Free Republic

Many Americans love the feeling of driving a new car, but the price of that thrill is pushing household budgets to the edge. Auto loan delinquencies are spiraling, the nation now owes a staggering $1.66 trillion in auto loans, and some figures show scary similarities to the period right before the 2008 financial crash. That’s according to a new report titled “Driven to Default: The Economy-Wide Risks of Rising Auto Loan Delinquencies” from the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). It describes auto finance in the US as being “at breaking point,” and criticizes Congress and the country’s federal watchdogs for...

Bad news for electric vehicle owners in California. The California DMV is reminding drivers that federal regulations authorizing Clean Air Vehicle decals, which allowed qualifying cars to use carpool lanes with a single occupant or pay reduced toll rates in some areas, will expire on Sept. 30. The decals were valid for up to four years, but the federal government’s decision to end the program means all decals will become invalid on Oct. 1, regardless of when they were issued.

South Korea's foreign minister may visit the United States to respond to a raid on a Huyndai plant in Georgia that detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals. Cho Hyun said Seoul was considering an imminent visit to discuss the arrests on behalf of President Lee Jae Myung, who was all smiles with Donald Trump at a White House meeting two weeks ago. 'We are deeply concerned and feel a heavy sense of responsibility over the arrests of our nationals,' Cho said at an emergency meeting Saturday, according to Yonhap News Agency. Cho confirmed that approximately 300 of...

The fertile soil of American manufacturing has attracted billions in foreign investment over the past decade, promising to revive industrial heartlands from Michigan to Georgia. Like any garden, however, this economic renaissance requires careful tending—and sometimes the removal of weeds that threaten to choke out legitimate growth. Here’s the thing about these grand promises of foreign partnership: they sound wonderful until you dig beneath the surface and discover what’s actually growing there. The Hyundai Motor Group facility in Ellabell, Georgia, stretches across 3,000 acres of what was once sleepy farmland twenty miles outside Savannah. This $4.3 to $7.6 billion joint...

1. Look for signs of unsafe driving There’s no specific age to stop driving, but accidents resulting in injury or death do increase with age.[01] If you question your loved one’s ability to drive safely, consider riding with them occasionally and keeping notes of your observations. Be on the lookout for the following warning signs: Increased accidents or tickets Canceled car insurance policy or increased premiums Signs of scrapes and minor collisions on their vehicle An inability to turn their head to see behind the car and check blind spots Trouble seeing at night Driving the wrong way Speeding on...

DEARBORN, MI – Eight Michigan man face federal charges for their roles in an alleged conspiracy involving the sale of stolen vehicles overseas. All defendants face count of conspiracy to transport stolen vehicles, and each also faces one or more counts of transportation of a stolen vehicle, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced Thursday. Those charged include: Haydar Al Haydari, 41, of Garden City Karar Alnakash, 43, of Detroit Abbas Al Othman, 42; of Dearborn Heights Mohammed Al Hilo, 36, of Detroit Moustapha Al Fetlawi, 46, of Dearborn Heights Terrill Davis, 33, of Detroit David Roshinsky Williams, 32,...

In a large-scale immigration enforcement sweep at a Hyundai facility in Georgia on Thursday, 475 immigrants suspected of living and working in the U.S. illegally were detained, a senior Department of Homeland Security official told CBS News.The operation involved law enforcement agents from multiple federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Border Patrol; the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the IRS, underscoring the government-wide nature of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.Earlier, the Atlanta office of the ATF had said 450 people were detained in a post on...

Introduced in 1958, the Bonneville became the company's range-topping model in 1959. The 1961 redesign saw Bill Mitchell handle the styling, and the Bonneville joined the "Coke bottle" craze. In 1965, Pontiac rolled out a longer and more sculpted version. It's among my favorite Ponchos, especially in two-door guise.

In a few days, car enthusiasts and film buffs will have a chance to own some incredible pieces of American cinema. After four years of existence, Colorado’s Rodz & Bodz Movie Cars & More Museum closed for a third time this month. Later this week, on Friday, August 22, more than 60 film-used and replica movie cars will cross the auction block. Along with them will be over 400 pieces of movie memorabilia and road art. It’s a sad speedbump for one of the lesser-known, but great museums in America, but these cars will get to live on with collectors....

Once a symbol of rural grit, the presence of the best-selling pickup truck in a song may now mean something else.Country singer-songwriter Jenna Paulette drives a white Ford F-150 pickup truck, a gift from her cattle-rancher grandfather when he retired from driving. “He called me and said, ‘Hey, sug, I got a 2010 F-150 with sixty thousand miles on it, and I was wondering if you’d drive it for me,’ ” the native Texan, who grew up in Lewisville, recalls. “I still drive that truck to this day; I’ll never get rid of it. It keeps me connected to him...

An abandoned wreck of a Rolls Royce car which once belonged to US army legend Dwight Eisenhower during World War Two has been found and restored. Now the magnificent vehicle has been painstakingly put back together. Pat Jeater has spent 11 years lovingly restoring the the car used by Eisenhower back in 1944. After the 1940s it ended up being used as a wedding car and a taxi in Amsterdam. The letter: "I also found a copy of the Italian paper La Stampa - it was dated 12th April 1944." Pat found that the letter had been written by a...

A semi-truck transporting eight Tesla EVs caught fire on the 5 Freeway in Los Angeles, leading to extensive road closures and significant traffic disruptions on Saturday evening. The Los Angeles Fire Department has not disclosed the cause of the inferno that required a massive team of firefighters to put out. KTLA reports that a semi-truck carrying a load of Tesla vehicles became engulfed in flames on the southbound lanes of the 5 Freeway in Sylmar, a suburban neighborhood of Los Angeles, at about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) swiftly responded to the scene to combat...

Tesla owners may soon see their insurance premiums rise due to an unexpected factor: vandalism. Insurance analysts warn that increasing incidents of Teslas being damaged—spray-painted, set on fire, or even shot—are putting pressure on insurers, potentially leading to higher comprehensive coverage costs. Key PointsIncreasing vandalism against Tesla vehicles may lead to higher insurance premiums as insurers adjust rates due to growing claimsReports from the U.S., Germany, and the U.K. detail Tesla cars being set on fire, shot at, and spray-painted with anti-Musk messages, targeting the brand due to CEO Elon Musk’s political involvementTesla's used car values and search interest are...

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A mechanic working on a 2015 Ford Edge brought into his Minnesota shop made a startling discovery under the hood: a wallet that had been lost by a Michigan Ford plant worker 11 years earlier. Richard Guilford, who is now retired, said he remembers the day he lost his wallet while working on vehicles that had been shipped to the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne after coming off the assembly line in Chicago with electrical issues "I never wore sweatpants to work, but I did that day," he told KARE-TV. "And I had my wallet in...

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One lesson from the ongoing scandal is that it lifted the curtain of foreign governments’ covert influence campaigns in the United States. Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop revealed much information, including Hunter’s shady business dealings in Ukraine and China, raising questions about the extent to which President Biden was involved in his son’s business activities. This ongoing scandal lifted the curtain of foreign governments’ covert influence campaigns in the United States. No government has conducted such influence campaigns more effectively than Communist China. To understand China’s influence campaigns on foreign soil, one has to get familiar with a secretive Chinese government...

How CarShield operates… it’s something folks should know before calling that number. The video talks about how CarShield will deliberately not cover certain parts. Then they claim it’s that part that went bad. Buyer beware.

he Japanese automaker posted a nearly $1.6 billion operating profit loss, as it writes off losses from its EV efforts and tariffs. The ‘Power of Dreams’ brand is taking a massive loss Japanese automotive giant Honda is rethinking its strategy regarding electric vehicles as it absorbed red-ink losses stemming from their development and the impact of U.S. tariffs. In the first quarter of its 2025-2026 fiscal year (April 1 to June 30, 2025), Honda took a one-time charge of ¥113.4 billion (~$780 million) related to its EV-related troubles. In total, the impact of the EV charge and its exposure to...

On August 3, 2025, just after 10:00 PM, Tampa Police arrested two drivers who were racing westbound on the Selmon Expressway, with no regard for the safety of themselves or other drivers. At around 10:06 p.m., as a Tampa Police Officer was entering the expressway from Willow St., two vehicles, a 2021 Honda Accord and a 2019 Dodge Challenger, passed the officer’s vehicle at speeds exceeding 100 MPH, in a 55 MPH zone. As the officer followed, both drivers continued to engage in reckless speeding and cut through vehicles without regard for others on the roadway. The officer was able...

Damage scanners are taking over more rental car return lots — and customers aren't happy. Since Hertz rolled out AI scanners in April, it has faced backlash for charging almost $1,000 for tiny scuffs. Now Sixt, a premium rival with 100 locations in the US, has in recent weeks begun using a similar tool called Car Gate.