550,000 pickups are cheating on diesel emissions. Emissions testing might not be enough to stop them

THE DAY

Federal investigators estimate hundreds of thousands of Americans have illegally rigged their diesel pickups to collectively emit 16 times the level of pollution they otherwise would have over the last 10 years, according to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Clean air advocates say the findings uncovered by the EPA are massive in scope, dramatically outweighing the extra emissions discovered during Volkswagen AG's "Dieselgate" scandal. But solving the issue will be challenging, as regulators grapple with how to catch tampering done by individual vehicle owners and garages rather than a single corporation. read more »

Daimler Trucks Failed to Quickly Recall Vehicles, NHTSA Says

BLOOMBERG

Daimler Trucks North America LLC agreed Thursday to pay a $30 million civil penalty to settle claims that the German automaker failed to recall vehicles in a timely fashion and comply with federal reporting requirements.

Under the settlement, Daimler Trucks will be required to “develop and implement an advanced data analytics program to enhance its ability to detect and to investigate potential safety defects,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The company will also be required to “improve its IT systems to collect potential safety information from its business units more effectively, and to report that information accurately to NHTSA,” according to the agency. read more »

Here’s Why Car Thefts Are Soaring (Hint: Check Your Cup Holder)

NY TIMES

The technology that once made cars nearly impossible to steal has ushered in a new era of joyriding in some cities, thanks to carelessness with key fobs.

The broad adoption of keyless ignitions that began in the late 1990s ushered in a dark era for car thieves. New cars had engine immobilizers that only a microchip in the key fob could unlock, and vehicle thefts quickly plummeted. From a high of 1.7 million a year in 1991, thefts had dropped more than 50 percent in recent years, according to data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Technology, it seemed, had largely solved the problem of stolen vehicles.

Until people started leaving their fobs sitting in their cup holders. read more »