywhere else than on TV apologizing for his company's errors.
Some owners of Toyota vehicles are 
The Detroit Free Press 
General Motors (G.M.) has decided to close its Hummer brand. The New York Times Dealbook 
