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GM finds steering flaw, decides it doesn't warrant a recall

Guess what? General Motors is back in the spotlight for not recalling something. This time, though, not only does the company have an argument against a recall campaign, but its position is supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to The New York Times, over 50 owners of GM vehicles have reported instances of stuck or seized steering after driving long distances without moving the wheel. One owner complained to NHTSA that the "locked" steering of their 2013 Buick Verano caused a collision with a concrete barrier in a construction zone. Along with the 2013 to 2014 model year Verano sedans, Chevrolet Cruze and Malibu sedans are also affected. Considering the popularity of those models, GM needs to have a reason for not issuing a recall, right? "Based on a very low rate of occurrence – ranging from less than one half to less than two incidents per thousand vehicles – and the fact that the condition is remedied when the wheel is turned, GM determined this was not a safety issue," spokesman Alan Adler told The Times. The company has, however, issued a technical service bulletin for owners that complain of the problem. The fix is nothing more than a software update that is covered for 10 years or 150,000 miles from new. NHTSA cited GM's actions, along with descriptions of the problems from customers, in its decision not to issue a recall, with spokeswoman Catherine Howden saying, "the symptoms described would be a brief, perceptible change in steering feel that has little to no effect on the driver's ability to safely steer the vehicle." "When terms like 'notchy,' 'stick,' 'slip' or 'feel' are used, it does not indicate a meaningful increase in steering effort," Howden told The Times via email. What do you think? Is GM in the wrong here? Should there be a recall, or is the issue so limited as to not warrant one? Have your say in Comments. Featured Gallery 2013 Buick Verano Turbo: Review View 20 Photos Related Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Malibu: First Drive View 36 Photos Related Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Turbo Diesel: Quick Spin View 14 Photos News Source: The New York TimesImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Steven J. Ewing, Seyth Miersma / AOL Government/Legal Recalls Buick Chevrolet GM Safety Sedan buick verano

These are the 10 longest-lasting vehicles on the road today

Buying a car has started feeling pretty bad. It’s hard to find what you want, and when you do, thereÂ’s a great chance itÂ’s not selling for the price you thought it would be. The least stressful way of coping with the situation is not to buy a new car, but how can you know how long your current ride will last? A recent study from iSeeCars found that some vehicles are prone to deliver many more miles of usable driving than others. iSeeCars looked at more than 2 million cars. The mileage over which the top 1% of cars within each model obtained was calculated and used to rank models, and the study required that a vehicle be sold for at least 10 of the past 20 years to be included. Unsurprisingly, Toyota dominated the top-10 list, but most of the other models come from General Motors with one Honda thrown into the mix. Ranked by mileage, the top-ten longest-lasting vehicles include: Toyota Highlander Hybrid: 244,94 miles Toyota Avalon: 245,710 miles Honda Ridgeline: 248,669 miles Chevrolet Tahoe: 250,338 miles Toyota Prius: 250,601 miles GMC Yukon XL: 252,360 miles Toyota Tundra: 256,022 miles Chevrolet Suburban: 265,732 miles Toyota Land Cruiser: 280,236 miles Toyota Sequoia: 295,509 miles The iSeeCars study found that SUVs and trucks occupy 75 percent of the top 20 vehicles with the potential to last the longest, and Toyota alone accounts for half of the top 20. Interestingly, the Prius and Highlander Hybrid made the list, suggesting that automakers are getting better at making batteries last a long time. "What we see is a list of highly-durable vehicles, capable of more than a quarter-million miles of use if properly maintained," said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. "And to be clear, this study isnÂ’t reporting the maximum lifespan of these vehicles. This is simply a measure of current odometer readings. Most of these cars are still in use and going strong." Of course, the longevity of a vehicle has a lot to do with how itÂ’s treated and maintained over its lifetime. ItÂ’s easy to find stories of people nursing Toyota Tundras and other vehicles past a million miles, and thereÂ’s a 1960s Volvo with more than 3 million miles. Some vehicle types, particularly the largest SUVs, are often used as road-trip vehicles by large families, which means they tend to rack up big mileage. In most cases, buying and owning a higher-mileage car can be a risk, so itÂ’s essential to get a pre-purchase inspection or regular maintenance if you already own one.

VW, Jeep and Cadillac top list of most-tattooed car brands

Most car enthusiasts own at least one piece of gear with their favorite brand's logo on it. It can be a T-shirt, a pen, a hat, or a garage sign, for example. It takes a much greater degree of dedication to get a car-themed tattoo, and a study suggests this sky-scraping level of obsession is most often found in Volkswagen, Jeep, and Cadillac fans. Compare the Market analyzed Instagram hashtags and posts to compile a list of the most commonly tattooed brands. Volkswagen came out on top, with 5,507 posts; note that anything related to the Wolfsburg-based brand earns it a point, whether it's a logo, a cutaway diagram of the Beetle's air-cooled flat-four engine, or a Touareg V10's firing order. Jeep finished second with 2,139 posts, followed by Cadillac at 1,775 posts. Surprisingly, the fourth spot is occupied by Pontiac, which appeared in 1,609 posts in spite of the fact that it hasn't built a car since 2010. Holden appears near the very bottom of the top-20 chart, ahead of Lamborghini, and its result might be influenced by the fact that General Motors announced plans to shutter it earlier in 2020. BMW and Mercedes-Benz are in sixth and 12th place, respectively. Alfa Romeo doesn't appear in the top 20, though its decades-old Quadrifoglio logo (pictured) can easily be mistaken for a symbol of Irish luck. Searching for posts that show a tattoo of a specific model uncovered even bigger surprises. According to the same study, the most-tattoed nameplate is the Chevrolet Impala, which appears in 823 posts. Odds are the earlier generations, like Dr. Dre's famous six-four, are more often tattooed than the final-generation model, which unceremoniously went out of production in February 2020 without a direct replacement waiting in the wings. Second place goes to the DeLorean DMC-12, which has transcended its status as an esoteric fiasco on wheels thanks to its role as a time machine in "Back to the Future." It appeared in 800 posts. Chevrolet's Corvette takes a distant third with 180 posts, followed by the Volkswagen Beetle (147 posts) and the Mini Cooper (116 posts). All told, car-themed tattoos are relatively rare. To put some of the aforementioned numbers into context, searching Instagram for the hashtag Volkswagen yields over 15 million posts, while the hashtag tattoo appears in over three million publications. Auto News Cadillac Chevrolet Jeep