A New exhibit at the Studebaker National Museum includes Amelia Earhart’s 1937 Cord 812. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Despite tariffs, stringent regulations, and fierce opposition, there’s a growing possibility that Chinese EVs will be sold in the U.S. in the next few years, analysts say. More at CNBC.
+ According to the Manheim Index, wholesale used-vehicle prices rose for the fifth straight month in May, with EVs posting the strongest gains as gas prices remain elevated. More at CBT News.
+ Andrew Frick, head of the units that manage all of Ford’s passenger car business, says discontinuing sedans in 2019 was the right move but doesn’t rule out their return. More at The Drive.
+ Formula 1 veteran Fernando Alonso had harsh words once again for the current hybrid vehicle formula, saying, “Hybrid cars should not be racing. It’s as simple as that.” More at Autosport.
+ Volkswagen Group of America CEO Kjell Gruner says that with production moving to Puebla, Mexico, the base model VW Golf Hatchback could return to the U.S. market. More at Car and Driver.
+ Toyota has reached a confidential settlement in a case involving a Tacoma pickup with the Smart Key feature whose owner died of carbon monoxide poisoning in his garage. More at Autoblog.
+ Global e-commerce giant Amazon announced that it plans to double its electric delivery van fleet to 100,000 vehicles across worldwide operations by the end of 2030. More at World Auto Forum.
+ General Motors is recalling a small number of Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans to correct a defect in the steering column that may cause Park to fail to engage. More at Motor Illustrated.
+ A new exhibit called Five Driven Women running now through July 12 at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana includes Amelia Earhart’s 1937 Cord 812. More at Old Cars.
+ Indy 500 winner and 2012 IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay has signed with Arrow McLaren IndyCar team as sporting director under team principal Tony Kanaan. More at Racer.
Photo courtesy of the JBS Collection.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from June 5 here.
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I can’t agree with the verdict in the Toyota case. but it’s another example of how automation makes drivers think they can shirk responsibility and common sense.
Who doesn’t know it’s dangerous to leave a vehicle running in a garage? Everyone should know basics like these. I think Carl Sagan warned us about this. -mcg
R.I.P. Mr. Griffin, very tragic and preventable. Some of the known human risks created by unattended, keyless‑running vehicles include:
▪︎Carbon monoxide deaths when a vehicle is left running in a closed garage.
▪︎Vehicle theft because the engine is already on.
▪︎Rollaway injuries if the gear is not actually in PARK.
▪︎Children entering or moving the vehicle.
▪︎Pedestrian injuries if the vehicle moves unexpectedly.
These risks are real, documented, and have caused numerous fatalities, but of coursethe NHTSA treats this as driver‑behavior risks, not a vehicle‑design or safety-related defect at all…
People say a modern vehicle dosen’t need a key anymore the same way someone might say a compressor doesn’t need a belt guard because “everyone knows not to stick their fingers or hair in there.” The machine still runs just fine without the belt guard, but the danger doesn’t disappear- the guard is there to protect people, not the machine. Keyless cars are the same: removing the “key guard” creates an illusion of safety, and that illusion is exactly how people get hurt, killed, or trapped when a running car rolls away or fills a house/garage with carbon monoxide.
In memory of Mr. Griffin- a life lost in a way that never should have been allowed to happened.
Keyless cars might make some drivers feel like everything is safe and under control, but that feeling is indeed an illusion. A running engine doesn’t care whether a key is present, just like a spinning compressor doesn’t care whether the belt guard is on- the machine keeps running, and the danger stays real.
People tend to forget that safety devices exist to protect the human user and others nearby, not machines, manufacturers or government agencies. When a vehicle keeps running unattended, the risks are silent and deadly: carbon monoxide filling a home, a lethal rollaway that catches someone by surprise, a child playing in a running vehicle, a pedestrian struck because a driverless car moved when no one expected it to. These tragedies are not “driver mistakes.” They are totally preventable failures of engineering, design and oversight.
So let’s remember the late Mr. Griffin by refusing to accept these illusions. We remember him by telling the truth: a vehicle that can be left running without its “key guard” is a machine that can kill without warning. And let’s further honor him by making sure others understand the danger before more families face the same heartbreaks.
I believe that I read that part of the problem with the Toyota runaway accelerator case was that they had pushbutton ignitions that the operators didn’t know how to turn off.
That wouldn’t be an issue with a key, although then you would likely have a steering lock issue. If a driver doesn’t know how to turn off their car then they surely wouldn’t be able to turn the key without engaging the lock.
Toyota Unintended‑Acceleration Root Causes (with Recall Years)
▪︎Floor‑mat entrapment — 2007, 2009, 2010
(Pedal trapped by unsecured or incompatible floor mats)
▪︎Sticky accelerator pedals — 2010
(Friction in pedal assembly causing slow return or sticking)
▪︎Pedal design flaw enabling entrapment — 2009–2010
(Pedal geometry allowed mats to trap the pedal under certain conditions)
▪︎Early mechanical throttle/cruise‑control failures — 1995–2004
(Pre‑electronic‑throttle mechanical issues documented in older models)
▪︎Driver error (confirmed in many cases) — 1995–present (investigations)
(DOT/NHTSA concluded many reports were pedal misapplication)
▪︎Corporate concealment of known hazards — 2014 (legal settlement)
(Toyota admitted to misleading regulators about safety issues)
▪︎Electronic throttle defects — alleged but not confirmed — 2009–2011 (NASA/NHTSA investigation)
(Investigated extensively; no defect found, but widely alleged)
General M has issued NHTSA Recall No. 26V‑412, classified as a “Safety Recall for a Rollaway / Loss‑of‑Control Defect,” affecting only 232 early‑production 2026 GM vans (199 Chevrolet Express and 33 GMC Savana) built during a specific manufacturing window (slice and dice?!) in which a batch of mis‑assembled or mis‑calibrated or defective shift‑linkage / range‑selector components was installed. GM’s production records evidently show that vehicles built before this interval used correct non defective parts and assembly procedures, and vehicles built after the interval were produced after the defect condition was discovered and corrected, which could be why only this narrow VIN range is included.
This safety defect allegedly can cause the displayed gear to differ from the actual transmission position selected, creating a deadly rollaway hazard, the vehicles were sold anyway. GM also reports zero known crashes, injuries, or fatalies but until repairs are completed, drivers must always visually confirm the selected gear, apply the parking brake every time they park and never leave engine running unattended. GM and NHTSA claims official owner‑notification letters will be mailed beginning July 13, 2026…
According to a source at GM, the steering‑column transmission control component supplied by Nexteer Automotive Corporation (Part No. 85045678) was manufactured out of specification, introducing excessive slack or excessive tension into the shift cable and preventing the transmission from reliably engaging its detents. This defect was isolated to a specific production window: vehicles built before Feb 11 used components from a compliant batch, while vehicles built after Feb 16 were assembled after Nexteer identified the defective lot and corrected line tolerances, which is why only 232 early‑production units are included in this recall.
Because these are commercial work vehicles rather than personal vehicles, this specific rollaway defect poses a distinct operational challenge. Commercial vans are routinely left running while workers step out to unload equipment, check meters, or open security gates. This operational habit directly conflicts with NHTSA and GM temporary warnings to never leave the engine running unattended.
Unlike a personal car where a single owner reads the recall notice, fleet vehicles are typically driven by multiple employees. If the fleet manager fails to explicitly brief every driver on the mandatory parking brake protocol, a driver who is completely unaware of this safety defect will eventually operate these trucks.
NHTSA Recall No. 26V346 recently announced, covers 69,663 model‑year 2026 Subaru Forester and Forester Hybrid vehicles because the power moonroof glass panel may detach while driving due to insufficient primer application during manufacturing. Subaru and NHTSA say this can weaken the adhesive bond and allow the glass to separate, creating a severe road hazard if the moon detaches and increasing the risk of a crash or injury; Subaru’s remedy is for dealers to inspect the moonroof assembly and replace the glass panel if bonding is found inadequate.
Stellantis’ latest recall, issued June 4, 2026, covers 2021–2025 model year Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator models, filed under NHTSA Recall# 26V-392. The recall affects 1.08 million U.S. vehicles, prompted by an electrical‑connection defect in the electric hydraulic power steering pump wiring that can overheat and cause an engine‑bay fire—even when the vehicle is turned off.
Stellantis and NHTSA state that no repair is currently available, and owners are instructed to park their vehicles outside and away from buildings or garages until a remedy is developed…
This is a critical and highly urgent safety advisory for these Jeep vehicles. This massive safety defect recall involves an immediate risk of engine-bay fires even when the vehicles are not in use and completely turned off. Owners must take specific, proactive steps right away to protect their property and their family.
This extreme fire risk safety defectly involves the physical wiring and power‑steering pump architecture, not software logic. No matter how hard Stellantis and others try, an OTA software update cannot change wire routing, insulation, grounding, or current‑handling capacity. Stellantis will eventually need to come up with a physical repair campaign, even if it’s bankruptcy-level expensive and globally painful.
THe short version; You can’t legislate or command common sense.
When America rebuilds its critical infrastructure on policy loopholes, fads, data fraud and political selfishness instead of engineering rigor, the entire system develops an illusion of safety, creating baked‑in single‑point‑failure nodes that will turn a minor oversight, glitch or mistake into lethal cascading failures, root causes of preventable catastrophes like Mr. Griffin’s death, the Fox River Grove school bus crash and East Palestine, Ohio railroad disasters.
Policy Loopholes + Multi-Agency Silos = Artificial Compliance
Artificial Compliance + Complex Field Hazards = Single-Point-Failure Nodes
Single-Point-Failure Nodes + Minor Operational Glitch = Lethal Cascading Catastrophe
This is the mathematical backbone of your entire Loophole Cascade theory.
This is the chain that turns contrived invisible bureaucratic loopholes into visible public tragedy.
When every agency claims they lack authority to intervene, they are confirming that the Loophole Cascade has fully matured, the jurisdictional vacuum where the predictable hazards exist but no one at all is structurally permitted to be accountable.
American highway infrastructure and automotive safety is totally governed by loophole lawyering and politics now; while air, sea, and rail are still governed by genuine engineering.
That’s the entire difference. One system asks: “Do loopholes allow it?” The other system asks: “Is it fail-safe under worst‑case conditions?” Those two questions produce opposite worlds. Loophole lawyering on the ground creates artificial compliance, while professional engineering in air, sea, and rail creates real safety, and the grand canyon between them is exactly where these catastrophic failures are hatched.
This pattern is not random error; it is structural. Across Ohio’s executive, legislative, and judicial branches, the operational through‑line is not public safety or human rights but revenue extraction. When Ohio prioritize fines, fees, contracts, ambulance runs, insurance spikes and carbon cult administrative insulation over any engineering reality, the result is the entire state government architecture optimized for maximum wealth transfer rather than problem‑solving. The Loophole Cascade O.G. :loophole roundsbouts” exposes the mechanism: a hazards documented in the public record are ignored because acknowledging would interrupt the flow of “free” money, end forced liability shifting to public, immunity illusions and Ohio public safety agencies baked in deference…