Ford has announced that they will offer [highlight style=”default”]free repairs to North American owners of more than 1.4 million Explorer sport utility vehicles[/highlight] to help ensure that carbon monoxide and other exhaust gases cannot get into the vehicles. Police departments in the US have raised concerns about carbon monoxide entering the cabins of Ford Explorers adapted for police use. While NHTSA has upgraded the investigation of claims about carbon monoxide, Ford is not classifying the offer to repair as a recall, but they are offering the repair in response to customer concerns. Starting November 1, dealers will reprogram the air conditioner, replace the liftgate drain valves and inspect sealing of the rear of the vehicle. The fix covers about 1.3 million U.S. vehicles and about 100,000 in Canada and Mexico.
Californians should keep an eye out for fully autonomous vehicles in 2018. The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles unveiled a new version of proposed rules, which includes the[highlight style=”default”]testing of autonomous vehicles without back-up drivers[/highlight]. The DMV states that the self-driving vehicles must meet federal safety requirements imposed by NHTSA. The DMV’s chief lawyer states that the responsibility for motor vehicle safety resides at the federal level.
The City of New York is protesting the potential roll-back of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards of 54.5 MPG by 2025. Since 2005 the city flet has been required by law to report annually its CAFE equivalent each year for new light and medium duty fleet units and to purchase fuel efficient new vehicles. In the last four years,[highlight style=”default”]New York City demonstrated a 28 percent improvement in actual fuel economy[/highlight], with a savings of more than $600 dollars per vehicle. Lisette Camilo, Department of Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner states “In 2017 we did even better thanks to our investment in hybrid and electric vehicles. We’ve shown the current CAFE Goals are achievable. The United States must keep moving forward not backward in sustainable transport.”