One thing the automakers don't like? The per-vehicle fee slated to go directly toward boosting the coffers of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (As previously reported, this fee would start off at $3 per vehicle before moving up to $6 and, eventually, $9 in the third year.) The manufacturers argue that the added cost is prohibitive. As the "Wheels" blog points out, though, manufacturers themselves typically tack on fees that are many, many times larger, such as the hundreds of dollars consumers can pay for delivery fees.

An issue that's quite contentious is the raising of the maximum penalty from $15 million to $300 million if a manufacturer fails to promptly notify NHTSA of a safety issue. The manufacturers call this excessive, though the $300 million price tag is a maximum, not a standard, and it's widely accepted that a $15 million penalty for a major manufacturer amounts to little more than lost pocket change.

Here's a list of other considerations, as reported by "Wheels":

• Making it easier to bring criminal charges for knowingly misleading NHTSA about a safety problem. Having criminal penalties — and possible jail time — would “change the whole equation” for an auto executive considering whether to be honest with the safety agency, a former NHTSA enforcement official said.

• Requiring a top auto-company executive to be legally responsible for safety reports submitted.

• Requiring electronic systems in passenger motor vehicles “to meet minimum performance standards,” such as resistance to interference that could cause a malfunction.

• Requiring a computer system to enable the brake to override the accelerator and prevent unintended acceleration.

• Forbidding NHTSA employees from working for automakers for three years after they leave the agency.

• Making more information about possible defects available to consumers and redesigning the agency’s website to make it more efficient and easier for consumers to use.

• Extending whistleblower protection to employees of automakers, dealers and suppliers who report a safety defect.

• Allowing a judicial appeal if NHTSA turns down a consumer’s request for a defect investigation.

• Requiring “vehicle event data recorders” that would provide information about a crash, making it easier for investigators to determine whether there was a vehicle malfunction.