August 3, 2010

America's 10 Most Stolen Cars
The Highway Loss Data Institute today released its list of America's ten most stolen vehicles. Topping the list once again is the irresistible (to thieves) Cadillac Escalade. Each year, 10.8 out of every thousand late model Escalades end up getting stolen, broken into, or having parts ripped off. Click here for a picture. That's the highest rate of theft claims of any vehicle in America. According to CNN, the Escalade has topped the list since 2002. You may have heard that a lot of Toyota Camrys get stolen. They do. But it's only 1.6 out of every thousand - not enough to make the top ten list. To compile their lists, the institute looked only at cars from the most recent three model years. These cars all have the latest anti-theft technologies, including engine immobilizers that prevent hot-wiring. "That won't stop a determined thief from loading a car on a flat-bed truck," said Russ Rader, the institute's spokesman. Only two international nameplate vehicles made the list: the Nissan Maxima (#7) and the Infiniti G37 Coupe (#5). For the complete slideshow of America's most stolen vehicles, and data on exactly how often they are targeted, click here.

Lawsuit Claims Toyota Ignored Safety Issues
Toyota ignored evidence of acceleration problems in its vehicles for most of the past decade and failed to install a brake override system it knew could have prevented accidents, an amended federal lawsuit claims. According to Automotive News, the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Southern California on Monday on behalf of 40 consumers and businesses for claims of economic losses, stemming from complaints of Toyota cars accelerating out of control. The suit cited an internal company memo saying that Toyota's U.S. sales arm had requested a "fail-safe (brake override) option" in 2007, three years before the company committed to making that safety feature standard. The lawsuit claims Toyota failed to address a spike in complaints involving unintended acceleration starting in 2002, the year a new electronic throttle control system became standard in its vehicles. Concerns were raised by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and insurer State Farm as early as 2004. Toyota says many unintended acceleration cases stem from driver error and has denied a glitch in its electronic throttle system. The 158-page filing draws on a review of internal Toyota documents that were surrendered to congressional investigators under subpoena earlier this year. The process of exchanging information to prepare for trial could take up to two years. For more details on the lawsuit, click here.

UAW Has New Organizational Plan
UAW President Bob King said Monday that the union, which has seen its ranks drop and its members make historic givebacks, is developing a novel approach to the critical job of organizing nonunionized automakers. King said that the UAW will ask companies to sign a set of principles that bars either side from threatening workers faced with voting for or against union representation. "If a company agrees to adopt the UAW principles, and then abides by these principles, we will respect the decision of their workers whether they vote to join the union or not," he said Monday at the 2010 Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City. According to the Detroit Free Press, King has been talking about renewing its efforts to crack the U.S. plants operated by Asian automakers and has been protesting at Toyota dealerships. Click here for AIADA's statement on those protests. "It's a very clever approach to organizing," said Sean McAlinden, a labor economist in Ann Arbor. "If they don't sign the letter," he said of companies, "it implies that they don't maintain a democratic workplace." For more on the UAW, click here.

July Car Sales Due Today; Boost Expected
Automakers will report their July sales today, and many expect to see a jump compared to last year, and to June. The Detroit News reports that auto executives and analysts expect the figures to show an annualized selling rate between 11.5 million, and just under 12 million cars and light trucks. AIADA will release its Market Watch numbers for international brands tomorrow morning. Click here for June's report. TrueCar.com, an automotive forecasting firm, forecast a 6 percent increase in sales compared to July 2009, and up 5 percent over June, 2010 sales. "In terms of SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate), July is likely to be the best month for vehicle sales since the 'Cash-for-Clunkers' Program fueled August 2009," said Jesse Toprak, TrueCar.com's vice president of industry trends and insight, in a news release Monday. "The fact that retail sales are up despite the flat incentive spending indicates a marked improvement in consumer demand, which offers promise for a more robust second half recovery." The TrueCar.com forecast also estimates that fleet sales will make up about 16 percent of the total sales, which would be the lowest percentage for 2010. For more on July's sales, click here.

Debate on Death and Taxes Heats up as Billionaires Fall
The question of death and taxes has risen to the fore in Washington as the demise of prominent billionaires, including oil tycoon Dan Duncan and New York Yankees baseball owner George Steinbrenner, has underscored a fluke which allows big estates to escape taxes, but only for this year. Duncan's fortune was estimated at nine billion dollars and Steinbrenner's at 1.1 billion by Forbes magazine. Click here for the story. According to the AFP, if they had died in 2009 or 2011, their estates would have paid huge amounts of taxes to the US Treasury. The heirs avoided the tax man because a law enacted in 2001 under President George W. Bush phased out the estate tax entirely in 2010. But the law expires in 2011, putting the tax back into effect at 2001 levels, with rates up to 55 percent. "The death tax is an unfair, immoral double tax on property and assets that folks have already paid taxes on throughout their lives," said Senator Jim DeMint, who is proposing a permanent repeal. DeMint said that by doing nothing, President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party allies are effectively putting the old estate tax back into effect, which has rates of 55 percent for amounts above one million dollars. For more on what's next for the death tax, click here.

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