Jeep recalling 240,000 Liberty SUVs to fix defective suspension part

Jeep is recalling nearly 240,000 SUVs in the United States to replace a suspension part that may break and cause drivers to lose control of the vehicles.

The action covers nearly half of the Jeep Liberty SUVs sold in the U.S. from 2004 to 2007, which have a lower rear control arm that may rust and fracture. read more »

VW CEO met with FBI days before US indicted his predecessor

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess’s statements are ‘rated as incriminatory’ against former CEO, Martin Winterkorn, who has an international arrest warrant against him

Diess reportedly travelled to the US on May 1 and gave statements to investigators from the FBI and US justice department that are "apparently rated as incriminatory" for former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, Bild daily said, quoting unnamed sources.

Winterkorn’s indictment on May 3 has brought the US criminal case to the top echelons of VW, which pleaded guilty last year to lying to American environmental regulators about emission control systems. Winterkorn faces four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US, and wire fraud. read more »

Germans are getting class-action lawsuits—just in time to sue Volkswagen

More than three years after Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal broke, consumers in the car maker’s home country could finally get a shot at suing the all-powerful company.

To do so would require something akin to class-action suits, where a group of plaintiffs band together under the representation of one individual or law firm. Unlike the US, where they are common, such lawsuits are not allowed under German law. That will change next week when the government approves class-action lawsuits.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives had been dragging their feet on the change, and have been criticized for what is regarded as an attempt to protect the all-powerful German car industry at the expense of people’s health and wallets. read more »