GM wins victory as appeals court decertifies transmission lawsuits
In a 9-7 vote, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati found too many differences among vehicle owners to justify having one judge oversee the litigation, including 26 statewide subclasses and 59 state law claims.
Class actions can result in greater recoveries at lower cost than if plaintiffs were forced to sue individually.
Neither GM nor lawyers for the vehicle owners immediately responded to requests for comment.
The case covered Chevrolet and GMC vehicles equipped with 8L45 or 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmissions, and sold in the 2015 through 2019 model years.
Drivers said the vehicles shuddered and shook in higher gears, and hesitated and lurched in lower gears, even after repair attempts.
The vehicles included the Cadillac CTS, CT6 and Escalade; Chevrolet Camaro, Colorado, Corvette and Silverado; and GMC Canyon, Sierra and Yukon, among others.
The decision reversed an August 2024 ruling by Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore for a three-judge panel.
Moore dissented on Friday, accusing the new majority of trying to erect "insurmountable barriers to certification for plaintiffs who file class-action complaints against national manufacturers."
Republican presidents appointed the nine judges in Friday's majority, while Democratic presidents appointed the seven dissenting judges.
The appeals court sent the litigation back to U.S. District Judge David Lawson in Detroit for further review, which could lead to certification of smaller subclasses.
The case is Speerly et al v. General Motors LLC, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-1940.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Why Musk's $29bn Tesla payout is a blessing in disguise
It is commonly believed that Elon Musk owns the Tesla car company. He doesn't. First, Musk only owns about 16 per cent of the company's shares – even with the approximately $29bn additional share allocation he's just received – so he is actually a minority shareholder. Second, Tesla isn't strictly a car company, even though it obviously makes them. It is principally a tech company, and its valuation and business model is radically different, and based on its lead on autonomous or self-driving transportation. Only recently Tesla boasted that a customer in Austin, Texas had their Model Y delivered to them directly from the assembly line, with the car driving itself for the half-hour trip. Tesla is built on self-driving technology, and that, in turn, is predicated on the continuing genius of Elon Reeve Musk. So that explains a lot about this headline-grabbing story about his '$29bn pay packet'. Such an outrageous package was proposed for and by Musk some years ago but, in the objections of some shareholders, a court ruled it out. It actually amounted to some $50bn in 2018, but times change and it seems Musk and his company has been devalued by his more recent adventures in Magaland. In any case, a more ingenious method of turning capital into income was devised so that the richest person in the world could be just that little bit more loaded. Before the share deal, he was worth around $400bn, so he's going to be a bit less than 10 per cent better off once the new shares have been sorted out. Enough to rub along. This story, then, tells us a few things about Musk and Tesla. It certainly seems to be a further signal that he is moving away from politics and back to business. The Doge episode and the association with Donald Trump didn't serve him or his business interests well. Contrary to hopes/fears that having him hanging around the Oval Office and Mar-a-Lago as 'First Buddy' would lead to some lucrative government contracts, now Trump is threatening to cut him off – especially bad news for SpaceX. Musk has also gone a bit quiet about the 'America Party' he has been planning to block Trump's ruinous budget by winning key seats in Congress in elections next year. Maybe Musk will press on with that, but it seems less likely he'll do much more than provide lavish funding. It's just as well. The Doge project, for all the hype, is over, and it may have done more harm than good to the wellbeing of the American people and, undeniably, the wider world in destroying the US international aid agency. The ill-advised salutes, the nutty tweets (as some of us still insist on calling them), and all the whooping about at the Trump rallies made Musk look more idiotic than evil, and were a grievous distraction. Not even he was able to help run the US, SpaceX, Tesla and whatever else is going on simultaneously. popular at those Trump-Musk rallies – goes, 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Autopilot verdict deals Tesla a 'black eye', threatens Musk's robotaxi ambitions
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A court verdict against Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab last week, stemming from a fatal 2019 crash of an Autopilot-equipped Model S, could hurt its plans to expand its nascent robotaxi network and intensify concerns over the safety of its autonomous vehicle technology. A Florida jury ordered Musk's electric vehicle company on Friday to pay about $243 million to victims of the crash, finding its Autopilot driver-assistance software defective. Tesla said the driver was solely at fault and vowed to appeal. 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Much of Tesla's trillion-dollar market valuation hinges on his bets on robotics and artificial intelligence. Success in the self-driving realm will require winning the confidence of regulators and potential customers on the full-self driving (FSD) software that underpins Tesla's robotaxis, analysts said. "The timing (of the verdict) for Tesla in light of the FSD rollouts and robotaxis is awful," said Aaron Davis, co-managing partner at law firm Davis Goldman. "Now there's essentially an opinion that some aspect of Tesla's business is not safe and maybe the safety that the company advertises isn't what it's cracked up to be." The FSD is an advanced version of Autopilot. Autopilot, which was been updated since 2019, controls speed, distance and lane centering on highways, while the FSD can operate on city streets, helping the vehicle make automatic turns and change lanes. "This case does not have direct implications for Tesla's FSD roll-out," analysts at Piper Sandler said in a note on Sunday, citing the modern iterations of the software. A spokesperson on behalf of Tesla acknowledged the company had received a request for comment from Reuters but had not provided one by the time of publication. Perfecting autonomous vehicles has been harder than expected. The high costs of hardware, years of trial and error, and regulatory hurdles have forced many players to close shop or pivot, including General Motors' (GM.N), opens new tab Cruise unit. Musk, however, has pursued what he calls a simpler and cheaper path, relying only on cameras and AI instead of pricey sensors such as lidars and radars used by Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Waymo, Amazon's (AMZN.O), opens new tab Zoox and others. After years of missed deadlines, Musk rolled out a small robotaxi trial in June with about a dozen Model Y crossover SUVs in Austin, Texas, each overseen by a human safety monitor in the front passenger seat. While Musk has said Tesla was being "super paranoid about safety", he has also pledged to expand the service fast and make it available for half of the U.S. population in the next five months - a stark contrast to Waymo's cautious years-long rollout. Until Tesla's entry, Waymo was the only U.S. firm to operate a paid, driverless robotaxi service. Tesla is currently awaiting approvals in several states, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. California's department of motor vehicles declined to comment on the impact of the verdict on regulatory approval. Nevada said it held talks with Tesla about a robotaxi program several weeks ago, while Arizona said it was still considering Tesla's request for certification. Both did not comment on the verdict. Florida did not respond. Tesla has typically either won other Autopilot litigation or resolved the case with the plaintiffs out of court. The Florida verdict stands out. Several such cases are pending. The case involved a Model S sedan that went through an intersection and hit the victims' parked Chevrolet Tahoe as they were standing beside it. The driver had reached down to retrieve a dropped cellphone and allegedly received no alerts as he ran a stop sign before the crash. The jury found that Tesla's Autopilot had a defect and held the company partially responsible, despite the driver admitting fault. "It's going to take time to get regulators to move forward and time being more than the end of the year," said Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, a Tesla investor. "From an image standpoint, it's a black eye."
Auto Blog
3 hours ago
- Auto Blog
1989 Land Rover Defender 110 'Monarch Ombra' For Sale With Just 4,500 Miles
By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. A low-mileage 2009 Porsche Cayenne GTS is up on BaT. Discover this well-preserved V8 performance SUV, which offers a unique blend of power and practicality at an accessible price. eBay's new car buying service removes the hassle of transactions, paperwork, and even the DMV. Find out how 'Secure Purchase' makes buying a vehicle easier than ever. The Passport was discontinued in 2002 after the second generation only to be brought back in 2019 for a third generation after a long hiatus. Well in 2026, there's a totally new Passport as the fourth generation debuts and showcases why it is the best version of this SUV ever and may challenge the entire Honda SUV lineup as best of the rest The 'Monarch Ombra' Land Rover Defender is a restomod that should serve as an example The Land Rover has been one of the de facto names in off-roading since its debut in 1948. Built in three series until its discontinuation in 2016, the Land Rover Defender saw many iterations, but all of them retained the same focus on off-road capabilities and a few unnecessary frills. Many restomod companies have popped up since 2016, aiming to give their own take on what the Land Rover Defender should be. One such company is Monarch Defender of Ames, Iowa, and one of their examples is for sale on Exotic Car Trader. You can check out the listing by clicking here. 0:03 / 0:09 2024 Kia EV6 GT-Line review: Is this the EV that will convert you? Watch More Based on a 1989 Land Rover Defender 110, the 'Ombra,' as Monarch calls it, has been modernized where it matters without harming the persona of the original Defender 110. On the exterior, the roof and front grille have been blacked out, a theme that carries to the black alloy wheels wrapped in BF Goodrich All-Terrain tires. The headlights have also been upgraded to LED units, which, while definitely beneficial at night, may take away from the OG look that some enthusiasts are after. By providing your email address, you agree that it may be used pursuant to Arena Group's Privacy Policy. 1989 Land Rover Defender 110 Monarch Ombra — Source: Exotic Car Trader Thinking about selling your car? Get a value estimate and list it online with Exotic Car Trader. Click here to learn more. A cabin like no other The interior is where things get really attractive. The tan-colored Italian leather seats and center console match the seatbelts, steering wheel, and dashboard, but the pièce de résistance is the multi-colored plaid pattern draped over the door cards, seat inserts, and certain parts of the dashboard. It gives the cabin a sort of African safari vibe that absolutely matches the character of the Defender. What doesn't match as well is the shiny plastic Alpine headunit and Dakota Digital AC system screens in the dashboard, which take away from the overall vibe and stick out like a sore thumb. The cargo area has also been fitted with four inward-facing seats, for when everyone in your friend group wants to hit the jungle trails together. Under the hood is a Corvette-derived 6.2L naturally-aspirated LS3 V8 that powers all four wheels via a 6-speed automatic gearbox. According to the Monarch model page, the setup makes 430 hp, which, alongside the 2″ lifted Fox shocks, Ford axles, and Trutrack limited-slip differential, should give you plenty of off-road performance regardless of where you go. Stopping power is equally ample, with Wilwood disc brakes fitted at each corner. 1989 Land Rover Defender 110 Monarch Ombra 1989 Land Rover Defender 110 Monarch Ombra 1989 Land Rover Defender 110 Monarch Ombra Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. Final thoughts There are plenty of companies modernizing Land Rover Defenders, but the Monarch Ombra is one of the better ones around. It gives the legendary off-roader ample power while keeping the classic looks that made the model popular intact. The interior theme is a sight to behold, and definitely one of the things that sets the Ombra apart from the others in its segment. That said, you're still paying $199,900 for it, but man, will this thing turn heads wherever it goes. If you're looking for something that will conquer an African safari and look the part while doing it, inside and out, this is the one for you. About the Author Gabriel Ionica View Profile
