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Jeep has issued a recall covering 1,076,999 Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles from the 2021–2025 model years due to a fire risk stemming from a faulty electrical connection in the electric hydraulic power steering pump wiring, which can overheat and ignite even when the vehicle is parked and turned off (motor1.com). NHTSA confirmed the recall and strongly urged owners to park their vehicles outside and away from other vehicles and buildings until a repair is available (nhtsa.gov). Notably, no remedy is available yet — owner notification letters are expected to be mailed beginning July 9, and FCA will follow up when a fix is ready (nhtsa.gov). Jeep estimates only about 0.1% of affected vehicles actually have the defect, but the sheer scale of the recall — 787,887 Wranglers and 289,112 Gladiators — makes it a significant safety advisory (edmunds.com). Stellantis first investigated the issue in May 2023 but closed the inquiry a year later due to low occurrence rates, only to reopen it in August 2024 after a spike in reported incidents prompted NHTSA to launch its own investigation (motor1.com). A pickup truck towing a trailer full of fireworks caught fire on I-75 in Hamilton County, Tennessee, near Ooltewah on Saturday evening, sending fireworks exploding into the air and forcing authorities to shut down both directions of the interstate (local3news.com). The Tennessee Highway Patrol's post-incident inspection revealed that driver Dalton Beeler was transporting regulated explosives from South Pittsburg to Knox County without nearly any of the federally required hazardous materials safety measures (newschannel9.com). Specific violations included no current hazardous materials registration, no emergency response information for first responders, no shipping papers, no hazmat placards, no USDOT number, and the driver lacked the mandatory hazardous materials endorsement (wvlt.tv). THP Commander Col. Matt Perry stated that "this incident looked like a fireworks show, but it could have been much worse," emphasizing that hazmat regulations exist to protect both the public and first responders (newschannel9.com). No injuries were reported, but the extent of the violations has drawn significant scrutiny from both state and federal transportation safety agencies (local3news.com).
Cape Advanced Vehicles (CAV), a South Africa-based outfit with 27 years of experience building continuation-quality GT40 restomods, is teasing an all-new mid-engined supercar it calls the "Special Project," with a full reveal set for June 18 to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Ford's iconic 1-2-3 Le Mans finish (carbuzz.com). The car is expected to pack a V8 producing 500 horsepower naturally aspirated and up to 800 horsepower with forced induction, wrapped in retro-inspired styling that includes vertical tail lamps mounted on a CNC-machined aluminum cantilever (carbuzz.com). CAV is no startup garage project — it has earned a strong reputation for modernizing the GT40 platform while respecting the original's proportions (autos.yahoo.com). The new supercar fills a unique gap, sitting between the multimillion-dollar originals locked in private collections and existing continuation cars from companies like Superformance that serve a different market niche entirely (thesupercarblog.com).
During an Oval Office event on June 4 focused on coal plant upgrades, President Trump pivoted to automotive policy, claiming that executives from General Motors, Ford, and Penske Corporation Chairman Roger Penske had met with him the previous day to push for legislation that would prevent consumers from repairing their own vehicles (freep.com). Ford confirmed that Andrew Frick, president of Ford Blue and Model-E, attended the June 3 White House meeting and that vehicle repair was discussed, but declined to elaborate; GM declined to comment entirely (freep.com). Neither the White House nor the automakers have publicly identified a specific legislative proposal, leaving the public to interpret Trump's characterization of the private meeting (gmauthority.com). The remarks land squarely in the long-running right-to-repair debate, where automakers have generally focused their objections on access to vehicle software, telematics data, and connected-car systems rather than routine mechanical work, arguing that unrestricted access poses security and safety risks (autoblog.com). Several states have already advanced right-to-repair legislation — Massachusetts passed a landmark automotive right-to-repair law that automakers challenged in court — and Trump's comments have now dragged the issue into a highly public political spotlight (autoblog.com). This Newsletter Sent by: American Motor Voice
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