NEWS-03
history.>
defective air bags, linked to a string of deaths. There`s word tonight that
at least four automakers are still selling new cars with those same kind of
potentially faulty air bags.>
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE (00:05:22): There is stunning news tonight about the biggest recall in American history. Upwards of sixty-nine million cars with potentially explosive and defective air bags, linked to a string of deaths. There`s word tonight that at least four automakers are still selling new cars with those same kind of potentially faulty air bags. NBC`s Tom Costello now with the consumer alerts.
(Begin VT)
TOM COSTELLO (00:05:45): It`s terrifying news for anyone considering a new car. Some of those cars come with potentially defective air bags that will likely be recalled in just two to three years. But sold legally now because investigators believe they won`t go bad for at least six years.
TIFFANY BU (Takata air bag victim) (00:06:00): I have this scar here on my arm. I have this one down here where they`ve removed a chunk of metal.
TOM COSTELLO (00:06:05): Already exploding Takata air bags have injured more than a hundred people and killed ten; most recently, seventeen-year- old Huma Hanif in Texas.
SENATOR BILL NELSON (D-Florida) (00:06:13): It is absolutely ridiculous that the American consumer buys a new car only to find out in two years that it`s going to be recalled.
TOM COSTELLO (00:06:25): Among the new models currently being sold with suspect air bags, the 2016 and `17 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, the 2016 Volkswagen CC, the 2016 Audi TT, and 2017 Audi R8. Toyota and Fiat Chrysler are also selling vehicles with the potentially defective air bags, though, both insist they`re not currently under recall. Fiat Chrysler tells NBC News, "They meet or exceed all applicable safety requirements." But car dealer Steve Kalafer says VW isn`t telling its customers about the air bags. He is and won`t sell the affected model.
STEVE KALAFER (Volkswagen dealer) (00:06:59): If we know it`s a poisonous issue like the air bags, we`re not going to sell it. We`re not going to put our customers at risk.
TOM COSTELLO (00:07:06): The problem: there simply aren`t enough replacement air bags for the sixty-nine million cars already under recall.
(00:07:12): Are you comfortable with how quickly these Takata air bags are being replaced?
MARK ROSEKIND (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) (00:07:16): Absolutely not. That`s unfortunately the worst lesson from the last young woman who lost her life.
TOM COSTELLO (00:07:21): The warning--buyer beware, the car may be new but it could be coming with a defect and a looming recall.
(00:07:27): Tom Costello, NBC News, Vienna, Virginia.
(End VT)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE (00:07:31): Politics now. There are new questions being raised tonight about Donald Trump`s business history, which he has repeatedly offered as a key credential in his run for President. In newly unsealed testimony, former employees of Trump University accused Trump of running a fraudulent scheme that billed the struggling and the elderly out of their money. NBC`s Katy Tur has been digging into the testimony. Katy, good evening. What have you found?
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