FCA Hit With Amended Class-Action Claiming Ram Trucks Used Two Defeat Devices

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is getting a double dose of bad news as the company has been hit with an amended class-action lawsuit which claims at least two defeat devices were installed in 2007-2012 Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks equipped with the Cummins 6.7-liter diesel engine.

According to the law firm of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, the amended lawsuit comes on the heels of additional research which allegedly showed the trucks are equipped with a defeat device that can detect when they are on a dynamometer. The lawsuit claims the defeat device enables the trucks to pass emissions tests during “routine testing conditions” in the lab but then allows them to produce higher emissions during real-world driving. read more »

Electric-Car Era Threatens Firefighters With New Road Risks

Firefighters doused the blazing Tesla Inc. Model X’s battery pack, and then company engineers removed about one-quarter of its power cells before the vehicle was deemed safe to tow off of a California freeway.

That didn’t prevent the powerful and highly flammable lithium-ion battery cells from reigniting. The car caught fire twice more within 24 hours of the March 23 fatal crash, and again six days later, according to a safety bulletin from the fire department in Mountain View.

Emergency personnel at the scene of a Tesla crash on U.S. Highway 101 in Mountain View, California on March 23.

Fires on electric vehicles are rare, but the volatile chemistry of their batteries and the need for special training on how to extinguish them raises new safety questions as automakers are poised to dramatically increase production. read more »