GM’s Turn for a Big Recall

Because so many people like to accuse me of beating up on Toyota:

General Motors has recalled 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac models in North America for power steering failures that are tied to 14 crashes and one injury in the United States, the company said Tuesday.

The recall affects 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2007-2010 Pontiac G5 models sold in the United States, 2005-2006 Pontiac Pursuit vehicles sold in Canada, and 2005-2006 Pontiac G4 models sold in Mexico.

Detroit-based GM told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the recall Monday after concluding its own investigation first launched in January 2009.[my emphasis]

The news that this happens after the cars’ warranty expires is bad. But note the difference here with Toyota: GM did their own investigation. Toyota, on the other hand, didn’t even start one until NHTSA made them do so. And even then, they did so with a firm designed to produce a whitewash.

GM will likely find reason to be embarrassed over this. (And I hope the things they said about the Cruze’s quality, which launches this year, are true.) But there is still a lesson here in stonewalling versus a real effort to solve the problem.

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8 replies
  1. BoxTurtle says:

    I also don’t hold much against GM for this one. The problem wouldn’t have shown up until several years down the road and you can’t expect GM to run a full 5 year test as part of their development cycle. They’d never be able to get a design to market before it was outdated!

    And they appear to be handling it properly.

    Boxturtle (It’s going to cost them at a time when they really can’t afford it, though)

  2. earlofhuntingdon says:

    The last thing you do is beat up on Toyota too much. The world’s biggest automaker, like its predecessor, GM, is so big there’s always a fuck up to uncover that either shareholders or consumers need to know about. There are always a dozen paid consultants making enormous amounts of money to keep them hidden, almost as many resources as there are working to put things right. Domo arigato for all your work.

  3. brantl says:

    So, they ran out the clock on this, didn’t they? And Boxturtle, you can run an aggressive-environment-aggressive-(high)-use testing method to appproximate long use, doesn’t sound like they did……

  4. Petrocelli says:

    Jeebus, people are accusing you of beating up on Toyota ?

    I hope Freep made bail returned from his Super Bowl Festivities to smack ’em around good.

    I’ll be … *Hic* … away for another coupla weeks, celebrating our triumphant defence of our game.

    Sidney Fookin’ Crosby !

    • bmaz says:

      Can’t believe you Canucks would show yer faces after that inflatable beaver and Michael Buble nightmare closing ceremony. Should have to forfeit your hockey gold for putting us through that.

      • Petrocelli says:

        That was consummate self parody. I guess Boob Costas neglected to mention that … *g*

        • bmaz says:

          Heh, the crappy and incessantly annoying NBC coverage may have been even worse than Beavers & Buble. Close call……

  5. oregondave says:

    How is it that waiting a full year to inform NHTSA is “a real effort to solve the problem”?

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