On January 1, 2012, the compensatory limit in Small Claims Court in California was increased from $5,000 to $10,000.  On January 3, 2012, Heather Peters, an owner of a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, will face down a non-attorney representative of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. in a closely-watched case of David vs. Goliath. She is suing for the new maximum of $10,000.

Ms. Peters and tens of thousands of other owners of model year 2003-2009 Honda Civic Hybrids are mad as hell and they aren’t going to take it any longer. For a few years now, five class action lawsuits against Honda have been winding their way through the courts.  The proposed settlement consolidates the cases down to two cases with subclasses:

In the first case, John True, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., plaintiffs allege that the fuel economy estimates Honda advertised for the Honda Civic Hybrid could not be achieved under normal driving conditions. Honda has not acknowledged a defect, but they do acknowledge that due to technical problems, the cars get only around 30 mpg, not the 40 city, 42 combined, 45 highway, as advertised.

In the second case, Logan and Anita Lockabey, et al. v American Honda Motor Co., Inc., in addition to complaints similar to True, plaintiffs allege that a July 2010 Software Update to the Integrated Motor Assist (“IMA”) battery system for model years 2006-2008  Civic Hybrids negatively impacted the fuel economy and performance.

The proposed Honda Civic Hybrid Class Action Settlement is pretty paltry.  You get a whopping $100 if you are a member of the True class action and and additional $100 if you are also a member of the Lockabey class and sub-class (the software update).  As a “sweetener,” you get a voucher for either $500 or $1,000 (depending on your class and sub-class) towards the purchase or lease of a new Honda or Acura vehicle.  Some plaintiffs who had to replace their hybrid battery are eligible to be reimbursed for the cost of the replacement and Honda agreed to extend some warranties for a longer period.

Ms. Peters wasn’t happy with $100 in cash and a $500 voucher, so she opted out of the class action and pursued a novel course of action by suing Honda in Small Claims Court in Torrance, CA (the city where Honda has its US headquarters).  She is suing for damages including the “hybrid premium” paid over the price of a standard Civic, increased cost of gas due to getting only 30 mpg and reduced resale value of her car.  She may win up to the court maximum of $10,000 – far more than she would have received under the proposed class action settlement.

This is a closely-watched case, needless to say.  If she wins, it could open the floodgates to individual small claims lawsuits against not just Honda but any company with class action litigation.   If a company had to defend itself against thousands of smaller suits – in all 50 states and hundreds of county jurisdictions – it could be very costly both in terms of total settlement dollars and human resources.
On the consumer side, a win may force corporations to increase class action settlements with plaintiffs. Perhaps if all the money wasn’t going to the trial attorneys (in the Honda class action, it’s estimated to be $8,474,000), less people would be pissed off enough to take alternative actions.   For example, if Honda had offered the people $1,000 cash plus a $4,000 voucher towards the purchase of a new Honda (and Honda would be required to take the technically-challenged Civic Hybrid in trade), Ms. Peters may not have opted for her more creative option.

In California, neither party is permitted to send an attorney – either in-house or outside council – to represent them in a small claims action.  The plaintiff, Ms. Peters, happens to be a former corporate defense attorney and is permitted to present her own case.  She probably has an edge over the average Civic Hybrid owner, but if she wins, other owners could use her tactics and adapt the evidence she will present to their specific set of facts and circumstances.

Ms. Peters is encouraging other Civic Hybrid owners not to settle with Honda.  In a December 27, 2011 LA Times article, The Times estimated that 200,000 Civic Hybrids had been sold during the class action period. And due to resales, the number of people who could be eligible for compensation could be as high as 500,000.  Separately litigating possibly hundreds of thousands of small claims cases is a PR and financial nightmare Honda doesn’t want, but may get.

Even if Ms. Peters doesn’t win her case against Honda, other people who suffered damages could still try the same tactic in their local jurisdiction.  One judicial decision at the small claims level doesn’t necessarily mean the same results will happen in other jurisdictions – win or lose.  I predict this strategy will be used more frequently — much to the dismay of large companies and trial attorneys.

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Audi India has a whole lot of models lined up for the 2012 Auto Expo, starting with its small SUV, the Q3. Now, the Q3 isn't an SUV that boasts a whole lot of off-road ability or practicality. No, it's more a lifestyle vehicle, much like the BMW X1, and is more suited to cruising the boulevards.

Powering the Q3 are a choice of two engines — the 2.0-litre TFSI engine that also does duty in the A4 sedan and the 2.0-litre TDI that powers the Skoda Yeti and Audi A6. The petrol engine comes in two states of tune internationally, making 170 bhp and 210 bhp, but we're likely to get the 170 bhp version. Damn. But both the petrol and diesel engines manage to give the Q3 enough power to make it a sprightly performer.

On the inside Audi's baby SUV manages to fit five people in comfort and leaves enough room for luggage too. The interiors are typically Audi-esque too, which makes the cabin a happy place to be! And of course, the exterior fits in with the rest of the Audi line-up — the daytime running lights and Bulgarian moustache giving it heaps of family resemblance.

And if you thought that's all Audi had on offer for India, there's plenty more. The German car maker is also bringing down the S6 sports saloon that comes powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with 414 horses under the hood, which will ensure you won't lose any traffic light drag races! Also on display will be the RS5 coupe and the Audi R8 Spyder. We like!

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A group of investment funds is suing Porsche for two billion euros in damages after the German luxury sports car firm's merger with the Volkswagen group failed in 2008, the fund's lawyers said Saturday.

The two billion euros ($2.6 billion) covers fund losses after Porsche stunned markets with its announcement in October 2008 that it was acquiring 75 percent of Volkswagen, leading to a massive surge in the value of VW shares, lawyers said in a statement.

VW shares briefly shot above 1,000 euros, but at the time Porsche stressed it was not responsible for the panic buying, reportedly by investment funds, that had seen VW stock hit the roof after Porsche unveiled its position.

Porsche's bid to take over VW ultimately failed and the endebted luxury car maker was in turn saved by Volkswagen. In their lawsuit, the investment funds argue that Porsche manipulated the stock market as its announcement that it was taking over Volkswagen and the reasons for its move had come late.

US investment funds have already filed another complaint against Porsche, which says their action is “unfounded”. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in the New York State Supreme Court in March claim that actions by Porsche caused them to lose more than one billion euros.

A group of 39 investment funds filed a suit against Porsche in 2010 which said the German carmaker lied about its plans to take over the biggest European carmaker.

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Ford (NYSE:F) said Friday that U.S. sales of its namesake brand this week topped 2 million vehicles for the first time since 2007. This makes Ford the "best selling brand in America", and the first automotive brand to hit the 2 million mark in almost five years, it said.

"Ford's lineup of high-quality, fuel-efficient cars, utilities and trucks continues to attract more and more new customers," said Ford's sales analysis manager, Erich Merkle. "With gasoline prices tracking higher than last year, customers continue to move toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, whether they are passenger cars or utilities."Ford's smallest utility, the fuel-efficient Escape, has achieved record sales volumes this year and is "America's best selling utility vehicle", the company said in its statement. Overall, Ford brand small cars, like the Ford Fiesta and the Ford Focus, are on pace to post an increase of more than 20 percent this year, while Ford brand utilities are tracking to post more than a 30 percent gain, the company added.

Indeed, Ford is not the only auto maker that is expected to benefit from improving labour market data in the US, and consumer confidence. The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence jumped to 64.5 this month - an eight month high - from a revised 55.2 in November. This could mean big business for car retailers next year. According to car pricing website TrueCar.com, new light vehicle sales in the US are expected to rise 8.1 percent in December from a year ago, and 24.4 percent from November this year on a non adjusted basis, with sales volume estimated at the strongest level since March.

The December 2011 forecast translates into a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 13.5 million new car sales, up from 12.5 million in December 2010, but down from 13.7 million in November 2011.
"December’s sales rate was a continuation of the rather slow and steady recovery that now symbolizes 2011, " said vice president of industry trends for TrueCar.com, Jesse Toprak, in a statement earlier this week.

"This year was absent of a blockbuster sales month but we see this pace of growth as healthy and sustainable in the coming year where the industry is going to sell nearly 14 million units based on the merits of its products and improved economy."TrueCar.com expects new car sales will reach nearly 12.8 million units this year, and rise to 13.8 million units for 2012.

Every major auto maker except Honda Motor Co. (NYSE:HMC) and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) saw higher sales this year, according to the website. Retail sales for December are projected to rise 8.7 percent compared to the prior year period, and grow 26.0 percent from November 2011. Ford is forecast to have the second biggest market share in the US of the top seven car manufacturers this month, at 16.5 percent, compared to GM (NYSE:GM) with the first spot at 18.9 percent.

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A MONTH or two ago we wrote about the cars that have been, or could be, excellent investments. Not just Ferraris or Bugattis, but Fords and other sub-million pound motors.

Well, here’s news of a car that I reckon is one day going to be worth a decent bit of money. You’ll think I’m still suffering from the effects of Christmas because this car is an Audi A1. That’s correct, the small hatchback that Audi launched earlier in 2011.

Soon after the car went on sale, rumours started circulating that Audi might build a hot version that it could call the S1. Audi didn’t deny or confirm this but now the carmaker has come clean: it’s going to build a fast A1 and call it the A1 Quattro.

So why is this little hot hatch going to be a good investment? Because Audi is only going to build 333 of them. Not 333 for the UK, but worldwide. The car will come to the UK if there’s enough interest in it (it will be left-hand drive only) but I think we can assume there will be. Anyway, let’s cut straight to the oily bits.

The A1 Quattro is powered by a 2.0-litre TFSI engine with 256bhp at 6,000rpm – that’s the same engine that’s fitted to the RS3. That’s not an outrageous amount of power by today’s standards as the Ford Focus RS had more, the Mazda3 MPS only a few bhp less and the Renault Megane RS250 has practically the same.

The big difference is that the Audi has four-wheel drive so where its rivals will either be spinning their front wheels or having traction control cut in, the A1 Quattro will be digging in and going off like an RPG.

Audi is talking about a top speed of 152mph and 0-62mph in 5.7sec – a figure that it’ll probably get close to even if the road surface is wet. There’s no fancy double-clutch gearbox, just a conventional six-speed manual. In normal circumstances most of the power goes to the front wheels but when a loss of traction is detected power will be sent to the rear ones.

A traction control system is fitted but it can be switched for hooligans or track use. As you would expect, the A1 Quattro looks considerably more sporty than other A1s. Special front and rear bumpers add 30mm to the overall length, it has its own unique wheels and the interior is trimmed in black leather with red stitching.

Oh, and the car is only available in white with a gloss black roof. Quattro badges are dotted around the place and the whole plot is finished off with dual polished exhaust tailpipes.

The A1 Quattro will go on sale in the latter part of 2012. I think we can assume that Audi will import a few into the UK. There’s no word on price yet, but I wouldn’t think you’d get much change out of 30 grand.

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According to the car manufacturer, 2012 will bring us the new generation of the Audi A3 and the production version of the Audi R8 E-Tron, which has already been previewed earlier this year, at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Introducing the two new models in 2012 is part of Audi’s total investment of 13 billion euros in new products and technologies, as well as in expanding its sites by 2016.

Besides the production versionof the R8 E-Tron and the new generation of the A3, Audi will also launch the A8 Hybrid in 2012. As a reminder, the prototype of the R8 E-Tron presented at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show came with a 53 kWh lithium-ion battery which sent power to the four electric motors which were generating 308 horsepower and an impressive 4.500 Nm of torque, or 3.319 lb-ft, enabling the supercar to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds. The Audi R8 E-Tron can travel up to 250 km on a single charge (155 miles).

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Heather Peters is an angry consumer who knows she has little chance of winning a war with Honda Motor Co. and its army of high-priced lawyers.

The Los Angeles resident is miffed that her 2006 Honda Civic hybrid doesn't get its claimed fuel economy. And she isn't satisfied with a proposed class-action lawsuit settlement that would give trial lawyers $8.5 million while Civic owners would get as little as $100 and rebate coupons for the purchase of a new vehicle.

But Peters believes that she found a venue where she can win justice and where Honda can't spend a single dollar on legal help. On Jan. 3 she'll take her case to Small Claims Court in Torrance, where California law prohibits Honda from bringing an attorney. She's asking for the maximum of $10,000 to compensate her for spending much more on gasoline than expected. Honda said the Civic would get about 50 miles per gallon, but because of technical problems the car gets closer to 30 mpg.

What's more, Peters is using urging Honda owners across the country to do the same. Peters' DontSettleWithHonda.org website and a DontSettleWithHonda Twitter account include a link to state-by-state instructions for filing these lawsuits, which have low fees and minimal paperwork. Honda sold about 200,000 of the hybrids over a six-year period, and because of resales, as many as 500,000 people are eligible to file claims against Honda. "I want them to know they can file in Small Claims Court and that it is not so scary," Peters said.

If she's successful in getting others to follow her example, Peters could inspire a whole new litigation strategy in the auto industry and other businesses. Working together but filing lawsuits independently, consumers could force companies to go mano a mano with individual plaintiffs in far-flung courtrooms nationwide.

Call it a small-claims flash mob. "This could create a lot of problems in the industry," said Aaron Jacoby, the Los Angeles defense attorney who heads the automotive industry group at the Arent Fox law firm.

Attorneys said social networking and the Internet make it easier for groups of claimants to find one another and map out tactics such as the one Peters has devised. Apartment dwellers for years have used a similar strategy, banding together to file individual cases against the same landlord in Small Claims Court.

"You might have 10 plaintiffs suing the same defendant, but with different claims, and requesting that all the cases be heard at the same time," said Nicholas Aquino, Small Claims Court advisory program manager for the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs.

He said mass filings could become a trend. "Governments are cutting back on everything, including consumer protection. The Small Claims Court is the forum of last resort for the everyday person," Aquino said. "It gives a consumer an opportunity to have an issue addressed in court."

To be sure, there are hurdles that might dissuade people from pursuing the stratagem en masse. Although there is relatively little red tape, Small Claims Court still requires plaintiffs to prepare arguments. And they have to make a court date and possibly miss work to attend the hearing, Jacoby said.

Some states allow the litigants in small claims actions to be represented by attorneys — giving big companies with high-priced legal staffs an advantage over mom-and-pop plaintiffs. "It could be a daunting task for some," Jacoby said.

But in California and other states where companies can only be represented by non-attorney employees, there also could be some benefits, beginning with "cutting the attorneys out of the equation in these cases," said Richard Cupp Jr., who teaches product liability law at Pepperdine University.

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Ingolstadt, GERMANY (Reuters) - The automotive industry faces a tougher year in 2012 than it has done this year, Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler told Reuters in an interview for release on Sunday. "But this should not be a reason to fall into pessimism," he said, adding that the automotive industry will continue to grow over the next 10 years thanks to the enormous appetite for mobility among people in developing economies.

Stadler also denied speculation in the German media that he might be a successor for Audi parent Volkswagen's CEO, Martin Winterkorn, when he steps down at the end of 2016. He said he expects China's automotive market to grow 8 to 9 percent, with its premium segment expanding 20 percent or even 30 percent, though he did not give a timeframe. Audi is the market leader in the luxury segment in China, well ahead of German rivals BMW and Daimler AG's Mercedes. Stadler, who has set a goal of making Audi the world's top premium car maker by 2015, told Reuters carmakers have a better chance of growing in the premium segment because emerging markets like China will produce a crop of millionaires in dollar terms.

Audi is aiming for the top position in the United States, which has the world's biggest premium segment at nearly 2 million cars, he said. The company currently runs behind both BMW and Mercedes in that market.
He said a new production plant there would help, but it was still unclear where the facility would be based.
He noted that wages in Mexico were cheaper than in the United States, where parent Volkswagen already has a factory. But he said if Audi were to join the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, "the investments would certainly be somewhat less", although exporting cars out of the United States would have high customs fees.

NO VW PLANS
Asked if he would like to be the successor to VW's Winterkorn, Stadler replied: "No", adding he wanted to remain at Audi. "I have many things to do here," he said. Like Ferdinand Piech, the current supervisory board
chairman of Volkswagen, Winterkorn was Audi Chief Executive before becoming head of the executive board of Europe's biggest carmaker. Stadler has been Audi CEO since 2007 and last year became a Volkswagen board member. Unlike Piech and Winterkorn, who both studied to become engineers, Stadler graduated with a business management degree.

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Taking the idea of a hot hatch to all-new levels, Audi has released the first pictures of its latest A1, which comes complete with quattro all-wheel drive and a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine producing 252bhp.
Audi says that it is staking a claim to build "the most powerful and fastest accelerating car of its kind ever created", which it should achieve thanks to peak power at 6,000rpm being backed up by 258lb ft of torque between 2,500-4,500rpm. As a result, 0-62mph can be covered in 5.7sec, while the top speed of this pocket rocket is 152mph.

The petrol engine, taken from Audi's own S3, features high pressure injection, an adjustable intake camshaft and twin balancer shafts, and is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. In normal driving conditions the three-door A1 quattro can return a claimed 33.2mpg on the Combined cycle, with most of the engine's power sent to the front wheels. However, an electronically controlled and hydraulically actuated multi-plate clutch (located on the rear axle to help manage weight distribution in what, despite being 33mm longer than a standard A1, is still a small car) can send power to the rear wheels in milliseconds if sensors detect it is required. In addition, an electronic differential lock can brake one wheel on either axle if it detects it is losing grip. Production of the A1 quattro is limited to just 333 models, each of which will be finished in Glacier white metallic and be available in left-hand drive only. Upgrades over a standard A1 include 18in "turbine design" wheels, a large two-tone rear wing and new bumpers front and rear.

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Giving company to the 11 vehicles that Ford would be displaying at the Expo will be auto-maker’s all-new global vehicle. The next-generation Ford will take centre stage at the auto-maker’s stand, which will feature comprehensive safety and quality displays, a 3D theatre, live shows, and a crowd-sourced interactive game. The all-new global vehicle will give Ford a sure-footing in fast-growing automobile markets, including India and is slated to debut in the country by 2015.

The Ford stand will also have a fully interactive LED screen that will let visitors control a vehicle virtually using motion sensing cameras. The crowd will collectively be able to control the vehicle as it rolls along a virtual road and unlock information at each bend. The display will prompt the crowd to lean left and right during a short drive.
 
Ford will also have a Figo Theatre which would let people sit inside the car and watch a short film explaining Figo’s smart technologies played on a plasma screen in front of the windscreen. A 3D theatre will have guests navigate a virtual car under the guidance of a Ford engineer. A touch table will let visitors touch and feel the quality of materials used in Ford cars while a green touch table will show the value of Ford’s green technology, delivering on Ford’s commitment to provide low cost ownership.
 
Ford is also expected to announce the pricing of the all-new Fiesta automatic version, touted to deliver 9% better fuel economy. A Fiesta body shell will also be on display giving visitors an opportunity to discover the engineering features that make the Fiesta safe on road. Completing the line-up would be models from Ford’s existing fleet such as the Figo, Fiesta Classic and the Endeavour.

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