The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "auto" ...
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Profiting from the Auto-Bailout
September, 2012 the Obama campaign launched television ads blasting Romney’s November 2008 New York Times op-ed, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” In an article for The Nation Magazine, funded by The Nation Investigative Fund we discovered that Ann Romney, personally gained at least $15.3 million from the bailout—and a few of Romney’s most important Wall Street donors made more than $4 billion. Their gains, and the Romneys’, were astronomical—more than 3,000 percent on their investment. It all starts with Delphi Automotive, a former General Motors subsidiary whose auto parts remain essential to GM’s production lines. No bailout of GM—or Chrysler, for that matter—could have been successful without saving Delphi. So, in addition to making massive loans to automakers in 2009, the federal government sent, directly or indirectly, more than $12.9 billion to Delphi—and to the hedge funds that had gained control over it. One of the hedge funds profiting from that bailout— $1.28 billion at the time of publication — was Elliott Management, directed by Romney supporter, Paul Singer.
Tags: Bailout; political campaign; Obama; Romney; Paul Singer
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NC Auto Inspection's-Failing the Test
Every year, North Carolina auto owners must take vehicles to private garages for state-mandated safety and emissions testing meant to prevent traffic crashes and curb pollution. Drivers cannot put a car on the road legally unless it passes inspection. A review inspection data showed the program is undermined by unscrupulous garages who do a volume business, passing unsafe cars, and by other who take bribes or cheat customers with uncessary repairs.
Tags: auto owners; emissions testing; unsafe cars
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Confusion and Consequences: Changing Michigan's Auto Insurance
The supporters of legislation to change Michigan's no fault Personal Injury Protection implied the cause of Michigan's relatively high auto insurance rates was in large part due to generous coverage of catastrophic injuries.
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Crash Course
A popular Florida referral service company had been attracting customers injured in car accidents. The company had been exploiting Florida's "no-fault" auto insurance law to mislead it's customers into giving money to a network of chiropractors and lawyers that pocketed their money.
Tags: fraud; scam; auto insurance; lawyer fraud
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Trip to Nowhere
On the eve of a vote to raise taxes nearly 10 percent and cut spending, the stories laid out in detail how auto allowances routinely granted to dozens of county officials were not justified by their documented needs. Commissioners, department heads, and 15 of their secretaries and staff were receiving what amounted to bonuses that often exceeded more than 10 times what they could document in obscure but required forms. In a followup story, the county administrator reversed course and said he would study discontinuing auto allowances that exceeded the documented needs for two recently hired county watchdogs who were supposed to guard against waste and abuse. Finally, in a third story, the county acknowledged it had failed to meet states and local requirements to document "typical" mileage before all employees began receiving allowances, and said it would change its policy.
Tags: Tax; budget cut; finance; documents; fraud; corruption; auto allowances; bonuses; county
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State Autos
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette investigated the number, taxability, and use of state vehicles by state officials. The reporters found that officials weren't paying income taxes on the personal use of their state vehicles and that the state had not been keeping track of the number of state vehicles.
Tags: state vehicles; income tax; state cars; elected officials
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Company's Choice Made Cars Less Safe
General Motors removed the side airbags, at request of fleet customers, from the standard package Impalas to save money for these fleet customers. In doing so, they risked the safety of thousands of people. Enterprise Rent-A-Car was one of these fleet customers, who bought “65,000 vehicles” knowing that the airbags had been removed. Enterprise not only rented these out, but also sold them online using false advertising. After this was revealed, Enterprise and many car dealerships issued apologies and bought back these vehicles above book value.
Tags: automobiles; cars; Chevy; used cars; safety feature; consumers; transportation; restraint system; build sheet; auto safety
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Jeep Grand Cherokee Investigation
Currently, there are “three million Jeep Grand Cherokees on the road today”. Furthermore, they have been involved in “hundreds of fatal fire accidents in the past 11 years”. The investigation revealed a flaw in the vehicle; the fuel tank is located in the rear of the vehicle. This flaw is the main cause of these fatal deaths. After these accidents had occurred, the automaker has relocated the gas tank in a more secure location and since then zero accidents have occurred.
Tags: Chrysler; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; SUVs; consumers; automobiles; crash; damage; defect; auto safety; transportation
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N.J.'s "last resort" auto policies
New Jersey has a “dollar-a-day” insurance program, which essentially gives poor drivers a legal insurance card. But this insurance doesn’t cover any costs if the driver happens to cause an accident. Furthermore, this system would leave the victims of the accidents paying for the damage they didn’t cause.
Tags: New Jersey; car accidents; insurance; motorists; program; FOIA; unprotected; drivers; damage
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2008 Auto Issue
Two groundbreaking stories in Consumer Reports' annual auto issue used sophisticated survey techniques to help people cut through the hype of spending money on their automobile. The first story, "What that car really costs," looked at new owner cost estimates that help consumers asses how much they are going to spend. The second story used owners' actual experiences with buying and using extended warranties to show that they are usually a bad deal.
Tags: car costs; consumers; automobiles; auto maintenance; auto repair; cost estimates; buying cars