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Our top five auto-related stories and headlines of 2015

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Year-in-Review
It was a big year for the auto industry. We learned that Volkswagen earned a place on the naughty list long before the Christmas holiday; that Fiat Chrysler and Takata both took heavy hits to their bottom lines; and that self-driving cars are picking up speeding tickets all on their own (no word on whether the ticket is being contested). All in all, some memorable moments. Here’s our complete list of the top five stories of 2015 with some additional context.

Volkswagen skirts the rules and pays big 

The German car company tried to pull one over consumers and federal regulators by knowingly subverting emissions rules, creating a mess so big that even Hollywood is looking to capitalize on the hysteria. Everyone loves a scandal, and this one proved to be one for the books. Once regulators discovered that VW engineers had willfully programmed cars to skirt the rules by implementing a “defeat device,” it was only a matter of time before VW had to admit its transgressions, and ultimately pay the price financially and commercially. The scandal made headlines around the world.

Record fines for Takata and Fiat Chrysler

Speaking of fines, Takata and Fiat Chrysler had their own record-breaking years. And not the kind they were hoping for. A fatal defect in Takata-produced airbags has since led to a record penalty from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and recalls so massive that Takata auto partners like Honda and Toyota have taken determined steps to distance themselves from the Japanese manufacturer. There are also rumblings that Takata could face bankruptcy because of the financial impact of subsequent fines as similar incidents come to light. Just two days ago, for example, the NHTSA announced four additional Takata-related recalls for 2015.

Almost as bad, Fiat Chrysler has been taking a beating from the NHTSA and Consumer Reports for multiple recalls in 2015, receiving at least three civil penalties totaling $175 million. In an earlier post, we took a closer look at this year’s Consumer Reports “Worst Cars” list, only to learn that Fiat Chrysler-made models held the dubious distinction of appearing more times on the list than any other car manufacturer.

Auto sales go gangbusters in 2015

Not since the 2008 recession have cars been selling at such a rapid rate. Auto sales took a steep dive in 2008, bottoming out at just over 10 million. It seems consumers are ready to open up their pocket books and shell out some dough now that banks are loosening the reigns on loans, all while the unemployment rate continues to dip. Though the Fed is upping interest rates for the first time in seven years, all dials are pointing in an encouraging direction. Experts are predicting that that the industry will sell upwards of 17 million cars in 2015, an increase of 6.1% from 2014. Here’s hoping more car sales doesn’t mean more auto accidents.

Mark Rosekind takes over the NHTSA

The 15th administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was sworn in on December 22, 2014, after serving as the 40th member of the National Transportation Safety Board from 2010–2014. He was the on-scene board member for seven major transportation accidents and played a big role in numerous areas of growth for the NHTSA. Before the NHTSA, Rosekind had an extensive career championing auto safety, and since his appointment in 2014, the federal oversight division has proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the world of transportation safety. Under Rosekind’s watch, the NHTSA issued the largest fine in its history (see Takata) and has publicly come out in support of three-point harnesses in school buses—something the NHTSA was reluctant to endorse publicly. Though the support falls short of being a federal requirement, the acknowledgement was a major step in the right direction, according to safety advocates. Will we see three-point harnesses in school buses in the future? Time will tell, but Rosekind is showing he’s not afraid to make bold moves right away.

The world gets one step closer to autonomous vehicles

You saw the video, right, the one with the police officer pulling over a self-driving Google car? Well if not, you can, well, Google it. It happened in California, a self-driving car pulled over for driving too slowly. And just like that, the debate over self-driving cars came back into full view, thanks to a viral video, although that wouldn’t necessarily be the first we’d been hearing about self-driving cars. Good Morning America and 60 Minutes have featured segments on self-driving cars and just how close they are to becoming a reality.

Wired magazine also got in on the fun, although in a much more ominous fashion, when writer Andy Greenberg was driven off the road by a pair of devious hackers (don’t worry, it was all planned), who were able to gain control of the car by manipulating the computer console. Needless to say, it caught the attention of more than one legislator in Washington. All this seems to lead to the conclusion that it’s not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when” autonomous cars start making their way into mainstream consumerism.

Consumer Reports’ ‘Worst Cars’: Is Fiat Chrysler on your safety watch list?

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Consumer Reports has released its annual list of ‘Worst Cars.’ There’s one company that stands out among the rest.

When Consumer Reports reveals its annual list of the “Worst Cars” each October, there’s at least one question I ask myself: Do these so-called “worst cars” ever get better?

Let’s compare the top four “worst cars” of 2015 with the worst of 2014: The 2015 list includes the Chrysler 200, the Landrover Discovery Sport, the Lexus NX 200t/300h and the Kia Sedona. The 2014 list ranks the Scion tC, the Chevy Spark, the Scion iQ, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Mitsubishi Mirage, the Smart for Two and the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited as “worst cars” of the year.

Consumer Reports ranks these and other vehicles based on several factors like fuel economy and the way a car actually feels on the road. For my money, though, I’m thinking about safety. So is, in part, Consumer Reports, which states: “Safety remains a top concern for new-car shoppers, and fortunately, today’s modern cars offer more occupant protection and accident avoidance technologies than the typical model being traded in. But not all cars are equal; there are clearly those models that perform better in our dynamic tests, as well as crash tests conducted by the government and insurance industry.”

So being that not all cars are created equal, it’s no surprise that the “worst cars” list is something of an attention grabber. While the top 5–10 worst cars grab headlines each fall, other models find lesser prominence in subcategories like sedan and SUV, making the full report much more robust than what you’d think, and with many more brand name vehicles. Combing through the list and taking into account all these various subcategories, there’s at least one company that stands above (or below?) the rest. That’s Fiat Chrysler. For the last two years, Fiat Chrysler’s vehicles have been featured more times than any other company; five cars made last year’s list, which is now up to seven in 2015.

If you’ve been following the news, you know that Fiat Chrysler has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Two weeks ago, Chrysler recalled 200,000 2014 Jeep Cherokees because of faulty windshield wipers. Earlier this summer, two computer engineers successfully hacked the computer console of a Jeep Cherokee, deliberately leading the driver (a writer for WIRED magazine) to a ditch. The car conglomerate later recalled thousands of Cherokees after the article was published. By then the damage was done.

According to data gathered by The Detroit News, Fiat Chrysler has accounted for almost one-third of all U.S. auto recalls in 2015. This year the company set a record for 10.2 million vehicles out of 24 recall campaigns. To top things off, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration slapped Fiat Chrysler with $105 million fine for improperly recalling vehicles as part of a dozen campaigns over the last two years, the largest fine ever imposed by the NHTSA. The number was partly determined because Chrysler admitted that it failed to fix problems, or was slow to inform consumers of the defects.

So what, if anything, is changing at Fiat Chrysler? That’s a question that has yet to be answered. Regardless, the “Worst Cars” report is a barometer for consumers, one that carries weight for insurers and lawyers who are quick to take note of record-breaking fines and rankings on unflattering lists. And for Fiat Chrysler, the trust factor is getting lower and lower. Consumers should be taking note of such trends, asking themselves if any of these rankings, recalls and bad press is a byproduct of a corporate culture that’s prone to make questionable business decisions than consumer-driven ones.

Fiat Chrysler should be taking note, too, primarily about consumers who deserve safe and secure vehicles. Otherwise next year’s list will feature more of the same.