Automobiles

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood praised legal cases being prosecuted against men who sold cars with fraudulent mileage readings Tuesday.

LaHood, who has called the practice of rolling back odometers in cars "unscrupulous" in the past, said Tuesday on the Department of Transportation's blog that he was glad four men in Seattle had recently pled guilty to mileage tampering.

"In a blog post last April, I wrote that 'If an unscrupulous seller rolls back the odometer, you could end up driving a car that is considerably less valuable and less safe than you thought,'" LaHood wrote Tuesday.

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Detroit-based Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers union announced Tuesday they had agreed to a four-year labor agreement both sides say will add jobs by 2015.

The sides say the deal, which will still have to be approved by UAW members, will create 5,750 new jobs at Ford facilities across the country.

It calls for Ford to spend $16 billion on its U.S. operations, including $6.2 billion for plants, and retain 12,000 positions in total.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) has a plan to fix the bad bridges in her state.

A commuter rail fare hike in Connecticut is being referred to as the "Malloy Tax."

A proposed extension of the Washington, D.C., MetroRail to Dulles International Airport is in danger of being delayed.

Paris is testing electric cars for its short-term rental programs.

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman has requested a slew of documents from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation about increased fuel economy standards being enforced by the Obama administration.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wrote letters Friday to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood expressing his concern with the fuel efficiency standards, which call for cars getting 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

"I have been following with careful scrutiny the actions of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gasses, pursuant to the decision rendered in Massachusetts v EPA," he wrote in a letter to Jackson that was obtained Friday by The Hill. "As you are aware, the last Congress did not enact cap-and-trade legislation, which would have given the administration explicit authority to regulate GHGs. In this Congress, a cap-and-trade bill has not been reconsidered."

The House Oversight chairman used Twitter to demand Ford answer questions about pulling an ad critical of the auto bailout.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Maine has increased its speed limit to 75 miles per hour.

Fare increases could be on the horizon for Boston's "T" subway.

A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit over handicap access at Detroit's Metro International Airport.

Sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks are less dangerous in accidents, a study finds.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The worst traffic in the nation is in Washington.

Maryland has a new transportation chief.  

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has delivered its first 787 airplane to Japan.

The price tag has increased for the proposed expansion of Philadelphia International Airport.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department are delaying the release of proposed regulations establishing the next round of joint greenhouse gas and mileage standards for cars and light trucks.

The agencies plan to issue rules for model years 2017-2025 that establish a standard of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, a plan that has won support from major automakers.

The proposed rule was slated for release at the end of September, but is now expected to surface by mid-November, according to EPA.

Automobile communication system OnStar announced Tuesday it would not follow through with changes to its privacy policy after coming under fire from lawmakers and consumers.

OnStar, which is owned by General Motors, notified its customers earlier this month that the company would continue to collect data about cars even after customers had canceled their OnStar service. Customers would have had to contact the company to opt out of the program.

OnStar also said it was reserving its right to sell driver data to third parties.

Ford posted to Facebook that the ad has simply been phased out of rotation as scheduled.