GM recall - handled differently than Toyota's

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[h=1]GM Recall Scandal Goes Straight to the White House[/h]
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by Joel B. Pollak 1 Apr 2014 223post a comment

[h=2]New General Motors CEO Mary Barra will testify before Congress Tuesday about why it took so long for GM to issue product safety recalls involving faulty ignition switches that caused air bags to fail in crashes, contributing to thirteen deaths. She will testify alongside David Friedman, the acting head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), who will be expected to explain why the government did not act sooner.[/h]They ought to be accompanied by former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, as well as "car czars" Steven Rattner and Ron Bloom, together with White House and Treasury officials who oversaw the government's huge bailout of General Motors. Many--though not all--of the safety problems happened on their watch. In addition, LaHood and other Obama administration officials led a witch-hunt against Toyota during the same period.
It was LaHood who led the hysterical propaganda campaign against Toyota, telling the public that Toyotas were unsafe to drive because of sudden-acceleration problems. Democrats and the mainstream media piled on. Toyota did recall vehicles for a problem involving its floor mats, but the problems with Toyota's electrical systems that were supposed to be causing its vehicles to accelerate out of control failed to materialize.
LaHood and the Obama administration attacked Toyota during a period when GM, now being run with direct input from the White House, had lost its #1 ranking in global auto sales. That was considered an urgent priority. So while the government was ignoring real and deadly safety problems at GM, it was trying to scare consumers about nonexistent problems at Toyota. The White House owes victims' families, and the public, an explanation.
 

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[h=1]GM recall linked to 57-cent ignition switch component[/h]
[h=3]GM CEO Mary Barra grilled by Congress over recalls, offers few answers[/h]The Associated Press Posted: Apr 01, 2014 9:38 AM ET Last Updated: Apr 02, 2014 2:33 AM ET


general-motors-recall-congress.jpg
General Motors CEO Mary Barra is speaking to Congress over why it took GM a decade to recall cars with faulty ignition switches that the company says are now linked to 13 deaths. (Carlos Osorio/Associated Press)



GM CEO grilled in Washington 2:51





GM CEO grilled in Washington 2:51




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[h=3]Related Stories[/h]





A faulty GM ignition switch linked to 13 traffic deaths was a component worth just 57 cents, members of U.S. Congress noted Tuesday as they demanded answers from General Motors' new chief executive on why the automaker took 10 years to recall cars with the defect.

At a hearing before a congressional subcommittee, GM's Mary Barra acknowledged under often testy questioning that the company took too long to act. She promised changes at GM that would prevent such a lapse from happening again.
"If there's a safety issue, we're going to make the right change and accept that," said Barra, who became chief executive in January and almost immediately found herself thrust into one of the biggest product safety crises U.S. automakers have ever seen.
But as relatives of the crash victims looked on intently, she admitted that she didn't know why it took years for the dangerous defect to be announced. And she deflected many questions about what went wrong, saying an internal investigation is under way.
Barra was firm, calm and polite throughout the proceedings. But she struggled at times to answer legislators' pointed questions, particularly about why GM used the switch when it knew the part didn't meet its own specifications.
When she tried to draw a distinction between parts that didn't meet specifications and those that were defective and dangerous, Representative Joe Barton, a Republican from Texas, shot back: "What you just answered is gobbledygook."
Barra also announced that GM has hired Kenneth Feinberg — who handled the fund for the victims of Sept. 11, the Boston Marathon bombing and the BP oil spill — to explore ways to compensate victims of accidents in the GM cars. Barra stopped short of saying GM would establish such a fund.
'Sitting here today, I cannot tell you why it took years for a safety defect to be announced in [the small car] program, but I can tell you that we will find out.'- Mary Barra, GM CEO​
Since February, GM has recalled 2.6 million cars — mostly Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions — over the faulty switch, which can cause the engine to cut off in traffic, disabling the power steering, power brakes and air bags and making it difficult to control the vehicle. The automaker said new switches should be available starting April 7.
In her testimony, Barra drew a clear line between the company she runs and the company as it was in the past.
"As soon as l learned about the problem, we acted without hesitation. We told the world we had a problem that needed to be fixed. We did so because whatever mistakes were made in the past, we will not shirk from our responsibilities now and in the future. Today’s GM will do the right thing," she said.
"That begins with my sincere apologies to everyone who has been affected by this recall … especially to the families and friends of those who lost their lives or were injured. I am deeply sorry," she said.
At least 13 people died and others were injured because of the fault, which also could disable airbags.
[h=2]A 57-cent part[/h]A congressional committee looking into the issue is concerned because of evidence that GM approved the ignition switch, made by Delphi Automotive, although it did not meet the car company’s specifications.
Representative Diana DeGette, a Democrat from Colorado, held up a switch for one of the cars and said a small spring inside it failed to provide enough force, causing engines to turn off when the car went over a bump.
DeGette showed how easy it was for a light set of car keys to move the ignition out of the "run" position.
GM has said that in 2005 company engineers proposed solutions to the switch problem, but the automaker concluded that none represented "an acceptable business case."
"Documents provided by GM show that this unacceptable cost increase was only 57 cents," DeGette said.
The 57 cents is just the cost of the replacement switch. The figure does not include the labour costs involved in installing the new part.
Members of Congress also wanted to know when GM learned there might be problems with the ignition switch parts and why it did not act sooner to recall vehicles.
[h=2]Damning internal documents[/h]Documents given to the committee indicate GM received hundreds of consumer complaints about the ignition switch and may have diagnosed the problem as much as 10 years ago, but did not act to inform consumers or get the cars off the road. Barra said she was not aware of the problem until January of this year.
"Sitting here today, I cannot tell you why it took years for a safety defect to be announced in [the small car] program, but I can tell you that we will find out," Barra said in her prepared statement before the hearing.
She said she has asked former Chicago U.S. attorney Anton Valukas to investigate what GM executives knew and how the safety problem was handled. But she would not commit to releasing the full text of his probe, saying GM would release "appropriate information."
Asked by members of Congress to confirm when GM knew of the ignition switch problems or who knew of the issue, she repeatedly replied that she did not know.
"I'd like to know those answers, too," she said.
Barra said she could not account for GM’s own documents outlining the problem and why no one followed through to fix the problem.
“It appears this information was in one part of the company and another part of the company would not know that,” she said.
[h=2]Costs 'too high' for recall[/h]Barra said she has established the new position of vice-president of safety to appoint a senior executive to keep tighter track of safety issues across the company.
Members of Congress repeatedly returned to the issue of heavy key chains, which GM says might be implicated in the switch fault. GM has advised drivers to remove heavy objects from their key chains, in case the weight causes the ignition switch to shut off.
They pointed to the number of objects people commonly put on their key chains and questioned why that should be an issue, when GM has been making components such as ignition switches for 100 years.
Particularly damning was an internal GM memo dating from 2005, examining problems with the Cobalt ignition switches but opting against a recall.
“Tooling costs and piece price was too high and none of the solutions present a suitable business case,” the memo read in part.
Barra said GM has changed its culture since its bankruptcy.
“That was not acceptable. That is not the way we do business in today’s GM,” she said of the memo.
Congressman Paul Tonko rebutted her answer, saying it is not reassuring to hear that the culture has changed when many of the same people were still working in the company.
[h=2]No word on compensation[/h]She would not commit to compensation for families of the victims, but said GM recognizes it has “legal obligations and moral obligations.”
Congressman Henry Waxman of California said the GM story reminded him of the Ford and Firestone tire scandal of the 1990s, which was connected to more than 200 deaths. In that case, Ford documents showed efforts to cover up the fault and to keep the information from national safety regulators.
Acting National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief David Friedman also appeared at the hearing. He said NHTSA didn’t see a clear enough trend on reports of Cobalt ignition faults to determine there was a need for further investigation.
Friedman said the safety organization did not have the internal information GM had about the ignition switch problem and the link to airbags not deploying.
Members of Congress characterized the agency as "short-staffed and underfunded," but said NHSTA needed new tools and processes to bring safety issues to light more quickly and compel greater co-operation from the auto companies.
[h=2]Families ask to get GM cars off the road[/h]Families of some of the victims of the ignition switch fault gave a press conference ahead of the hearings, demanding that GM take steps to get all of the affected cars off the road.
The cars should not be driven until the fault can be fixed, said Laura Christian, whose daughter died in 2005 in an accident involving a Chevy Cobalt.
She also asked Congress to pass legislation that would give the NHTSA the tools to hold auto companies to account.
“The car manufacturers cannot be permitted to act as if there was an acceptable level of loss of life,” she said.
Another bereaved mother, Terry DiBattista, described how she helped her daughter, Amber choose a Chevy Cobalt in 2005 because of its safety features. Her daughter died when the ignition switched off on the highway, leaving the car difficult to control.
DiBattista called for criminal investigation into GM's conduct.
“It’s clear GM’s concern was with its bottom line and not the safety of our loved ones,” she said.
 

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GM is alive and 13 of their customers are dead.

But hey, the feds losing $10 billion was totally worth it to save this piece of crap company.
 

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Are you referring to Obamamotors. LOL
 

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fratty told us GM was a shining example of how big govt and big corporations should work together? Guessing only frat boy, Krugman, and Steve rattner still Believe that story .... BTW how hasn't rattner been lynched yet?
 

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Obamamotors, Govenmentmoters, Bailedoutmoters, Bankrupcymoters, 10BillionlosstoTaxpayersmotors, the list is endless.
Government Motors and General tso's Motors were my personal favs....
 

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I know you righties reflexively hate union workers (read: Americans), but I'm not sure why there is such hate being spewed on this issue.

Wasn't this an upper-management decision to cover-up the problem or delay the fixing of the ignition switch?
 

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I know you righties reflexively hate union workers (read: Americans), but I'm not sure why there is such hate being spewed on this issue.

Wasn't this an upper-management decision to cover-up the problem or delay the fixing of the ignition switch?


I can't speak for everyone but the concept of unions I am ok with. It is the leadership I have a problem with, not the workers. Unions should not be able to contribute to political parties.....period. They can do all they need to do without political affiliation. I have no problem with unions looking out for their own best interests but not at the expense of others. I should say that I can see no justification for unionizing government workers, they are overpaid and have the best benefits obtainable. Take the politics out of the unions and unions can possibly restore their standing.
 

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Are you referring to Obamamotors. LOL

In 2011 I neede a new car, son in law sells for GM told him I wouldn't by a GM car because Obama screwed the bondholders favoring the union in the bailout, which was unprecedented. Bought a Subaru and am glad I did. Everything Obama has a hand in turns sour.
 
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I can't speak for everyone but the concept of unions I am ok with. It is the leadership I have a problem with, not the workers. Unions should not be able to contribute to political parties.....period. They can do all they need to do without political affiliation. I have no problem with unions looking out for their own best interests but not at the expense of others. I should say that I can see no justification for unionizing government workers, they are overpaid and have the best benefits obtainable. Take the politics out of the unions and unions can possibly restore their standing.

I would agree with a lot of this, there are some gov workers who are not overpaid but not many, the benefit packages are insane. Don't know about the contributions part, I get what you are saying but at the same time I don't believe it's in the workers/America's best interest if only businesses contribute. JMO
 

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Another great Government Motors decision.

Desperate to amp up sales of its Chevy Volt, General Motors is lowering prices and planning to offer a cheaper model that doesn't go as far on a single charge as the existing model. Featuring a smaller, cheaper battery system, the new model Chevy Volt is going into production in Detroit in 2015.

The Volt has sold a mere 58,158 units since it first went on sale just over three years ago. Despite price cuts, cash-back deals, and heavy promotion from President Obama and environmentalists, sales have been anemic. In comparison, the Ford F-series pickup truck, sold more than 70,000 units last month. Ford sold 763,402 F-series vehicles in 2013 alone.

As Reuters reported, "Volt sales last year were flat, at 23,094. In the first three months this year, Volt sales dropped 15 percent to 3,606."

GM has shut down production of the Volt many times because sales have not justified keeping the manufacturing lines open.

Volt sales have been so bad that its government-supported battery manufacturer struggled to stay afloat despite $151 million in Obama stimulus funding. It was later discovered that the battery manufacturer wasted millions in those tax dollar stimulus finds.

Worse for the Volt, a long list of vehicle fires plagued its early production models.

In 2010, President Obama toured the Holland, Michigan Volt plant in an effort to push the unpopular car on the country, claiming he would put "one million" electric cars on American roads by 2015.

These are the kind of decisions you can only make when you have the coerced backing of the American taxpayers.
 

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Need to change the name from Volt to ReVolting. I wonder how many of those sales were by the federal government.

As far as Obama touting he would put one million electric cars on American roads by 2015. Can he extended that deadline same as he did for Obamacare. LOL Maybe the first million to sign up for Obamacare should have got one for free. Only in America (since Obama took over).
 

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GM issuing 4 new recalls for 2.42 million more US vehicles.

What a big government bailout success story!
 

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GM issuing 4 new recalls for 2.42 million more US vehicles.

What a big government bailout success story!

Some guys can pick winners, Obama only picks losers. Oh well, what difference does it make. LOL
 

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