Released: December 02, 2009

Damaged When Delivered: Inexperienced car haulers threaten safety

Teamsters report presents scary picture of cut-rate car hauling

Contact: Linda Sherry, 202-544-3088

Auto giants Chrysler and GM are changing their practices so that new cars will be delivered by inexperienced drivers using inappropriate equipment and methods that endanger the vehicles they are delivering to unsuspecting drivers. Consumers who purchase these vehicles may not realized they are damaged goods until the harm becomes a safety issue. In the report “Damaged When Delivered?” the Teamsters, who say large auto manufacturers are using non-union car haulers to cut costs, take an inside look at the risks to public safety and consumer confidence when new GM and Chrysler vehicles are delivered by cut-rate and inexperienced carhauling companies. The Teamsters, Consumer Action and Rosemary Shahan of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety were joined by U.S. Representatives William Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Joe Baca (D-MA) at a teleconference today. The Congressmen said they pledged to shine a light on the hiring of non-union haulers by large companies that received taxpayer bailouts. Today Consumer Action's Director of National Priorities Linda Sherry participated in a press conference to release the report, making these comments:

Since we were founded almost 40 years ago, Consumer Action has counted unions as supporters and key partners. Consumer protection and organized labor complement each other. When workers are well taken care of, they take pride in their work and we believe this results in safer products. Workers without job protection, decent wages and health care coverage have little incentive to be proud of their work. So when we learned that Chrysler and GM are using cut-rate, non-union car hauling firms to transport new vehicles, and how the inexperienced haulers are not attaching the vehicles properly to the carrier, we must speak out against this practice. Not only are these cars damaged by improper transport, they are sold to unsuspecting customers whose lives are endangered. People buy new cars to get the utmost in safety on the road for themselves and their families. Selling cars that are damaged in transport is breaking the public trust. And then there are the unsuspecting motorists who share the roadway with car carriers on which cars have not been properly secured. It is frightening to think of the damage that two tons of metal could do if it fell off a car carrier. I have often driven by a car carrier and thought to myself, “I hope the folks that tie those autos on know what they are doing.” Now, unfortunately, I have an answer — albeit the wrong answer! — because the report we are releasing today clearly shows that cut-rate car-hauling firms do not know what they are doing, and this endangers all motorists and buyers of new Chrysler and GM vehicles.

Fred Zuckerman, director of the Carhaul Division at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said: "The pictures in the "Damaged When Delivered?" report were taken in the last month alone, and they document how the alternative carriers being used by GM and Fiat-Chrysler are hauling new cars and trucks in ways that could cause damage, much of which would be hidden to the consumer." For more information, and to download a copy of the report, visit www.CarBuyersBeware.com.