Posted on 03/13/2014 10:35:45 AM PDT by jazusamo
Many years ago, there were cars, that with regular enough maintenance checks and cheap parts replacements, didn’t have ignition systems shutting down at random without warning. Granted, mechanical fuel pumps did stop suddenly (as electric ones sometimes do today) but not if replaced often enough (very easy task). The older cars could also be tuned to run very clean.
BTW, I was not referring to the old, defective GM distributors at the backs of the engines near firewalls. ;-)
And everyone wore helmets while they drive...
Then the people who suffered whiplash and broken knecks from the additional weight from the helmet could berate the people who got concussions and brain damage from not wearing them.
Then why the $500 offer?
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They’re not giving you or anyone else $500 ,, they’re offering you a puny discount on a $30k new car.. You will pay the same or more for that car “bottom line” than you will if you just walk into the dealership and make a deal without playing that card.
Then the people who suffered whiplash and broken knecks from the additional weight from the helmet could berate the people who got concussions and brain damage from not wearing them.
There is always a compromise between cost, convenience, safety, performance, etc. GM thought they had it with this thing and it turns out they didn’t. They fixed it in future cars. But the older cars were still safe at a 99.999% level, which is very high.
I hate GM, but this is a tempest in a teapot, just like the Toyota thing, the Audi thing and the Pinto thing.
“I consider this a more than acceptable risk, and the stats bear it out.”
Risking one life is immoral.
Risking one life is immoral.
Risking one life is immoral.
“Thing is, when you build a car you are, by definition, risking the life of every single person who buys one or rides in one.”
That argument is tendentious at best. It is clear that there is a vast difference between selling a car that one has every reason to think is suitable for its intended purpose, and selling a car that one *knows* is defective.
Did that really need explaining?
“But we’ve more precisely defined liability than that.”
Two approaches to this statement:
1. Yes, and selling a car that one *knows* is defective rises to any reasonable limen for liability.
2. Liability is one thing; morality may be another, if a system is corrupt.
It is immoral to sell a car that one *knows* has a defect that might kill the buyer. An adolescent might take the time to list possible exceptions to this rule—what if the buyer knows the car is defective, et cetera—but none of those exceptions applies here.
“Risking one life is immoral.”
“”Not true.””
Really? You believe that you could risk my life—by, say, selling me a car with a defect that you know causes fatal accidents—and that would not be immoral?
Horrible, if true.
Problem is, as best as I can tell, the car was no more defective than the Toyota with the gas pedal that could be controlled by a shifting carpet. The pin in the ignition worked as designed but could release sooner than was optimal for some circumstances. If they had sold only 1,000 of these cars, statistically, the “defect” would never have exposed itself.
“Problem is, as best as I can tell, the car was no more defective than the Toyota with the gas pedal that could be controlled by a shifting carpet. The pin in the ignition worked as designed but could release sooner than was optimal for some circumstances. If they had sold only 1,000 of these cars, statistically, the “defect” would never have exposed itself.”
Every statement in that paragraph is true, and yet it has no bearing on the question of culpability.
One could say that Stalin was no better than Mao without reflecting any credit on either of them.
There is no justification for putting the word “defect” in danger quotes. It was a defect.
The moral question only arises after someone has the opportunity to do the right thing, and fails.
Ever do any writing for a politician?
I honestly don’t see it as a defect.
Keep in mind I’m coming from a position supported by the scant descriptions of the actual “defect” that are in the articles. Most of the information in the articles is just emotional tripe.
As a percentage of cars sold, the number of fatalities that are directly attributable to this part and nothing else is just too low to call this a defect, IMO.
I bought a 2012 Equinox last november, I absolutely love the car, its a 2.4 AWD, after putting Blizzak tires and converting all lights to HID and LED its fast becoming my favorite little car, though I bought it for my wife I snag it occasionally.
But it does have this proble, I cannot decrease the heater, I can stop the fan but its still full blast heat, even with the AC on its still hot, but in Alaska and in the winter I am putting up with it...for now.
I took it to the Chevy dealership, and though I have purchased an extended warranty they say I may still have to pay something, thats BS, I have been a mechanic long enough to know how to replace an HVAC air blend door actuator mysel.
Also is the Oil Life Monitor, which is saying my oil should last over 7500 miles, again that is BS, I will change before 3000 miles maximum. But get on a Equinox forum you get a ton of “superior minds” that say I am a fool wasting money if I change that oil too often..or by myself..
Its all about GM keeping its Service Departments open, they cannot comprehend a well built vehicle anymore, I can honestly say GM will design almost any of its vehicles with a key component that will fail at a certain point, all to create Service and parts revenue.
“As a percentage of cars sold, the number of fatalities that are directly attributable to this part and nothing else is just too low to call this a defect, IMO.”
It was high enough to be noticed.
It was high enough to be noticed.
“All were witch hunts.”
So this is, too?
Forget it. This is going nowhere.
Forget it. This is going nowhere.
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