June 21, 2016
Dealers Claim Victory After U.S. Supreme Court Vacates Service Adviser Overtime Ruling
Auto dealers claimed victory on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a lower court’s decision that dealership service advisers are eligible for overtime pay under U.S. labor law. According to Automotive News, in a 6-2 vote, the high court today vacated a 2015 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that service advisers are eligible for overtime pay because they are not covered by an exemption to the overtime requirements in the Fair Labor Standards Act that applies to dealership vehicle salespeople, mechanics, and parts department workers. The high court found that a 2011 Department of Labor rule upon which the lower court based its decision lacked the force of law, and ordered the lower court to revisit its earlier ruling. The decision marks a victory for auto dealers, many of whom pay service advisers on commission without overtime eligibility, a practice that other appeals courts had upheld until the 9th Circuit’s 2015 decision. For more on yesterday’s Supreme Court decision, click here.
Report: Racial and Gender Discrimination Plagues CFPB
Racial and gender discrimination is widespread within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to a blistering report released Monday by the investigative arm of Congress. The Daily Caller reports that 25 percent of black, Asian, and female employees of the bureau told the General Accountability Office (GAO) in a survey that “they had been discriminated against at the CFPB.” A quarter of the black employees and 20 percent of Hispanic employees told the GAO that racial “differences” are not respected or valued by the bureau’s top officials. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling told The Daily Caller News Foundation Monday that he considered the discriminatory practices “inexcusable” and criticized CFPB Director Richard Cordray’s “half-hearted attempts” to deal with it. Click here to read his news release on the report by the House Financial Services Committee. For more on a report finding discrimination at the CFPB, click here.
Toyota Invests $1B Toward Artificial Intelligence
The U.S. robotics expert tapped to head Toyota’s Silicon Valley research company says the $1 billion investment by the giant Japanese automaker will start showing results within five years. According to The Detroit News, Gill Pratt told reporters that the Toyota Research Institute is also looking ahead into the distant future when there will be cars that anyone, including children and the elderly, can ride in on their own, as well as robots that help out in homes. Pratt, a former program manager at the U.S. military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, joined Toyota Motor Corp. first as a technical adviser when it set up its artificial intelligence research effort at Stanford University and MIT. He said safety features will be the first types of AI applications to appear in Toyota vehicles. Such features are already offered on some models now being sold, such as sensors that help cars brake or warn drivers before a possible crash, and cars that drive themselves automatically into parking spaces or on certain roads. For more on Toyota’s investment in artificial intelligence, click here.
Mitsubishi Expects Annual Loss Due to Mileage-Cheating Scandal
Mitsubishi Motors expects to post a net loss this financial year over its mileage-cheating scandal, hurt by compensation costs and a slide in vehicle sales, reports Automotive News. The automaker said last week it planned to give owners of four minivehicles close to $1,000 in compensation for its overstating of mileage readings, part of reimbursement costs that will total at least $600 million. Mitsubishi has said it expects a charge of 50 billion yen ($480 million) this business year due to compensation costs. Asked to comment on the report, Mitsubishi CEO Osamu Masuko said today that the company would seek to contain the cost of the scandal in this financial year, but he did not say whether that would drag it into the red. "[The scandal] will likely hurt us this year, and the extent to which we can recover from it, will depend up on how well we can leverage our synergies with Nissan," he said. The automaker in April admitted to overstating the mileage on four of its minivehicles. For more on Mitsubishi’s expected annual loss, click here.
The Hottest New Cars for 2017
Of more than 60 new, redesigned, or refreshed vehicles coming for 2017, about two thirds are conventional autos. Forbes is giving a sneak peek at a baker’s dozen of the highest-profile all-new passenger cars that are expected to reach dealers’ showrooms in the months ahead. These include an impressive assortment of stately sedans, hot-blooded sport coupes, and even the odd station wagon. Auto enthusiasts will no doubt be enthralled with what looks to be bounty of brand-new sports cars coming down the road for 2017. At the high end of the market, Aston-Martin debuts its new DB11, the latest in a line of decidedly British supercars that includes the famed DB5 Sean Connery drove in Goldfinger. Other new sporty cars coming for 2017 include the molto bella Fiat 124 Spider, the sleekly upscale Lexus LC, and the low-slung and affordable Toyota 86. Click here to check out a slideshow of the hottest cars for the 2017 model year. Read more about what to expect on dealer lots in the months ahead by clicking here.
Preventing Data Theft and Fraud
Data breaches continue to cost companies millions of dollars – in addition to damaging reputations and customer relationships. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were as many as 781 known breaches in 2015, with over 169 million records exposed across business, educational, government and health care sectors – compromising the information for millions of payment cards, passwords, and social security accounts. To learn more, including examples of fraud and some steps you can take to help prevent data theft, read more by clicking here.
Around the Web
2017 Bentley Mulsanne First Drive Review [MotorAuthority]
Is This Electric Racing Car a Hint That Honda Will Challenge Tesla? [The Motley Fool]
Land Rover Discovery Sport Pulls Like a Freight Train [Autoblog]
Flying Cars Just Took a Big Step Closer to Being Legal [WaPo]