Damn thing took a while to start.
"GM CEO: No more serious safety issues lurking" by Tom Krisher | Associated Press June 11, 2014
DETROIT — A thorough review of General Motors’ safety issues is nearing completion and hasn’t turned up any more serious problems, the company’s CEO said Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters before the company’s annual meeting, Mary Barra also said that personnel changes related to a deadly ignition switch problem are complete. The company forced out 15 workers last week after an outside attorney blamed them for failing to act on the problem. Five others were disciplined.
The meeting comes just days after a former US attorney, Anton Valukas, issued a report that blamed an inefficient corporate structure and misconduct or poor decisions by some employees for allowing the deadly ignition switch defect to go undisclosed for more than a decade....
Barra said that GM may ‘‘tweak the structure here or there,’’ but she doesn’t expect major changes.
GM began reviewing past safety issues after the ignition switch problem became public....
GM has hired attorney Kenneth Feinberg to come up with a way to compensate families of those killed and people injured in crashes caused by the faulty switches. Barra would not say how much the compensation will cost, saying it was up to Feinberg. She said compensating people is the right thing to do for customers, the company, and shareholders....
The cover-up payma$ter.
About eight protesters stood outside GM headquarters before the meeting. Ken Rimer, who lost his stepdaughter in a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt accident in Wisconsin, and Laura Christian, who lost her daughter in a 2005 Cobalt crash in Maryland, said they didn’t intend to meet with shareholders, but wanted their message to be heard.
‘‘I believe the shareholders need to know that they may be the key to helping hold GM to a safety standard rather than a profit culture. If they can see the human side of this, I think it will help all of us,’’ Christian said.
Breaking into tears, she said she was trying not to look at GM’s imposing skyscraper: ‘‘I can’t stand this place. To me, it’s a physical representation of putting profits before our kids.’’
It’s uncertain that shareholders got the protesters’ message. Of the more than two dozen shareholders in attendance, none asked a question related to the recall.
I got it from both of you.
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"GM says 3.36m more cars have faulty ignitions" by Bill Vlasic and Danielle Ivory | New York Times June 17, 2014
DETROIT — General Motors said Monday that it would recall 3.36 million defective cars worldwide, another low point in the seemingly endless safety crisis that has engulfed the nation’s largest automaker.
Poor GM. Wished they'd never been bailed out now.
Once again, the problem has to do with keys that could suddenly turn off engines and deactivate air bags — a problem similar to the deadly defect that GM failed to address for more than a decade before it began recalling 2.6 million small cars in February. GM has linked at least 13 deaths and 54 crashes to that defect.
The announcement came two days before Mary T. Barra, GM’s chief executive, is to appear before a House subcommittee investigating the defect.
“This latest recall raises even more questions about just how pervasive safety problems are at GM,” said the Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, Fred Upton, Republican of Michigan. “This is not just a Cobalt problem. Drivers and their families need to be assured that their cars are safe to drive.”
GM said it would revamp or replace ignition keys on seven models because of a faulty key design that has been used for years. The company said that keys laden with extra weight — such as additional keys or objects attached to a key ring — could inadvertently switch the vehicle’s engine off if the car hit a pothole, for example.
GM said it was aware of eight accidents and six injuries related to the defect.
As early as 2000, drivers of the Chevrolet Impala and the other newly recalled cars began lodging complaints about stalling with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Alan Adler, a GM spokesman, said the vehicles recalled Monday had different ignition switches and systems from those in the recalled Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions.
**************
But it now appears problems in the Cobalt were only the tip of the iceberg. Last week, the company recalled 510,000 Chevrolet Camaros worldwide because keys did not work properly. GM has now recalled about 6.5 million cars this year because of ignition issues.
An internal investigation found GM rife with “organizational dysfunction” that allowed the Cobalt’s defect to go unrepaired for at least 11 years.
Barra has ordered the dismissal of 15 employees, including a vice president for regulatory affairs and at least three senior corporate lawyers. GM has also disciplined five others.
I'm trying to get it started again, readers, but I think the carburetor is flooded.
"GM could face another fine for Impala recall" by Dee-Ann Durbin and Tom Krisher | Associated Press June 20, 2014
DETROIT — An old e-mail from a General Motors employee warning of a safety problem could help trigger another government fine against the automaker.
Anyone going to go to JAIL because AT LEAST 13 PEOPLE DIED!?
The Aug. 30, 2005, e-mail surfaced Wednesday during a House subcommittee hearing on GM’s delayed recall of 2.6 million small cars with an ignition switch problem. The e-mail outlined a similar issue with a larger car.
Employee Laura Andres wrote that she was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Impala home from work when she hit a bump and the engine stalled on Interstate 75 near Detroit. The car behind her had to swerve to avoid a crash. A GM mechanic told her the cause was probably a faulty ignition switch.
‘‘I think this is a serious safety problem. . . . I’m thinking big recall,’’ Andres wrote in an e-mail to 11 GM colleagues.
Yet it was not until Monday that GM recalled the Impalas, Buick LaCrosses, and other models with the same switch, almost nine years after Andres sent the e-mail. Safety regulators received dozens of similar complaints about the cars during that time.
Yeah, the REGULATORS are JUST AS CULPABLE! They KNEW and IGNORED IT!
GM said that excess weight on a keychain could cause the ignition switch to move out of the ‘‘run’’ position if the car is jarred. The engine stalls, and the car loses power steering and power brakes.
OMG!
Under federal law, automakers must notify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration within five business days of determining a safety defect exists. A fine up to $35 million is possible if the agency finds an automaker took too long to report a problem.
They are already back making billions-per-quarter in profits.
GM paid a $35 million fine last month for its 11-year delay in reporting defective ignition switches in the Chevrolet Cobalt and other small cars.
GM would not comment Thursday on the possibility of another fine. NHTSA also would not comment on the Impala case, but said it reviews all recalls to make sure they comply with the notification law and it takes ‘‘appropriate action’’ when it finds problems.
Andres’s e-mail would not be enough to trigger the five-day rule, because it merely suggests that the ignitions are unsafe. But it is proof that some GM employees knew about a potential problem for almost a decade. GM has not yet submitted a timeline to NHTSA that will say when it officially determined the Impala switches were defective.
Andres, who still works for GM in design and engineering, could not be reached for comment. But in her 2005 e-mail, she urged engineers to build a stronger switch.
Andres’ warning was brushed off by GM engineer Ray DeGiorgio, who replied that he had recently driven a 2006 Impala and ‘‘did not experience this condition.’’
Someone brush that parasite off.
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Related: Cost of billions may await GM for injury suits
That's why they got Feinberg.
"GM’s payouts to start at $1m for deaths; No cap on awards for victims; firm seeks to avoid suits" by Hilary Stout | New York Times July 01, 2014
WASHINGTON — A $1 million starting point for each death anchors the formula to pay families of those who died in accidents caused by a defective ignition switch in General Motors cars, under a plan unveiled Monday by a compensation expert hired by the automaker.
They think dangling an increasingly worthless $1 million at you will do the trick.
How in$ulting.
The plan, disclosed by Kenneth R. Feinberg, is broad and inclusive and seems certain to account for deaths beyond the 13 that GM has publicly linked to the defect.
There is no cap on the amount of money GM has agreed to spend on victims’ payments, Feinberg said, and the company will not invoke its protection from liabilities involving incidents before its July 10, 2009, bankruptcy restructuring agreement.
Give them time.
Under Feinberg’s formula, families of those who died are entitled to at least $1 million, and added to that will be a calculation of lifetime earnings lost and $300,000 for a spouse and for each dependent.
In a hypothetical example given by Feinberg in an interview, the family of a 25-year-old married woman with two children who was earning $46,400 a year at the time of her accident would receive $4 million.
Glad he's giving the pre$$ a lift.
People with life-altering catastrophic injuries could receive considerably more. A child who became a paraplegic as a result of a crash could potentially receive a payout in the double-digit millions, he said, based on a lifetime medical care plan, lost earning power, and other exceptional factors.
My thoughts just flashed to how irreplaceable a person is no matter how much money you throw at them to get them to $hut up and not $ue.
The broad protocol, which provides for payouts even for accidents that have not yet happened (crashes through Dec. 31, 2014, are eligible) could cost the company possibly billions of dollars but is an important step toward restoring public trust. Mary T. Barra, GM’s chief executive, has called it the company’s “civic duty” to compensate victims.
See: VA Finally Gets It Right
GM could learn something.
****************
Claims may be filed starting Aug. 1 until Dec. 31. The first checks are likely to go out in the fall, and Feinberg and his associates said they hoped to issue the final payments by the middle of next year.
That element of speed and certainty, GM hopes, will lead victims to seek relief through Feinberg’s program rather than through the courts.
Meaning it is GM's attempt to BUY YOU OFF! They must be GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY!
But, in a nod to the many plaintiff’s lawyers he consulted in developing the plan, Feinberg said victims do not have to forgo their right to sue to file a claim. It is only if they agree to accept the money from GM that they waive that right.
Same thing. Why make it sound like a better and fairer deal than it is?
Feinberg, a Massachusetts native, has overseen funds set up to compensate victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Boston Marathon bombings.
And BP.
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Related:
GM sets aside at least $400 million to pay recall victims
If reopened, suit versus GM could upend its legal strategy
Feinberg.
"Lawyers: GM seeks bankruptcy shield from lawsuit" AP June 13, 2014
Said they were not going to do that! Damn liars!
DETROIT — Lawyers for a Georgia family trying to reopen a wrongful-death lawsuit say General Motors is trying to move the case to federal court so it can use bankruptcy to shield itself against the claim.
Lawyers Lance Cooper and Jere Beasley said GM’s court filings run counter to a promise made by chief executive Mary Barra to fairly compensate families of people killed or those injured in crashes tied to defective ignition switches.
A bankruptcy judge in New York ruled in 2009 that GM is shielded from claims stemming from cars made before the company emerged from bankruptcy protection. Instead, the claims go against the old GM, which has limited assets. The judge now is being asked to decide if he will allow claims against the new company. Cooper and Beasley say moving the case to federal court would allow the company to use the bankruptcy to send claims to the old GM.
Ken and Beth Melton sued GM three years ago in Georgia in the death of their daughter, Brooke Melton, in 2010. She died when her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt crashed. The lawsuit alleges she was killed after the car lost power due to a faulty ignition switch. The Meltons settled in September, but Cooper and Beasley in May sought to reopen the case, alleging GM concealed evidence.
GM has recalled 2.6 million cars to fix the switches.
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"GM recalls swell by 8.2 million" Associated Press July 01, 2014
DETROIT — General Motors’ safety crisis worsened Monday when the automaker added 8.2 million vehicles to its ballooning list of cars recalled over faulty ignition switches.
The latest recalls involve mainly older midsize cars and bring GM’s total this year to 29 million, surpassing the 22 million recalled by all automakers last year. The added recalls also raise questions about the safety of ignition switches in cars made by all manufacturers....
Time to pull off to the side of the road.
The switches can unexpectedly slip from ‘‘run’’ to ‘‘accessory,’’ shutting off the engines.
That disables power steering and power brakes and can cause people to lose control of their cars. It also stops the air bags from inflating in a crash. GM has been forced to admit that it knew of the problem more than 10 years, yet it failed to recall the cars until this year.
GM’s conduct in the small-car recall already is under investigation by the Justice Department and both houses of Congress.
On June 18, US regulators opened investigations of Chrysler minivans and SUVs as part of a widening inquiry into air bag and ignition switch problems in the US industry.
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Also see:
"The company said a software glitch can cause the transmission transfer cases to shift into neutral on their own on 2014 and 2015 models. That can cause loss of power, or it can let the trucks roll away if parked."
Should have contracted with the company that makes bank ATMs because those are the only software programs that work.
Ignition woes traced to criticism
(Blog editor snorts in disbelief! It's all our fault)
Files cast more doubt on GM’s response to deaths
They did not care. Time for a class action.
GM’s top lawyer comes under attack in senate hearing
Lawmakers press GM on report’s findings
Makes for a good photo-op and campaign commercial copy, but that's about it.
US pushes Chrysler to accelerate recall
Time to put it in rever$e.
Ford’s robust earnings a surprise
$1.3 billion in the April-June period.