Madd Trucker Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 GM seeking protection from law suits for killing people. http://entertainment.verizon.com/news/read/category/Business/article/the_associated_press-general_motors_seeks_more_protection_from_suits-ap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disabled modeler Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I am a GM guy myself and think knowing of the problem and doing nothing about it is wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Handley Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I noticed that article didn't mention that the cars having that issue also had owners who had key rings that were loaded with a bunch of things that added a bunch of weight to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 And yet according to the story, GM has admitted that they knew about the problem for at least a decade before they bothered doing anything about it! And now they want to be protected from any lawsuits filed as a result of their own negligence???!!! They have a lot of nerve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I am a GM guy myself and think knowing of the problem and doing nothing about it is wrong. That's about as plain as it can be said. Pretty simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 No protection !!!! They made a choice and now they should live with the outcome. Maybe they and other companies will learn something if they have to pay through the nose for poor decisions they make. Just one mans opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Maybe they and other companies will learn something if they have to pay through the nose for poor decisions they make. I don't know how bright GM management is. After all, we had to bail them out when their bad business decisions forced them to go belly up. When it comes to making smart business decisions, it looks like the suits at GM aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZTony8 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I wonder how many of deaths included contributory negligence on the part of the driver of the vehicle.I read of one instance where the kid was drunk and speeding when the vehicle left the road and made contact with a tree.Could there be more?If there is then any judgement against GM should be reduced for that negligence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Regardless of whatever blame the consumers may have (and obviously that would have to be determined on a case-by-case basis), the fact is that GM knew there was a problem for a decade and didn't do a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I really like the excuse of " uuumm....that was the old GM. We're the new GM." That would be like me saying, "that was the old Roger, I'm the new Roger." Hey, I might use that on my wife! I'll just blame everything on the old Roger from now on. If it works for GM, maybe it'll work for me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemodeler Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Harry, There were political motivations behind the GM bankruptcy as much as there were poor business decisions. The fact that the Federal Government orchestrated the whole thing including eliminating the liability for any claims previous to the bankruptcy filing could mean that us taxpayers are going to have to settle up with any litigants. I live in Charlotte and the number and amount of fines that the banking industry has had to pay for the bad home loans are incredible and yet people still lost their homes. While not nearly as tragic as the loss of life, losing one's home can be devastating to a family, and yet the federal government, who was just as involved in the housing mess if not more, has stood by and done very little except collect fines from banks and mortgage companies. I feel GM should be held liable for their inaction on fixing these defective switches, much like Toyota was for the acceleration issues in their vehicles. The difference is that Toyota being a "foreign" company was vilified in the press and TV news over their problems, despite stepping up and addressing the problem in a more timely fashion. Where is the media coverage and nightly barrage of GM bashing on TV like there was with Toyota? As you have in bold type- GM knew there was a problem for a decade and didn't do a thing- speaks volumes about how American companies think when it comes to situations like these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawson Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I wonder how long it will be before Michael Moore makes a movie about this ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Mike, excellent points made. You're right, there was a lot involved in the GM bailout besides poor corporate management. We're not supposed to talk politics here, but you and I (and most others, I assume) know who benefitted from the bailout. I'll just leave it at that. As far as the ignition switch problem... as I said in my first post in this thread, GM has a lot of nerve to ask to be protected from any lawsuits arising as a result of their own negligence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdonm Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 This is the same company that would not install a less than $5 camber compensator bar on the Corvair, and sold Fieros knowing that 40% of the rods were defective and causing 20 engine fires per month by 1987. I'm sure there are more examples of their greed before safety culture/business model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Just remember, it's all done in the name of profit. This is just an unfortunate example of capitalism's ugly underbelly. GM doesn't have a lock on behavior like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Just remember, it's all done in the name of profit. This is just an unfortunate example of capitalism's ugly underbelly. GM doesn't have a lock on behavior like this. True enough. But the situation is magnified when the product sold can be the cause of your death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Just got a notice in the mail today letting me know that the parts are now available (I have a Saturn Ion Coupe). Now the next trick is trying to carve out some time to get the car in to have the switch replaced--------among hundreds/thousands of others waiting in line. Not to mention, there's ANOTHER recall looming regarding the electric power steering. I can imagine that the wiper drive system might soon need recalled as well. Recently my wipers failed going down the highway at 60 MPH! Why did this happen you wonder?? Because some bean counter decided that they could save some money by making the hinges out of plastic instead of metal. You know-----to save a few bucks here and there? Never mind the many accidents I've read about regarding this failure at the worst time! IMO, they should have never left the factory that way! I've since replaced the entire wiper drive with METAL ones and not the cheap plastic junk that the dealer wanted to put in, Looks like I'll be keeping this one forever.......GM with their poor QC has effectively brought the resale value of my car down to practically zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Ya know, nobody wants to take responsibility anymore for anything. Sad really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Handley Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Regardless of whatever blame the consumers may have (and obviously that would have to be determined on a case-by-case basis), the fact is that GM knew there was a problem for a decade and didn't do a thing. This has been a problem for decades, Dad saw cars with the problem back in the 60's, inclucuding his own '62 Plymouth Fury and the '57 Chevy owned by a customer at the gas station he ran at the time. I even had my first boss warn me nearly 20 years ago to be careful about putting too much stuff on my key ring back when I first started druving because she had seen it before as well. Only way to truely prevent this from happening is to not have keychains that have a bunch of weight on the, especially un-needed weight like heavy and/or keychains and/or tons of keys on one ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quick GMC Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I understand how these things get swept under the rug and most of the time it is just part of the business, but when safety is involved, it need to get with immediately. There really is no excuse. I am a GM fan and owner, and will shortly be in the market for a new truck. As much as I am set on a new GMC, I'll look elsewhere if they think their customers are expendable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalmad Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 (edited) That want protection from law suits but what about the bail out they got so they could stay in business and who do you think paid for that . Edited April 23, 2014 by Metalmad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Very sad statement about what was once a huge well run American corporation. But GM needs to pay for this penny pinching decision. It's become part of their corporate culture. Dad owned a Chevy Tahoe......top of the line model with all options. I used it to tow my Mustangs from time to time. He really liked the vehicle. I would not have put up with it myself. Wiper motor sheer pin would snap in heavy rain of the smallest amount of snow. After the third time I'd sold it. Dealer said 'working as designed'. Then there was the windshield washer bottle that would split every summer. Went through a number of them. Always seemed to be little cheap parts that GM went even cheaper on.....these items were not expensive but showed a culture of 'we don't care'. Thankfully a coal truck ran Dad off the road, hit a small tree and it was totaled. His Ford Flex has been flawless and with twin turbo engine a hot rod to boot. GM needs to pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Hearse Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I'll stick with my Ford... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I watched the guy on CNN who investigated this and he said best I could remember the price per car to fix it was 91 cents. My wife owns an 08 g6 and GM service is awful. She does not want a Gm nothing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 (edited) It's always interesting to me when safety issues make folks immediately aware of the poor management in much of the auto industry, but what is also appalling is the continuous idiotic decision-making by management that doesn't directly affect safety and gets little press. Bill's (Mr.Obsessive) wiper drive scenario (though it too is a potential safety issue) is a perfect example of the kind of mis-guided stupidity having to do with material choices and part design that is rampant throughout. Examples: Plastic intake manifolds that crack up and leak because the accelerated testing cycles do NOT accurately depict what happens in the real world. Brake rotors that have hard facings that cannot be re-surfaced, but are so poorly designed that they warp very early in service and must be replaced. The elimination of grease fittings on suspension and driveline parts, making it impossible to effectively prolong the life of components that would function virtually forever (I have 270,000 miles on one of my Chevy trucks, and the chassis is just fine...regular greasings over its 22 year life). The industry-wide replacement of timing chains by belts. Again, my 270,000 mile Chevy is on the original chain, with no particular signs of stretch. By contrast, a friends PT Cruiser is now on its 4th timing belt at 160,000...at no small cost to replace them all. Hundreds of application-specific threaded fasteners and electrical connectors currently in use, when a vastly simplified set of standardized parts could lower costs across the board... The list goes on and on and on, but with the apparent total and complete lack of anyone who ever actually WORKED on a car (or worked with their HANDS on anything) doing the design and engineering on this stuff, it's only getting worse and worse and worse. Edited April 23, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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