Posted on 02/24/2010 11:35:19 AM PST by Migraine
New Auto Defect Report Spells Gloom for Owners of GM and Chrysler Vehicles July 9, 2009. By Gordon Gibb
Rehoboth, MA: The new era emerging in the automotive industry will have an impact on issues surrounding auto defects and those encumbered with a defective car. Thanks to a loophole built into the US auto industry rescue package, liability for the defective auto no longer appears to be a worry for the newly-reborn General Motors and Chrysler.
Meanwhile, a new report forecasts that more than 3,400 Americans will be injured or killed by a defective GM, or Chrysler vehicle during the first year of the post-bankruptcy era.
According to the July 12th, 2009 issue of the Transportation Business Journal, both automakers provided data to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over a 5-year period covering 2003 to 2008 with regard to death and injury claims. The data was then fashioned into a report released by Safety Research & Strategies, a consulting and advocacy firm in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.
"Public Safety at Risk: Bankruptcies Leave Legacy of Defects, Injuries and Deaths" paints a gloomy picture. Between the third quarter of 2003 and the fourth quarter of 2008, Chrysler fielded 3,497 death and injury claims. Over at GM, that figure was 15,284. Averaged out on an annual basis, the figure is 636 and 2,779 individual deaths and injuries respectively, accounting for 47 percent of all claims filed against manufacturers during that period, the report says. During that time, GM and Chrysler represented 38 percent of the market share.
Give the disproportionate share of claims vs. market share, Safety Research & Strategies President & CEO Sean Kane maintains there is every reason to conclude that injury and death rates will continue. "But the claims will disappear and that will impact the rate of GM and Chrysler recalls and public safety in the future," he said in a statement.
"Automakers and NHTSA use death and injury data to monitor and recall defective vehicles," Kane added. "If the claims aren't filed, we lose an important defect surveillance tool. And if the companies bear no liability for deaths and injuries caused by the uncorrected defects, what incentive do they have to recall?"
According to the Transportation Business Journal a provision in the bankruptcy agreements would allow the two automakers to escape auto defect liability for vehicles built pre-bankruptcy. Recalls of the defective automobile would still be required to repair defects. However under the agreement, GM and Chrysler would no longer be responsible for injuries or deaths caused by auto defect.
Information included here is, admittedly, distilled from hard-to-obtain government reports, and they are through the prism of damage-seeking lawyers. But this should not negate the findings. Also, it precedes the present round of anti-Toyota government activity.
Read carefully. I think you will be amazed at how the deck has been stacked for Chrysler and GM, PRIOR TO the present inquisition over unsafe cars.
These figures make “34 deaths over a 10-year period” seem utterly miniscule.
The UAW bled GM and Chrysler to death.
Bookmark
And now their vacuum hoses are turned on YOU!...............
Sweeeet.
They’re a competitor ;)
Good enough for government work.................
IMHO, this is clearly a payback to the union thugs, who are still raising hell about the Toyota plant in CA...their only union plant...that was shut down last year, although it was clearly a good business decision to do so considering GM had already pulled out of the joint venture when they declared bankruptcy.
The date on the article is July 9, 2009. Since then both GM and Chrysler have expressly accepted responsibility for product liability, from both before and after the BK.
This is an article written by lawyers for lawyers.
bookmark
Yes. Just today, although Denso is not yet ready to “admit” that they’ve been raided:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2412560320100224
First victim: Toyota
Thanks a bunch! I hate seeing headlines on the internet without links. You saved me some digging.
I think I covered your objections with my similar disclaimer, and cautioned against dismissing the findings.
I acknowledged your objections a priori, but still find the article to be good info.
I threw it out there simply because good info on the subject is hard to come by.
I find it hard to believe that Toyota makes cars that are inherently less safe than GM and or Chrysler. The reputation is much to the contrary.
Further searches turned up the original story:
BREAKING: FBI Raids Three Toyota Suppliers In Detroit
An excerpt:
As part of an ongoing probe into Toyota's 1.4 million unit recall, the FBI raided the offices of Denso and two other Toyota suppliers in Metro Detroit, for documents related to antitrust violations and hiding quality problems.
According to WDIV-TV in Detroit, the FBI raided Denso's offices as part of a larger antitrust action confirmed by Toyota to MSNBC. This comes at the same time as Toyota Motor Corp. CEO Akio Toyoda takes the stand in Washington, DC and follows a report that the SEC was looking into the embattled automakers.
A report on the Dow Jones Newsires (via Barrons) also confirms Yazaki North America and Tokai Rika were all subject to search warrants, though, without explaining why this occured. All of this happened yesterday evening
What we need is the total number of deaths attributable to Toyota — actually for all car brands along with the number of vehicles sold. Only then can we reach conclusions.
A LOOPHOLE? Sounds like a Democrat Arse-hole, to me.
Have you sent this info to Rush, he’s just now talking about Toyota talking to the Congressional Committee.
Thanks!
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