“Continued: Minn. man admits driving drunk in his custom La-Z-Boy - Minneapolis Star Tribune” plus 4 more

Continued: Minn. man admits driving drunk in his custom La-Z-Boy - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Lawyer: Alcohol Not Factor in Fatal Boat Crash - LongIslandPress
Will consumer demand rebalance China’s economy? - Financial Times
Congressional Support Growing for Fair Competition in Auto Repair ... - WKOW-TV.com
Bad Credit Car Loan Pitfalls to Avoid - PRLog (free press release)

Continued: Minn. man admits driving drunk in his custom La-Z-Boy - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 22 Oct 2009 12:51 PM PDT

The operator of a La-Z-Boy chair converted into a motorized vehicle -- complete with a stereo and cup holders -- has admitted that he crashed the piece of furniture after leaving a bar in Proctor, Minn., extremely drunk.

Dennis LeRoy Anderson, 61, of Proctor, pleaded guilty Monday to hopping on the chair on the night of Aug. 31, 2008, after visiting the Keyboard Lounge, then crashing into a more traditional vehicle in the parking lot. Anderson's blood-alcohol content was 0.29 percent, more than three times the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

Deputy Police Chief Troy Foucault said today that the chair is "quite decked out." Along with the stereo and cup holders, it is powered by a converted gasoline-powered lawnmower, a steering wheel, headlights and a power antenna.

Foucault estimated that the La-Z-Boy can top out at 15 to 20 miles per hour. A National Hot Rod Association sticker adorns the headrest.

The chair was impounded and will be sold at the next police auction.

"We have quite a few people calling about buying it," said Foucault, who half-seriously acknowledged that he's tempted to bid on it, except that "I have kids who would take it out and drive it on the street."

Anderson admitted to police that he had been drinking at home, was leaving the bar and had drunk eight or nine beers that day before getting on the La-Z-Boy and crashing it into a Dodge Intrepid parked outside, Foucault said. Anderson was treated at the scene for minor injuries and given a field sobriety test, even though he pleaded several times with the officer to "give him a break," according to the police report.

"He failed everything," Foucault said, leading to Anderson's arrest and seizure of the chair. The officer on the scene checked Anderson's driver's license and determined that it had been revoked because of a previous drunken-driving conviction, according to police.

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Lawyer: Alcohol Not Factor in Fatal Boat Crash - LongIslandPress

Posted: 22 Oct 2009 01:34 PM PDT

By Cristian Salazar, Associated Press Writer

The Copiague man was drunk and piloting a powerboat at "excessive speed" as he navigated a twisting channel at night before plowing into marshland, killing three people and critically injuring four others, Nassau police said on Wednesday.

But an attorney for George Canni's insurance company on Thursday disputed that alcohol played a role in the accident that killed Canni, 65, his wife and a friend. The attorney, James Mercante, said that buoys that were supposed to mark the channel were either missing, damaged or off station — meaning they were not moored in the correct position.

"Without the buoys to navigate at night, you have no way of determining if you are in the channel or out of the channel," said Mercante, adding that Canni was an experienced mariner who had owned or operated boats for more than 20 years. coastguardboat

Mercante said his chart indicated that two buoys were off station, two others were missing and a third was damaged on Oct. 4 when Canni's speedboat, carrying his wife and a group of friends, traversed the Great Island channel and ran aground on Goose Island, south of Seaford.

"At night when you're operating on a boat, you rely almost exclusively on buoys to guide the mariner," said Mercante, a longtime maritime attorney and retired naval reserve captain. "When the buoys are missing or off station it becomes a perilous trap for the mariner."

The buoys are owned by the Town of Hempstead. A spokesman for the town did not immediately return a phone message Thursday requesting comment.

The Nassau County Police Department, which is investigating the boat accident, said that it would make no comment beyond repeating its announcement on Wednesday that Canni had a blood-alcohol level content of 0.08 — the minimum threshold for boating while intoxicated.

The department has also requested toxicology tests to determine whether Canni had drugs or other substances in him at the time of the accident.

Capt. Alan Bregman, who mans a marine-assistance boat off Long Island's South Shore in the area where the accident happened, said it's possible that at least one buoy is in the wrong spot and two others are missing in the channel.

He said the buoys were small and unlit, designed to be taken out easily each year. If they had been missing from the channel on the night of the crash, he said "it would definitely make things more difficult" for boaters. But he emphasized that "driving drunk is never a good idea."

Alcohol was the leading factor in fatal boating accidents nationally last year, according to a recreational boating report by the U.S. Coast Guard. Of the 276 accidents involving alcohol use, 124 of them were fatal. There were a total of 4,789 accidents involving 790 deaths in 2008. Alcohol was also a primary contributing factory in injuries, according to the report.

Also killed in the speedboat accident were Canni's wife, Theresa Maniaci-Canni, 46, and Joseph Sugamele, 50. Survivors were Peter Sofia, 54, of Farmingdale; Tom Sulori, 48; Sulori's wife, Laura, 54, of Massepequa; and Sugamele's wife, Deborah, 50. They remain hospitalized at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.

George Canni was the owner of an auto repair shop in Baldwin, where a man who answered the phone on Thursday identified himself as a nephew. "I have nothing to tell you," the man said, refusing to give his name.

Peter Sofia's 84-year-old mother, Rose Sofia, said that her son was still in the hospital with broken legs. She said he might be coming home in the next few days, and that she had few details about the accident.

She said she had seen Canni at holiday dinners.

"He's a very responsible person," she said. "He's very nice, and caring."

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Will consumer demand rebalance China’s economy? - Financial Times

Posted: 22 Oct 2009 12:51 PM PDT

Anyone scanning recent business headlines in China would not recognise the country where people supposedly save and never spend. In September, China Mobileâ€™s customer base crossed the half billion mark â€" a powerful symbol of the awesome size of the Chinese consumer market.

China has also become the biggest vehicle market in the world this year and car sales expanded an extraordinary 78 per cent last month from a year ago. Over the National Day holiday in early October, retailers say large flat-screen TVs flew off the shelves.

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Congressional Support Growing for Fair Competition in Auto Repair ... - WKOW-TV.com

Posted: 22 Oct 2009 11:46 AM PDT

Reps. Capuano, Carney, Conaway, Meeks, Miller Support Right to Repair Act

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Five more members of Congress declared their support of the Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act (HR 2057). Reps. Michael E. Capuano (D-MA), Christopher P. Carney (D-PA), Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Michael K. Conaway (R-TX) and Brad Miller (D-NC) are the most recent co-sponsors of Right to Repair, which has gained steady support since its introduction. The bill now has 45 sponsors.

"We applaud these five members of Congress for backing this critical piece of pro-consumer and pro-small business legislation," said Kathleen Schmatz, president and CEO of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA). "It has become clear that a competitive marketplace backed by smart government oversight will protect American consumers and small businesses. Right to repair seeks to ensure that car owners continue to have a choice on where they have their vehicle repaired, whether it's an independently owned neighborhood repair shop or a new car dealership."

"While advances in technology have benefited consumers, the environment and highway safety, it is critical that repairs shops have ready access to accurate information, tools and software needed to maintain and service late model vehicles. By requiring that car companies make this information available to all repair shops, the Right to Repair Act ensures that motorists, and not the manufacturers, determine where, how and by whom they have their vehicles repaired," Schmatz added.

"As car manufacturers add more 'smart car' computer technology to vehicles, the need for the Right to Repair Act has become more critical in order to protect consumers from the added costs created by a vehicle repair monopoly," said Ray Pohlman, president of the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality (CARE). "The Right to Repair Act does not cost taxpayers money, but instead helps keep money in their pockets by ensuring they have affordable choices when it comes to auto repair."

About Right to Repair:

The Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act, which was introduced by Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and George Miller (D-CA), would require car companies to make the same service information and tools capabilities available to independent repair shops that they provide to their franchised dealer networks. The legislation further provides car companies with strong protections for their trade secrets unless that information is provided to the franchised new car dealers. The bill clarifies the responsibilities of the Federal Trade Commission in enforcing the bill's requirements. For more information about the Right to Repair Act, visit www.righttorepair.org.

SOURCE Right to Repair Act
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Bad Credit Car Loan Pitfalls to Avoid - PRLog (free press release)

Posted: 22 Oct 2009 10:49 AM PDT

PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 22, 2009 – A bad credit car loan is a phenomenon that has enabled bad credit borrowers to achieve their dreams of owning a car. However, one must exercise caution when looking for that loan because some unscrupulous lenders seek to take advantage of borrowers. In this article I discuss some of the pitfalls to avoid when looking for bad credit car loans (http://www.capitalcarloans.com).

Companies offering bad credit car loan (http://www.capitalcarloans.com) follow the same system as those offering good credit auto loans except that they will require that people with bad credit give a bigger down payment and pay a higher rate of interest. Down payment can vary between 20% to 50%and interest rates, 5% to 26% depending on how bad your credit is. Avoid paying more. For example, a borrower offers his car as collateral for a short time loan with an effective interest rate of up to 144% per annum. These loans, also called title loans, come with an interest rate of 12% per month so when the borrower is unable to pay; another bad credit car loan at 12% has to be taken. Such lending if not downright illegal is very imprudent to accept.

Some lenders artificially inflate the prices of the car and or the rates of interest charged for the loan. In such a situation, the borrower is exposed to the possibility of defaulting on the loan thereby ruining their credit further. Your best protection is to investigate the true value of your desired car and endeavor to only pay the wholesale value plus a little extra as profit for the dealer. Also look out for large rebates and extra ordinarily low introductory rates as the dealer may later on put a large price tag on it

Borrowers should also look out for bad credit car loan (http://www.capitalcarloans.com) that has been pre-computed as the rate of interest on the loan is calculated in such a way that every time you pre-pay or sell your car, the result is that you pay more towards the interest while paying less for the principal amount than you should.

It is imprudent to take out a large or long loan as you will be bound to pay a high rate of interest on a rapidly depreciating car. The best car for you would be a moderately new; meaning 2-3 year old car, as you will not need to pay a lot for credit or auto repair work.

Obtaining a bad credit car loan (http://www.capitalcarloans.com) is a great way of ensuring that you become a car owner despite poor credit. With the above tips you can avoid the common pitfalls and drive away smiling.

Capital Car Loans is your best source for new car loans or bad credit car loans online. If you have really bad credit, bankruptcy, poor credit or a low credit score we have car loan credit programs that can provide financing with low interest rates that will help you buy the new car you really want at payments you can afford. More information about Capital Car Loans can be found at http://www.capitalcarloans.com.

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