Automakers stay cozy in U.S. capital

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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20140126,0,1425489.column



The revolving doors may be well-distributed around Washington, but NHTSA has long been viewed as a particular problem child, with many officials going to auto-related firms.

Automakers stay cozy in U.S. capital
By Michael Hiltzik
January 26, 2014, 5:00 a.m.

Nothing seemed to underscore the revolving door between federal regulators and the companies they regulate as vividly as the two milestones marked on Jan. 17 at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

One was NHTSA's announcement that it was closing its contentious investigation of fuel tank fires in Chrysler Corp. SUVs, including its Jeep Grand Cherokees. The agency accepted the automaker's remedy of installing trailer hitches in more than 1.5 million vehicles to protect the tanks from rupture in rear-end collisions. That's a solution that some safety advocates think may make the cars even more dangerous.

The other milestone was that it was the last day at work for David Strickland, the NHTSA administrator who had overseen the investigation and was leaving for a new job with Venable, a Washington law firm that lobbies for Chrysler.

"It's awful and shameful, on the face of it," remarks Louis V. Lombardo, a Washington auto safety expert.