{"id":2536,"date":"2024-07-11T14:31:13","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T18:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/"},"modified":"2024-08-12T13:18:38","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T17:18:38","slug":"milestones-safer-at-every-speed","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/","title":{"rendered":"Milestones: Safer at every speed"},"featured_media":53490,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"resource_type":[65],"region_tax":[],"state":[2],"topic_tax":[124,159],"class_list":["post-2536","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[124,159],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":65,"event_type":false,"campaigns":false,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":null}},"subtitle":"","excerpt":"By advocating for the Lemon Law and launching the Make VW Pay campaign, PIRG has held car manufacturers accountable while keeping consumers informed.","featured_image":53490,"caption_override":"   ","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":"","related_event":"","hide_hero_image":false,"location":"internal","external_link":{"publication_name":"","url":""},"file":null,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":null},"helper_downloads":{"title":"Downloads","files":null},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<h3><strong>When your car dealer gives you a lemon ...<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<p class=\"\">Defective cars used to be so commonplace they had a nickname: lemons.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">A case in point: In 1980, Dan Brochu, a resident of New London, Connecticut, paid $6,500 for an Oldsmobile Omega. It was a classic new car <a href=\"https:\/\/library.ccsu.edu\/help\/spcoll\/lemonlaw\/index.html\">lemon<\/a>:<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\"><em>Water pooled inside, the electrical system failed, the paint peeled and the manual transmission slipped. The car was in the dealer's shop for repairs 135 days over an 18-month period.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">To fix the problem, ConnPIRG\u2019s Ed Mierzwinski lobbied for a bill, sponsored by Rep. John Woodcock, to create a legal definition of a new car lemon and require automakers to replace defective cars or offer consumers refunds.<\/p>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"narrow","image":53492,"caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<p class=\"\">Ed reached out to consumers who had filed complaints about their cars, bringing together many of them \u2014 including Dan Brochu \u2014 for an April 13 media event calling for \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/connpirg.org\/news\/ctp\/over-30-years-car-lemon-law-saves-connecticut-consumers-over-60-million\">Lemon-Aid<\/a>.\u201d Another lemon owner flew his Cessna over the state capitol, with a banner that read \u201cMy \u201882 Chevy is one reason Conn. needs a lemon law.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">The event spurred an outpouring of citizen letters to legislators that led to the June 4, 1982 passage of the nation\u2019s first Lemon Law. Since then, the program (along with Lemon Law II, which in 1984 established a state-regulated arbitration program) has <a href=\"https:\/\/portal.ct.gov\/DCP\/Lemon-Law\/Lemon-Law-App\/Lemon-Law-for-the-Consumer\">returned<\/a> $60 million in refunds and car replacements to consumers.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">Over the next decade, the Connecticut Lemon Law would be replicated in every state, many of them thanks to PIRG research and action.<\/p>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"narrow","image":53598,"caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<h3><strong>Diesel-gate exposed, put to good use<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<p class=\"\">When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/01\/03\/opinion\/sunday\/the-dirty-truth-about-clean-diesel.html\">Volkswagen<\/a> began marketing a fleet of \u201cclean diesel\u201d cars, it sounded too good to be true.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">Diesel cars were known for their fuel efficiency, not their low emissions. Daring consumers to \u201clearn the <a href=\"https:\/\/nymag.com\/intelligencer\/2015\/09\/vws-clean-diesel-ads-now-make-us-feel-dirty.html\">truth<\/a> about clean diesel,\u201d VW sold over half a million of the vehicles.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">Unfortunately for VW, consumers eventually learned the truth.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">A well-respected but low-profile <a href=\"https:\/\/theicct.org\/\">group<\/a>, led by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mensjournal.com\/gear\/meet-drew-kodjak-the-data-cruncher-who-took-down-volkswagen-w203624\/\">Drew Kodjak<\/a>, an alumnus of NJPIRG, was the first to discover in the U.S. that VW\u2019s diesels weren\u2019t clean at all. In fact, their emissions significantly exceeded federal standards.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">Through what became <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2015\/business\/international\/vw-diesel-emissions-scandal-explained.html\">known<\/a> as a \u201cdefeat device,\u201d VW had engineered the cars to fool emission tests \u2014 and to increase their toxic exhaust levels once they hit the road.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">In response, PIRG launched the <a href=\"https:\/\/uspirg.org\/issues\/usp\/make-vw-pay\">Make VW Pay\u00a0<\/a>campaign, organizing customers, dealerships and other advocates to call for the company to grant full rebates.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">Among these customers were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZPf7rRd-vN4\">Marcus Moench and Elisabeth Caspari<\/a>, who <a href=\"https:\/\/jalopnik.com\/this-couple-is-driving-cross-country-to-return-their-po-1753421381\">drove<\/a> their Jetta SportWagen TDI in early 2016 from their Colorado home to VW\u2019s Virginia headquarters to drop off a petition signed by 20,000 PIRG supporters.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">In 2017, a federal judge ordered VW to pay a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/judge-slaps-vw-with-2-8-billion-criminal-fine-in-emissions-fraud-1492789096\">$2.8 billion<\/a> criminal fine, with the funds targeted for environmental mitigation and spread across all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">PIRG\u2019s focus turned from making VW pay to putting VW\u2019s fine to good use. Our advocates called on states to put the money into charging stations for electric vehicles, electrifying public transit, and electrifying school buses.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\">To inform the public and hold the states accountable, on May 23, 2019, PIRG released a Volkswagen Settlement State <a href=\"https:\/\/uspirg.org\/news\/usp\/new-report-grades-all-50-states-volkswagen-settlement-spending-plans\">Scorecard<\/a>, giving only 15 states a C or better.<\/p>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"narrow","image":53489,"caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>About this series: <\/b>PIRG and The Public Interest Network have achieved much more than we can cover on this page. You can find more milestones of our work on consumer protection below. You can also explore an interactive timeline featuring more of our network\u2019s consumer protection milestones.<\/span><\/i>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_resource","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_resource":{"resource":[2538]}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_resource","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_resource":{"resource":[2539]}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_resource","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_resource":{"resource":[2540]}}],"site_specific_content":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.8 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Milestones: Safer at every speed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By advocating for the Lemon Law and launching the Make VW Pay campaign, PIRG has held car manufacturers accountable while keeping consumers informed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Milestones: Safer at every speed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By advocating for the Lemon Law and launching the Make VW Pay campaign, PIRG has held car manufacturers accountable while keeping consumers informed.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NCPIRG Education Fund\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-12T17:18:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cars-shutterstock_148909511.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/resources\\\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/resources\\\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Milestones: Safer at every speed\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/resources\\\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/resources\\\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/publicinterestnetwork.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/cars-shutterstock_148909511.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-07-11T18:31:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2024-08-12T17:18:38+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"By advocating for the Lemon Law and launching the Make VW Pay campaign, PIRG has held car manufacturers accountable while keeping consumers informed.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/resources\\\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/resources\\\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/resources\\\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/publicinterestnetwork.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/cars-shutterstock_148909511.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/publicinterestnetwork.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/cars-shutterstock_148909511.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/resources\\\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Milestones: Safer at every speed\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"NCPIRG Education Fund\",\n\t            \"description\": \"\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Milestones: Safer at every speed","description":"By advocating for the Lemon Law and launching the Make VW Pay campaign, PIRG has held car manufacturers accountable while keeping consumers informed.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Milestones: Safer at every speed","og_description":"By advocating for the Lemon Law and launching the Make VW Pay campaign, PIRG has held car manufacturers accountable while keeping consumers informed.","og_url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/","og_site_name":"NCPIRG Education Fund","article_modified_time":"2024-08-12T17:18:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cars-shutterstock_148909511.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/","url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/","name":"Milestones: Safer at every speed","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/publicinterestnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cars-shutterstock_148909511.jpg","datePublished":"2024-07-11T18:31:13+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-12T17:18:38+00:00","description":"By advocating for the Lemon Law and launching the Make VW Pay campaign, PIRG has held car manufacturers accountable while keeping consumers informed.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/publicinterestnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cars-shutterstock_148909511.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/publicinterestnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/cars-shutterstock_148909511.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/resources\/milestones-safer-at-every-speed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Milestones: Safer at every speed"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/","name":"NCPIRG Education Fund","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"NCPIRG Education Fund","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/2536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/2536\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"campaign_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campaign_tax?post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"display_option","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_option?post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"issue_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_tax?post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"resource_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_type?post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"region_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region_tax?post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/state?post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"topic_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic_tax?post=2536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}