We skipped out early last week in honor of Labor Day weekend, which was great for our tans, but it meant we missed this news from Kia. Last week, the Korean automaker announced a recall of 35,185 2011 Sorento and 2010 Soul models over a wiring issue.

The culprit is improperly soldered wiring harnesses from their supplier, JCI, found in certain lighting features on both vehicles. They may short out, causing a fire.

Dealers will replace the problematic wiring free of charge if your vehicle is part of the recall. Kia asks that owners contact them at 1-800-333-4542, and you can also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at 1-888-327-4236 or visit their website.

Less than a week after a 62-mile traffic backup was cleared from China’s Beijing to Tibet roadway, another has cropped up on the same road and this one is even bigger. It involves 10,000 vehicles and stretches for an unbelievable 75 miles.

The Beijing to Tibet highway is one of the busiest in the ever-expanding country. According to the BBC, China has been spending billions of dollars on improving infrastructure to try to deal with Beijing’s increasing population. Unfortunately, the traffic problems are worsened by the construction on major highways, which is the reason behind both of these multi-day backups.

The previous jam took nine days to clear, and we imagine these people will be stuck for about the same amount of time. [Source: BBC News]

Almost as soon as the 458 Italias arrived on the market, pictures began cropping up from around the world showing the beautiful cars engulfed in flames. Was this another Enzo incident? Apparently not.

Ferrari has just announced that it is recalling every one of the 1200 Italias they sold due to the ‘thermal incidents’ reported in California, Paris, China and Switzerland. The company has discovered the fires were caused by a particular adhesive in the wheel-arch assemblies that could overheat and eventually catch fire. Not such a good thing when you’re clocking 202 mph.

Those owners whose cars actually caught fire will get brand-spanking new models, while the rest will go in for maintenance to replace the defective adhesive with mechanical fasteners. So dont’ worry; they’ll be driving around, making you jealous again in no time. [Source: BBC News, Ferrari]

As one of their many responsibilities, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) are tasked with developing the window stickers you see on new vehicles at the dealership. The current stickers lack a considerable amount of information about a car’s environmental impact and your eventual contribution to oil company executives’ private jet funds, which is why they want you (and me) to comment on the two new design proposals.

The two designs vary in their overall look and on which information is presented to the buyer, but both plan to accommodate the influx of varying types of vehicles. The new sticker will provide comparisons within segments, whether you’re considering an electric car or full-size truck. They’re also going to add a smartphone scan code to the label.

Visit the EPA’s site to see a video about the designs and comment on your favorite.

Chalk another recall up to the beleaguered Toyota Motor Company. This time they have announced a recall of 1.1 million U.S. vehicles, specifically Corolla and Matrix models made between 2005 and 2008.

The recall involves a potentially faulty engine control module (ECM) that may cause cracks in solder points or other electronic componentry due to improper manufacturing. In rare cases, this could result in the engine stopping while in use. Toyota has admitted that three accidents may be related to the issue, with one causing a minor injury.

We report on recalls regularly, but the 14 recalls Toyota has issued in 2010 alone is clearly of great concern to vehicle owners. Visit www.toyota.com/recall or call 1-800-331-4331 to find out more.

And there’s a cameo by DriverSide! Volvo’s S60 goes on sale next month with a full complement of new safety features,  including the first-ever pedestrian safety system that Volvo announced last year. The system, using cameras and radars to detect people and their movements, will aggressively apply the brakes to come to a full stop if it senses the vehicle fast approaching a person in the road. It works at speeds of 22 mph and under, but Volvo says that if you’re going faster than that the S60 can slow the car to half its speed in order to reduce injuries.

Other manufacturers have been developing systems such as these – Mercedes-Benz has the PRE-SAFE brake system in their E-Class – but Volvo is the first to apply the technology to humans. Volvo’s goal is to eliminate deaths and serious injuries from collisions in their cars by 2020. It’s a tall order, but entirely possible if they keep working on systems like this.

Ken Block’s Gymkhana videos – featuring some of the sickest, twisted driving ever – have been making waves since the first one dropped in 2008. The video generated major publicity for Block – and millions of Youtube views. Then the second one debuted and more than 16 million hits later, we’re still talking about it (seriously, watch it immediately). There have been a few iterations in between, but needless to say, we’ve been eagerly awaiting the next installment.

So when the world was atwitter about Gymkhana 3 Part 1 coming out today and featuring his 2011 Ford Fiesta, we were stoked.  And then we saw this. Oh, so Gymkhana is now a synonym for a rap video with blatant product placement? Color us disappointed.

But there’s hope! Part 2 is coming out in September and there’s no doubt we’ll click play and say a little prayer that it features some actual driving.