Free Republic

Merriam-Webster.com defines compassion as, "a feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble, etc." A Google search teaming the name Mary Barra with "compassionate" pulls up a host of articles fawning over General Motors' new CEO's handling of the company's botched recalls which seem to have cost at least 12 American lives. Contrary to the media's belief that GM is a compassionate entity working in the best interests of accident victims, the facts show that the response to defects in GM vehicles and subsequent recall delays has been anything BUT compassionate. The NY Times continued its...

This letter is being sent today to GM CEO Mary Barra: We ask that General Motors (the Company) recall Saturn Ions for the model years 2004 through 2007 without further delay. These automobiles endanger the lives and safety of their drivers and passengers due to a loss of power steering, a serious problem of which the Company has been aware for several years. According to a summary of an ongoing investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): ...GM indicated that the EPS (electric power steering) system used in the subject vehicles was the same as that used...

The following letter was sent today to Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee: As your committee prepares for the upcoming House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the recent GM recall, I urge you to use every opportunity to examine what, if any, influence the U.S. government's ownership of GM has had on this troubling failure to address the dangerously flawed vehicles. In addition, we urge your committee to consider posing the following questions to panelists at your hearing: 1. In late 2009, GM sued supplier JTEKT North America for $30 million over faulty...

A report has linked faulty airbags in two of the six models recalled by General Motors to 303 deaths. The study, commissioned by the Center for Auto Safety, reviewed US federal crash data for the models. GM has recalled nearly 1.6 million vehicles over faulty ignition switches which could turn off the engine, disabling the airbags. But it has disputed the number in the report, saying it only looked at raw data and did not evaluate the reasons. "Without rigorous analysis, it is pure speculation to attempt to draw any meaningful conclusions," the company said in a statement. "In contrast,...

As lawmakers press General Motors and regulators over their decade-long failure to correct a defective ignition switch, a new review of federal crash data shows that 303 people died after the air bags failed to deploy on two of the models that were recalled last month. The review of the air bag failures from 2003 to 2012, by the Friedman Research Corporation, adds to the mounting reports of problems that went unheeded before General Motors announced last month that it was recalling more than 1.6 million cars worldwide because of the defective switch.

The New York Times hinted that the 11 year death toll for victims who drove defective General Motors' vehicles (that are just now being recalled) may rise from the current 12 confirmed fatalities. The Times reports, "Since 2003, GM has reported at least 78 deaths and 1,581 injuries involving the now-recalled cars, according to a review of agency records." It is not clear how many of the accidents involving one of the 1.6 million now-recalled vehicles were caused by the defect. The article does state that "the records mention potentially defective components" and "regulators appear to have overlooked disturbing...

The Justice Department has begun a criminal investigation into the decade-long failure by General Motors to address deadly safety problems in its some of its cars before announcing a massive recall last month, according to a person briefed on the matter. The preliminary inquiry by federal prosecutors in New York is expected to center on whether G.M., the nation’s largest automaker, failed to comply with laws requiring timely disclosure of vehicle defects. The probe is the latest in a widening series of investigations of G.M.'s handling of faulty ignition switches in its Chevrolet Cobalt sedan and other cars that the...

General Motors continues to double down on plug-in electric vehicles, now offering the Cadillac ELR, which is a gussied up version of the Chevy Volt at twice the price. The latest Cadillac ELR ad has stirred up a lot of debate regarding its pro-American capitalism message as General Motors spent roughly $100,000 for each of the commercials that it ran during the Sochi Olympics. Although the commercial garnered much attention, the heavy ad spending resulted in just 58 of the tax-subsidized (each affluent buyer gets a $7,500 federal tax credit) Cadillac ELRs being sold in February, three months into the...

After posting a fairly disappointing 918 Volt sales in January – the first time sales were under 4 digits in 2 years (603 - Jan 2012), the extended range Chevy bounced back a little in February notching 1,210 deliveries. Year-over-year, this February’s result was up against some fairly stiff competition as 1,626 were sold this month a year ago, meaning sales were off 25.6%. For the year to date, 2,128 Volts have been sold as compared to 2,766 – off 23.1% There just isn’t enough casr to even get the Volt a fighting chance as the General opted to produce...

Former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Joan Claybrook, has weighed in on the deadly delay by General Motors on a recall for a defect that is alleged to have resulted in 13 deaths and 33 accidents. Ms. Claybrook appeared on the Cavuto Show on Fox Business where she blasted both GM and NHTSA for waiting 10 years to recall the defective models and went as far as saying that there should be criminal charges brought against GM by the Justice Department. Congress was questioned for its response (or lack thereof) as Cavuto started the segment by...

For Laura Christian, July 29, 2005, was the worst kind of anniversary. One year earlier, Ms. Christian had been reunited with Amber Marie Rose, the daughter she gave up for adoption at birth. But Ms. Christian did not get to call her daughter a year later. In the predawn hours that day, Amber, 16, died after her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt crashed and the air bag failed to deploy. Now, nearly nine years later, Ms. Christian knows that the air bag’s failure was the result of a defective car part. General Motors has recalled nearly 1.4 million cars in the United...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is opening an investigation into General Motors' response to an ignition-switch defect that has been linked to 13 deaths, prompting a recall of 1.6 million vehicles. As I have previously reported, the ignition-switch problem has been known for years. What took NHTSA so long? NHTSA is an executive branch agency, part of the Transportation Department. According to its website, NHTSA "is dedicated to achieving the highest standards of excellence in motor vehicle and highway safety. It works daily [emphasis added] to help prevent crashes and their attendant costs, both human and financial." Five...

The recall now affects 1.37 million vehicles built between 2003 and 2007. In addition to 778,000 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5 cars recalled earlier this month, GM is also recalling Saturn Ions, Chevrolet HHRs, Pontiac Solstices and Saturn Sky models for the same issue. GM says the ignition on the vehicles recalled can accidentally switch out of the “Run” position while the car is being driven. When that happens, the car’s engine shuts off, rendering power brakes, power steering and airbags not operational. Originally, GM said there had been six fatalities among front-seat passengers as a result of this problem....

New evidence is surfacing that General Motors has known for years about the deadly defects in its vehicles ( as I suggested here last week) that are just now being recalled. The defects have led to the deaths of at least six people and are the basis of an ongoing lawsuit against GM. The deadly recall delay by GM has garnered the attention of Mainstream Media as usually GM-friendly sources like USA Today, The New York Times, CNN Money and even CBS Evening News have rightfully decided that the accusations of deplorable behavior by GM deserve to be shared...

General Motors recently recalled close to a million vehicles for a deadly problem that resulted in six deaths. The models involved were Chevy Cobalts and Pontiac G5s from the 2005 through 2007 model years. The question is, why did NHTSA and GM wait so long to recall vehicles with a dangerous defect when the problems surfaced years ago? Scouring the internet reveals many reported stalling incidents for the models in question. My particular Google search went back to 2009 and unearthed disturbing evidence that GM did not properly address issues with faulty vehicles. While the vehicles were manufactured by...

DETROIT, Feb 10 (Reuters) - General Motors Co's Mary Barra, the auto industry's first female chief executive officer, will be paid $14.4 million in cash and stock this year, 60 percent more than her predecessor, the automaker disclosed on Monday. GM had previously said Barra, 52, would receive up to $4.4 million in cash and stock compensation this year, but that amount did not include what she would receive under the company's long-term compensation plan, which totals $10 million.

Coming just a week after Coke made waves when it aired the first Super Bowl ad to showcase a set of same-sex parents, the car-maker's new campaign is called "The New Us" and portrays a series of wide-ranging families. "And while what it means to be a family hasn't changed," intones the Chevrolet narration over clips that include nuclear families, mixed race couples, adoptive parents, gay and lesbian parents, combinations of the above, and others, "what a family looks like, has. This is the new us." The games have been criticized for taking place in Russia, which has made "gay...

General Motors announced disappointing earnings results today and issued a warning that first quarter results will underwhelm as well. The reasons behind the earnings' miss are surely going to be explained away by pundits and proponents of the company still known as Government Motors to many. Sorting through the smoke and mirrors can lead to some important and simple explanations as to what is going on at GM. Before looking at the reasons why GM has drastically underperformed the broader markets since the Obama-orchestrated bankruptcy process of 2009, let's take a look at one of the most critical takeaways from...

<p>General Motors Co posted a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Thursday as results in North America, Asia and South America disappointed.</p> <p>Net income rose to $913 million, or 57 cents a share, from $892 million, or 54 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.</p>

Detroit was one of America’s great jewels. A center for industry, innovation, ingenuity, and the American can-do spirt. A shining example of the capitalist tide lifting all boats. Today, Detroit rests in shadow. It is a husk, a decaying testament to what can go wrong when government and bad policy intersect with bad business. What happened? Bankrupt is the new documentary that will lead you through the brambles and reveal what went wrong. What’s more, it answers the question of what there is to learn from the story of the rise and fall of America’s auto empire, and what it...