GM seeking protetion from Lawsuits

[Harry P.]

Some of the things you mentioned are probably done not only to save money in manufacturing, but also to drive customers back to their dealerships for repairs.

[Danno]

Don't just point fingers at GM.

Those of you who say you'll stick with Fords: don't forget the exploding Pintos and Crown Wicks or the Exploder/Expedition/Navigator/Fseries vehicles with the self-immolating cruise controls. Those were some other examples of cars built on the cheap with safety being a secondary ~ or less ~ consideration.

There are no doubt similar examples from every manufacturer. It's the bean counters who create these situations, and unfortunately the bosses sometimes have Optal Rectitis when the cost issues arrive at their desks.

[Toner283]

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.

A very accurate suggestion that a mechanic friend of mine had was " Engineers should stick to running trains and let mechanics design cars, life would be easier for everyone then." Best idea that I had heard in a long time.

[Dave Van]

Don't just point fingers at GM.

Those of you who say you'll stick with Fords: don't forget the exploding Pintos and Crown Wicks or the Exploder/Expedition/Navigator/Fseries vehicles with the self-immolating cruise controls. Those were some other examples of cars built on the cheap with safety being a secondary ~ or less ~ consideration.

There are no doubt similar examples from every manufacturer. It's the bean counters who create these situations, and unfortunately the bosses sometimes have Optal Rectitis when the cost issues arrive at their desks.

Now we are talking ancient history when we bring up Pinto's.....a car designed in the 1960's can't compare to a 2010 GM with many faults. IMHO the exploding Pinto is more myth than truth anyway. Same for many manufactures 'unintended acceleration' issues that 99.9% are proven driver faults.

If you take all the cars owned by my folks and siblings (18 cars) the only cars of the group that have chronic issues were the Tahoe and Monte Carlo....the only GM's of the group. The Monte eats head gaskets for lunch.....3 sets in 60K miles.....but my brother is lucky enough that the cars was a contest win, blew the first head gasket under warranty and GM continues to fix it for free....otherwise i'd be GONE.

I'd like to see GM set up....settle these issues and become the great company it once was.....we need it in the USA.

[Mike_G]

Who does GM think they are? Monsanto?

[Ace-Garageguy]

GM's engineers, the best of them anyway, are the equal of anybody in the car biz. All you gotta do to prove it is to compare the performance of the current and recent Corvettes to the best of the supercars in the world, costing many times what the ol' Vette goes for. All that performance from a PUSHROD engine and a relatively primitive body-on-frame architecture.

The problem is that the good engineers are NOT the ones driving the GM bus. It's the bean-counters and the corporate buck-passers and professional meeting-goers who make the decisions, and then give the same old knee-jerk responses when they get their hands slapped. Did anybody actually listen to the recent GM CEO's performance in front of Congress?

[Maindrian Pace]

My mother used to have three pounds of cr*p on her key chain. In the early '80s, it damaged the ignition switch on her '79 LTD, and the car would die while driving. The dealer replaced three ignition modules until they figured it out, and put a new lock on the column. After that, she separated the car keys on their own chain and never had another problem.

-MJS

[Ace-Garageguy]

I've got 23 keys on my chain, and a pill container. Never seems to bother either of two '90s GM trucks, either of two late '80s Toyotas, the '93 Geo or the '86 Jag. Apparently it IS possible to make a switch that isn't quite so sensitive.

On the other hand, i worked at a dealership where we had a rather sporty middle-aged woman who bought a brand new Triumph TR6 and constantly complained about rough running and poor gas mileage. We checked the car many times and found everything in spec, and it ran fine on the road. Then one alert mechanic noticed its tail was a little sooty. (This wasn't all that obvious, as the TR6 had a black-painted rear-body panel). I thought maybe I should go for a drive with her so she could demonstrate under just what conditions the car acted up, and sure enough, she was pulling out the choke knob to hang her purse on it.

Consumers do have a responsibility to read the manual and operate their vehicles properly, but how many do? Have you read YOUR manual?

A vehicle manufacturer, unfortunately, has to design a vehicle to be almost idiot-proof these days, and there are plenty of lawyers standing around waiting for them to miss the objective. Better get it right, catch mistakes early, and tell the truth about them.

[cobraman]

Bill, why the heck do you need 23 keys ? : )

[Harry P.]

Bill, why the heck do you need 23 keys ? : )

He moonlights as a building super?

I keep my car keys separate from all my other keys. Just the key and the little door/trunk/alarm gizmo is all that hangs from the ignition switch when I'm driving.

[slusher]

As far as Pintos and crown vics exploding, any car hit hard enough will explode.....

[Joe Handley]

He moonlights as a building super?

I keep my car keys separate from all my other keys. Just the key and the little door/trunk/alarm gizmo is all that hangs from the ignition switch when I'm driving.

That's why Dad had this problem with his Plymouth, he had his car keys, house keys, keys to garage he ran, and keys to the apartment house his parents had all on one ring, he went through a few switches in that car too. What finally broke me of that was buying my 200 and having the switch in the dash instead of the column, the keys kept hitting my right leg and I didn't want them scratching the dash either.

[Harry P.]

This is all that hangs from my ignition switch...

[High octane]

My daughter has a ton of stuff on her key ring, and although I did mention it, I believe that it went in one ear and out the other. Oh well...................................

[Dave Van]

The current (new) Vette is a push-rod motor??? I don't keep up with the car so I don't know.....but please tell me a base model 2014 Mustang is more high tech??? (double overhead cam 4 valves)

[Joe Handley]

The current (new) Vette is a push-rod motor??? I don't keep up with the car so I don't know.....but please tell me a base model 2014 Mustang is more high tech??? (double overhead cam 4 valves)

Yup, Vette and Viper both are still pushrod motors, they're even variable valve motors too. Not sure how the Vette's works, but the Viper has some sort of 2 piece cam and special cam phaser that can change the timing of the intake vs exhaust portion of the cam separately like a DOHC can.

[Metalmad]

I work at a shop where we build new technology into old school 4X4 trucks by hand from the ground up & the average cost of one is about $150,000. We do not skimp on using cheap parts to build these vehicles plus they are assembled by hand and not by computerized robots which in turn is why are vehicles are more expensive but are built very well with minimal issues after they are delivered. What my opinion on the GM problem is plain and simple corporate greed and its not just the automobile makers it has affected it has affected a lot of the corporate business in this world and it is very sad to see.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Metalmad

[mnwildpunk]

Gm thought they could get away with it they have team of lawyers the figure in the cost of possible lawsuits vs. The cost of recalls and if lawsuits are less they don't issue a recall this is just another pinto, gm saddle tanks outside framerails and explorer hot rock tires. Sad that big saftey issue recalls are not mandatory