Problems in the auto industry

The Pop Tort has a short comment on safety issues in the auto industry here. Among other things, it reminds us that about 10 million Toyota cars and trucks have been recalled worldwide this year (for faulty gas pedals and floor mats, braking problems,stalling engines). Toyota had to pay a $16.4-million fine as a result of what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration argued was a failure to report the problems to government regulators in a timely manner. Meanwhile, Honda has recalled an unspecified number of Acura RL sedans and Odyssey minivans. Chrysler recently recalled over 26,000 vehicles with power steering problems. Volvo recalled almost 10,000 cars for problems with airbags. GM and Nissan had seven recalls while BMW, Chrysler and Ford had five each. In all, the auto industry has had 56 safety recalls for passenger vehicles in the last six months, according to government data.