Fine is auto company’s second since 2012

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has imposed a $40 million civil penalty and a series of performance requirements to automaker BMW North America for a series of violations of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act and NHTSA regulations.

Under terms of a Consent Order issued to BMW, the company acknowledges that it violated requirements to issue a timely recall of vehicles that did not comply with minimum crash protection standards, to notify owners of recalls in a timely fashion, and to provide accurate information about its recalls to NHTSA. NHTSA imposed a $3 million civil penalty to BMW in 2012 for similar violations.

“NHTSA has discovered multiple instances in which BMW failed its obligations to its customers, to the public and to safety,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “The Consent Order NHTSA has issued not only penalizes this misconduct, it requires BMW to take a series of steps to remedy the practices and procedures that led to these violations.”

(Washington – January 4, 2016) Gas prices rang in the New Year by reaching the lowest average price ($1.997) for the holiday since 2009.  Today’s average price of $1.99 per gallon is the cheapest average since March 25, 2009, and the national average has moved lower for 50 of the past 59 days, largely due to an abundance of crude oil. Pump prices are discounted by fractions of a penny on the week, by five cents per gallon on the month, and are down by 22 cents on the year.

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifty years ago this week the first pilot prototype Camaro was built.  To commemorate this golden anniversary the Historic Vehicle Association (HVA) uncovered these little known gems.

9. Born in Cincinnati
The first pilot prototype Camaro (No. 100001) was assembled on May 21, 1966 at the General Motors Assembly Plant, located in Norwood, Ohio, a few miles from Cincinnati. Why Cincinnati?  GM produced a large share of the subsequent production Camaros at the Norwood plant and used the construction of 49 pilot prototypes to develop the assembly line and equipment needed for high volume, serial production.  The Norwood plant was not going to be the only assembly line for Camaros, however, so the company also built three pilot prototypes at their Van Nuys, Los Angeles plant. The Norwood plant was not going to be the only assembly line for Camaros, however, so the company also built three pilot prototypes eight weeks later at their Van Nuys, Los Angeles plant. (Photo courtesy of Philip Borris, Echoes of Norwood)

Automotive analyst Lauren Fix addresses the influence of non-traditional car manufacturers on the pairing-up of consumer dealerships at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. BMW, Audi, and Ford are just a few of the dealerships striking partnerships. The question is, who are they partnering with?