ˆ Microheat files for bankruptcy after GM recall

tags : circuit board , circuitboard , cleaning , fire , fluid , fuse , general motors , generalmotors , heated , hot spot , hotspot , microheat , pcb , recall , windshield

Microheat Inc., the company responsible for inventing and supplying General Motors with their HotSpot windshield cleaning system, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The technology utilized heated liquid to clean the front glass of debris, ice, and snow. Unfortunately, a short circuit on a printed circuit board could overheat and lead to a fire (removing contaminants from much more than just the front windshield). As a result, GM recalled 944,000 vehicles and dropped Microheat, and their HotSpot product, from the lineup. Even with the system no longer offered on vehicles, things are cooking in court as GM is now seeking $20-25 million in damages to cover the cost of the recall. Without the assets to cover the charges, bankruptcy protection could only be expected. While GM's HotSpot recall solves the overheating problem with a simple inline fuse, the new filing by Microheat only seems to be fueling the fire.

posted : 10/16/2008 @6:08:57 PM

ˆ Man avoids parking ticket by refusing to get out of car

tags : avoid parking ticket , avoidparkingticket , man refuses to leave car , manrefusestoleavecar , parking ticket , parkingticket , refuses to leave , refusestoleave

This has got to be karmically bad, but you still have to admire the guy. Mr. Shah, a personal trainer living in West London, had illegally parked his E39 5-Series due to a misinterpretation of the parking signs near his home. The reason for the infraction was no matter to tow truck operators, who started winching the BMW up on a flatbed in order to cart the offending vehicle off to the pound. Thinking fast, Shah hopped on the truck and snuck into his vehicle's back seat, pretending to have been sleeping in the car the whole time. Rather than pay the £250 fine, Shah refused to leave the car, and instead listened to music and ordered a sandwich from a local cafe. After a couple of hours, the standoff eventually stymied both the owner of the tow company and the police, ultimately ending in the release of the vehicle. Shah may have dodged a bullet this time, even though he's on the hook for a £60 parking ticket, but the fickle finger of fate may yet to deal his payback.

posted : 10/2/2008 @4:40:46 PM

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