C.A.R.S. News Archives (2024)

CARS has generated and contributed to many award-winning news reports, and is often contacted by highly respected news media seeking expert commentary and contacts among consumers impacted by harmful auto industry practices, or their surviving family members. Among the news organizations who have published reports where CARS' president has provided expert information, leads, and perspective are:

New York Times, the Associated Press, Consumer Reports, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reuters, Bloomberg, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, ABC's 20/20, NBC's Today Show, CBS This Morning, CNN, Chicago Sun-Times, Detroit Free Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, Vox Media, Politico, Checkbook Magazine, Parade Magazine, Reader's Digest, National Public Radio, and numerous other news organizations.

"California's lemon law is changing and car buyers have
fewer protections in the new year"

CalMatters

by Bryan Sabalow
December 19, 2024

"The year 2025 is shaping up to be a confusing one for Californians unlucky enough to buy a new or used car that turns out to be a clunker.

Starting Jan. 1, car buyers who purchase a faulty vehicle will have to navigate a new version of California's "lemon law" that for five decades has given consumers the right to demand car companies fix or replace defective vehicles they sell.

That is, unless lawmakers quickly pass a law that allows some of the car companies to opt out of the new requirements.

The confusion stems from a law Gov. Gavin Newsom reluctantly signed in late September, after the bill was hastily jammed through the Legislature in the waning days of the session following secret negotiations between lobbyists.

Newsom said it was important to address the problem of California's courts getting clogged with lemon law cases, even as critics said the bill significantly watered down consumer protections.

But Newsom said he signed it only after lawmakers said they'd introduce legislation next year to make the reforms voluntary for automakers....

As the Legislature sorts this out, Rosemary Shahan of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety said car buyers next year are going to have a tough time figuring out what to do if they drive a lemon off the lot.

'It's going to be really confusing for consumers,' she said....

...Shahan and other critics argue the changes will primarily benefit U.S. car companies, since they're the ones most commonly sued under the state's lemon law at the expense of consumers. Foreign car companies largely opposed the measure."

Read more: CalMatters: California's lemon law is changing and car buyers have fewer protections in the new year

"Consumer groups slam CA Supreme Court ruling on lemon law"

Public News Service

By Suzanne Potter
November 1, 2024

"Millions of Californians buy used cars still under a manufacturer's warranty - but consumer groups say those warranties are now essentially unenforceable.

It's the result of a ruling Thursday by the California State Supreme Court. The panel of judges agreed with car manufacturers that the state's so-called 'lemon law' only applies to new cars.

'You won't be able to tell the manufacturer, "Hey, you have to fix my car or I want a refund." The manufacturer can just blow you off,' said Rosemary Shahan, president of the nonprofit Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.

Owners of these used vehicles could be faced with big unanticipated repair bills if the manufacturer opts not to honor the remainder of the warranty. The court ruling means they will no longer have a right to a refund or replacement vehicle.

Shahan said she thinks that now the California Legislature should step in. She said other states already have acted to better protect used-car buyers."

Read more: "Consumer groups slam CA Supreme Court ruling on lemon law"

"State Supreme Court curbs cases that qualify for lemon law claim"

The Daily Journal

November 1, 2024

"The state supreme court ruled on Thursday that a still-active warranty on a used car does not grant a new owner the right to sue the manufacturer under the state's lemon law.

'This will have enormous consequences for millions of vehicle owners who pay extra for used vehicles that include the manufacturer's warranties, with the reasonable expectation that if major problems arise they won't have to pay out of pocket for repairs,' read a statement sent by Rosemary Shahan, president of the non-profit Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety."

Read more: Daily Journal: "State Supreme Court curbs cases that qualify for lemon law claim"

"Consumer advocates: Bill to require used car dealers
to notify customers about recalls is flawed"

"Advocates say the bill gives buyers little recourse if they buy a used car
with an open, potentially dangerous recall."

News 12 New Jersey

October 23, 2024
by Walt Kane

"New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill that they say will protect used car buyers. But many consumer advocates say the bill could have the opposite impact, giving buyers little recourse if they buy a used car with an open, potentially dangerous recall.

Click on the image to go to the News 12 website to watch the video.
(The video starts muted, so click the volume icon to get sound.)

A 2018 Kane In Your Corner investigation examined how used car buyers might end up unknowingly purchasing vehicles with dangerous open recalls. Trinity Wixner was left with a vehicle that she was afraid to drive and no fix for the issue was readily available.

A new bill, under consideration in Trenton, would require used car dealers to notify the consumers if a car has one or more open recalls, but they would not be required to fix it. Consumer advocates say this bill might actually make things worse for consumers.

"It makes it easier for car dealers to get away with selling unsafe vehicles that have potentially lethal safety recall defects," says Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. "Why should a dealer be able to sell a car that has bad brakes or a steering wheel that could come off into your hands?"

Shahan says if lawmakers really want to protect car buyers, they should just require used car dealers to fix any recalls.

Car dealers have long been opposed to being forced to fix recalls on used cars. And Kane in Your Corner found the industry has spent a lot of money getting that message across, making over $329,000 in campaign contributions to New Jersey state lawmakers through a political action committee called Car-Pac. Some of the biggest recipients of that funding are sponsoring the legislation, including state Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R – Montville), state Assembly members John DiMaio (R –Hackettstown) and Lou Greenwald (D – Voorhees), and state Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D – Clark)."

Watch full report: "Consumer advocates: Bill to require used car dealers to notify customers about recalls is flawed"

"Trenton's latest disgrace: An anti-consumer bill that compromises highway safety | Editorial"

New Jersey Star-Ledger

October 17, 2024
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board

"It is remarkable that even though New Jersey's consumer protection laws already make it illegal for dealers to sell used cars with active recalls - many do it anyway - the Legislature wants us to believe that forcing a dealer to check the NHTSA website is a laudable commitment to transparency. Three cheers for this arduous effort, which takes three seconds.

But it's a cynical scheme. The bill only requires the dealer to print out the open recall and include it in the paperwork of the sale – which will effectively make it legal to sell damaged used cars in New Jersey.

Even worse, the bill makes it harder -- some say impossible -- to file a lawsuit, because the dealer has disclosed that there is an open recall that requires repair.

'It actually lifts a big legal burden off the dealer to sell safe and road-worthy vehicles,' said Chuck Bell, the program director for Consumer Reports. 'We think that burden should belong with the dealer, who is in a much better position to repair the vehicle or understand what's wrong with it.'

Rosemary Shahan, the president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), put it this way: 'In this case, disclosure isn't meant to be about disclosure. It's legal C-Y-A,' she said. 'This bill seeks to foist the responsibility of fixing the car onto the consumer while shielding the dealers.'

Read more: "Trenton's latest disgrace: An anti-consumer bill that compromises highway safety | Editorial"

"Newsom wants a do-over on the lemon car law he just signed.
Will it hurt buyers?"

CalMatters

October 3, 2024
By Ryan Sabalow

"In the chaotic final days of the legislative session, lawmakers jammed through major changes to California's "Lemon Law" that protects consumers from defective cars even as members complained that the complex legislation was rushed too quickly.

Gov. Gavin Newsom nonetheless signed the measure into law earlier this week, saying it was important to address a rising number of lemon law cases clogging the state's court system.

But he did so reluctantly, only after lawmakers agreed to reconsider the legislation next year and make the reforms voluntary for automakers.

'This bill has drawn substantive opposition from several consumer groups and the majority of automakers, who were not party to the negotiations,' Newsom wrote in a statement to legislators. 'While AB 1755 aims to speed resolution of lemon law claims and reduce litigation, many automakers … have expressed serious concerns.'

....

... proponents said General Motors was the bill's strongest supporter, and that company has the most lemon law cases, nearly 26 times more than Toyota, which opposed the legislation. Proponents say that since GM agreed to the reforms, that alone should ease the burden on California's courts, even if other companies opt out....

"There wasn't a single person who represents the people of California who knew about this and was a part of those conversations – for months," Democratic San Ramon Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan told her colleagues on the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Aug. 30. "They dropped this in our lap, and they expect us to buy an argument related to the urgency that feels, to be honest, not real. And we're supposed to move this in a week's time."

....

"The companies that make the most lemons and fail to invest in what it takes to build quality cars and address problems early on are the ones that are being rewarded by this bill," said Rosemary Shahan of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.

....

...critics, such as Shahan of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, say the law Newsom signed contains other provisions that would harm car buyers.

She said it will shorten the time in which a customer can sue, reduce how much money they can receive in rebates and shrink the period they can use the lemon law to just six years instead of the entire life of a vehicle's warranty, which can last longer.

Shahan said the real winners from AB 1755 are the U.S. car companies that backed the bill since they're the ones most commonly sued under the state's lemon law."

Read more: CalMatters: Newsom wants a do-over on the lemon car law he just signed.

"Critics say lawmakers watered down California's lemon car law after secret lobbyist negotiations"

CalMatters

September 23, 2024

by Ryan Sabalow

"Californians for the past 54 years have relied on the state's 'lemon law' to fight back against car makers that sell them defective vehicles.

Now, critics say Californians' ability to recoup their money after buying a clunker could become more difficult, due to a hastily passed bill that lobbyists representing U.S. auto manufacturers and powerful attorneys groups drafted in secret.

...how the bill came to end up on [Governor Newsom's] desk is the latest example of how influential lobbying groups write laws impacting millions of Californians behind closed doors — and how the measures are often passed with little time for public input or legislative debate.

'There wasn't a single person who represents the people of California who knew about this and was a part of those conversations – for months,' Democratic San Ramon Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan told her colleagues on the Assembly Judiciary Committee last month in the final days of the legislative session.

'They dropped this in our lap, and they expect us to buy an argument related to the urgency that feels, to be honest, not real. And we're supposed to move this in a week's time.' [Assemblymember Bauer Kahan is the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, which normally would have had a hearing on the bill, based on how lemon law bills were assigned to committees in the past.]...

Former Los Angeles Democratic Assemblymember Mike Gatto said it's unlikely that lawmakers actually read all that in those final chaotic days of the session with hundreds of other consequential bills still pending....

Downey Democratic Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, an attorney, told her Judiciary Committee colleagues she wasn't comfortable voting for the bill because she wasn't sure what it would do.

'I want to make sure that consumers are protected as well,' she said. 'Those are our constituents. And so that is what we really should be caring about. And I don't know if consumers are really protected.'

....

Umberg, a former federal prosecutor, and Kalra, a former public defender and law professor, told their colleagues that consumers would still be able to get their money back from a defective car. They argued that California's lemon law, which Gov. Ronald Reagan signed in 1970, still would be stronger than that of any other state.

But Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said the bill would harm car owners stuck with a lemon vehicle in several ways.

It would limit the amount of "negative equity" refunds consumers could get for their defective car, and it would shorten the period in which consumers can use the lemon law to just six years, even when their warranty lasts longer, she said.

'This is a big deal for folks who pay extra for a vehicle with a warranty from the manufacturer, in order to avoid getting hit with a large unexpected repair bill,' she said in an email.

The bill also would require that consumers notify their manufacturer in writing that their car is a lemon, instead of just taking it into a dealer for repairs and starting the process of getting their money back there, she said.

It also would limit the amount of time a consumer can file a lemon lawsuit from four years after a claim is filed to just a year from the expiration of a vehicle's warranty, she said.

'This would make it easier for unscrupulous auto manufacturers to get away with doing cheap "Band-Aid" type repairs – instead of fixing the underlying problem – until the warranty expires,' leaving consumers on the hook for a massive bill, she said.

The bill's supporters include General Motors, Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) and Ford Motor Company, as well as RV manufacturers....

Regardless of whether lawmakers fully grasped the issue, any time complicated legislation such as AB 1755 gets rushed through at the last minute, it harms the Legislature's credibility and makes it harder for voters to trust their elected leaders, said Gatto, the former lawmaker.

'Transparency suffers,' he said, 'And all the different stakeholders that keep the Legislature honest, whether it's the electorate or the media, it makes it a lot harder for us to do our jobs.'"

Read more: Public News Service: "Critics say lawmakers watered down California's lemon car law after secret lobbyist negotiations"

Consumer groups blast bill to change CA lemon law

Public News Service

August 29, 2024
by Suzanne Potter

"Consumer groups are calling for the withdrawal of a bill [AB 1755] that would change the way California's auto lemon law works....

Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said it would also mean if a problem arises more than six years after the sale, the lemon law no longer applies.

'It would shorten the statute of limitations for filing a lemon-law case to just one year after the warranty expires. Right now it's four years after you find out you have a claim,' she explained.

The bill would also require consumers to file a formal written complaint instead of simply calling the dealer....

General Motors is the biggest backer of the bill. Shahan suggests car manufacturers are looking for ways to avoid paying to repair or replace vehicles.

'What they're trying to do is reduce their warranty compliance costs, like last year alone, Ford paid out $1.9 billion in warranty repairs, and they're under pressure by Wall Street to reduce their warranty costs,' she continued."

She added the bill would also mean that manufacturers would no longer have to pay off the amount people may still owe on a lemon car. So some people may not be able to get a buy-back unless they can come up with thousands of dollars up front."

Read more: Public News Service: Consumer groups blast bill to change CA Lemon Law

"California's lemon law could get an update that would speed refunds under new deal"

San Francisco Chronicle

By Bob Egelko
August 20, 2024

".... [the Consumer Attorneys of California] and automakers [General Motors and Ford] say they've reached an agreement on legislation to streamline and speed up claims under California's "lemon law," which entitles buyers of vehicles with serious defects to receive a refund or a new car.

The .... [1970 law signed by then-Governor Reagan] requires the manufacturer of a vehicle sold in California to provide a refund or a replacement when the vehicle cannot be repaired after a "reasonable" number of attempts, usually ranging from two to four depending on the seriousness of the problem....

The new legislation [is] AB1755 by Assembly Member Ash Kalra, D-San Jose.

The bill would also require customers to file claims under the lemon law within six years of receiving the vehicle, and within one year of the expiration of the vehicle's warranty. It would set new deadlines for proceedings in court, and would require customers who seek civil penalties to submit their claims to the manufacturer in writing, not a mandate under current law.

Every state has a lemon law that applies to new cars, but California's law is one of the few that also applies to used cars. In a statement announcing the bill, Kalra said AB1755 would ensure that California's law "remains the strongest in the nation, by streamlining and expediting the process for consumers to get their money back — or get a new car — when their vehicle has a serious defect the manufacturer can't fix."

Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, who co-authored the measure, said it would "get drivers out of the judicial system and back on the road more quickly."

Kalra used the so-called gut-and-amend tactic to take an existing bill, scrape out the language and replace it with the new lemon law measure. It must be approved by both houses by Aug. 31 and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom by Sept. 30 in order to become law next year....

But other consumer groups said Wednesday that AB1755 would weaken the existing lemon law for the benefit of automakers.
'Manufacturers are now responsible for figuring out if you have a lemon. This shifts the burden to consumers,' said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group. Other objectors included the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League and the California Public Interest Research Group.

Shahan said the bill restricts customers' rights by requiring them to file complaints within six years of purchase, even if their warranty was longer. And if the car's value has decreased since its purchase, she said, the manufacturer would be required to repay the owner only the diminished value, not the additional amount, known as 'negative equity,' that the owner still owes."

Read more: San Francisco Chronicle: "California's lemon law could get an update that would speed refunds under new deal"

____

Note: the bill is opposed by the nation's leading pro-consumer and auto safety organizations, and many leading California-based consumer and safety organizations, including:

Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety

The Center for Auto Safety

Consumer Federation of America

National Consumers League

Safety Research and Strategies

National Consumer Law Center

Kids and Car Safety

National Association of Consumer Advocates

Trauma Foundation

Rise Economy

CALPIRG

Public Counsel

University of San Diego Consumer Protection Policy Center

Housing and Economic Rights Advocates

It is also opposed by many auto manufacturers who have a record of building better-quality vehicles and are relatively rarely sued under California's auto lemon law, compared with GM and Ford. (See The California Auto Lemon Index to see which auto manufacturers are sued the most /least under California's auto lemon law.)

"Feds fine bank for illegal car insurance practices"

Public News Service

Suzanne Potter, Producer
July 11, 2024

"Fifth Third Bank just agreed to pay a $20 million fine to settle charges it forced car buyers to purchase unnecessary insurance and created fake accounts in customers' names.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the bank required customers with car loans to buy insurance, even if they already had coverage or got their own within 30 days.

Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said some customers then could not afford the payments.

'There were about 1,000 consumers who had their cars repossessed,' Shahan recounted. 'Most people rely on their car to get to and from work, and get their kids to school, and get to medical appointments. So that is really devastating when they lose their car.'

....

Shahan pointed out car dealers sometimes make verbal promises differing from the written contract or fail to even print out the financing paperwork. She wants people to know they cannot be required to buy insurance if they already have coverage.

'The best way to avoid all these scams is join a credit union, get your own financing, and deal with a reputable bank,' Shahan recommended. 'Don't let the dealer get financing for you.' ""

Read more: "Feds fine bank for illegal car insurance practices" by Suzanne Potter, Public News Service

CFPB takes action against Fifth Third Bank for wrongfully triggering auto repossessions and opening fake bank accounts

For Immediate Release
March 22, 2024

BLUMENTHAL, MARKEY, & WARREN INTRODUCE LEGISLATION
TO PROTECT CAR BUYERS & BOLSTER SAFETY OF USED CARS

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced legislation today to ensure the safety and reliability of used cars. The legislation, the Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act, requires car dealers to repair any outstanding safety recalls in used cars prior to selling, leasing, or loaning them to consumers. Current federal law does not prohibit car dealers from selling cars with open recalls, threatening the safety of everyone on the road. The Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act addresses this gap in consumer protections and better safeguards car buyers who often believe they are purchasing a vehicle with safety assurances.

"This bill makes sure that used cars with dangerous defects are repaired before they are driven on our roads," said Blumenthal. "While many people believe the used cars they are purchasing are safe and reliable, that is all too often not the case. The Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act closes this glaring safety loophole, ensuring consumers have peace of mind when they get behind the wheel."

"Whether a car is brand new or used, nobody should be at risk of purchasing an unsafe car," said Markey. "And it doesn't matter if a car is still on the lot or in a driveway, it needs to be made safe. I am proud to work alongside Senators Blumenthal and Warren on this important legislation to ensure unrepaired cars, subject to an outstanding recall, remain off our roads. Let's close this loophole so that drivers, passengers, and pedestrians are safe once and for all."

With over 35 million used cars purchased in the United States in 2023, bolstering the safety of used cars remains an increasingly pressing issue. The Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act prevents the sale of used vehicles with safety defects by prohibiting auto dealers from selling, leasing, or loaning vehicles with unrepaired open recalls to consumers.

To ensure that open recalls are repaired, the Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act incentivizes auto dealers to swiftly repair recalls by allowing them to sell recalled vehicles to other dealers who have the ability to fix the defects instead of sitting in their lots. The legislation also requires manufacturers to provide dealers with parts to repair safety defects within 60 days or reimburse dealers if the manufacturers cannot provide the necessary parts.

The Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act is supported by a number of auto safety and consumer groups, including Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Reports, Consumer Action, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, MASSPIRG, USPIRG, Safety Research and Strategies, Public Citizen, and Consumer Federation of America.

"No one should have to worry when they buy a car from a dealership that the dealer is deliberately selling them a hazardous, defective recalled deathtrap -- whether it's new or used. Senator Blumenthal's bill is crucial for helping protect America's used car buyers and their families from suffering devastating injuries or being killed. While used car buyers and their surviving family members do have important rights under state laws, those may not kick in unless someone has suffered damages or died. We still need NHTSA to be able to crack down on dealers who violate federal law, to help prevent tragedies from happening," said Rosemary Shahan, President of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.

"Millions of unrepaired and dangerous recalled vehicles are operated on America's roads every day, threatening drivers, passengers and other road users. The widespread practice of selling these dangerous vehicles without first fixing obvious and identified safety hazards unacceptably shifts the burden from manufacturers and used car sellers onto the party least equipped to address the danger – the consumer. The Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act incentivizes manufacturers to get recall repairs completed quickly and protects everyone on the road by closing the federal loophole permitting the sale of unrepaired recalled used cars," said Michael Brooks, Executive Director of Center for Auto Safety.

William Wallace, associate director of safety policy for Consumer Reports, said, "At the bare minimum, people should be able to trust that a used car they're buying is not coming to them with known, unrepaired safety defects—and right now, that's not assured. Consumer Reports strongly supports the Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act. We urge every member of Congress to support the bill and press for it to become law expeditiously."

"Many consumers will never buy a new car, and second-hand cars should not mean second-rate safety. An unrepaired safety recall can put road users at risk of death or injury, yet these tragic occurrences can be prevented by repair before resale. We commend Senators Richard Blumenthal, Ed Markey, and Elizabeth Warren, for reintroducing the Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act which ensures commonsense actions to keep vehicles with unrepaired recalls off the roads," said Tara Gill, Senior Director, Federal and State Government Relations, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

"This bill will put the brakes on the sale of dangerous used cars," said Deirdre Cummings, MASSPIRG's legislative director. "Consumers, rightly so, have the expectation that when shopping at used car dealerships they are being sold safe cars, and at the very least, they certainly would not expect for sale any car that is still under a safety recall."

"New cars can't be sold with an open recall, why should used cars be an exception? This bill is important to close the gap on safety and protect buyers," says longtime safety advocate Sean Kane, of Safety Research & Strategies.

The full text of the bill can be found here.

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