General Motors might be able to wriggle out of class action fraud lawsuits over the long-ignored ignition defect in multiple vehicles that ultimately killed more than 100 people, but the company could still face criminal charges from federal prosecutors. [More]
chevy cobalt
GM Ignition Switch Death Toll Increases To 57 Nearly A Month After Claims Deadline
By 2.23.15
Nearly a month after the deadline to file death and injury compensation claims related to General Motors’ ignition recall, the number of fatalities tied to the long-ignored defect continues to increase.
Death Toll From GM Ignition Defect Reaches 56
By 2.16.15
A year after General Motors first announced the long-delayed recall of the Chevy Cobalt, Saturn Ion and several other vehicles for an ignition problem that both the carmaker and regulators had ignored, the fund responsible for vetting death and injury claims related to the recall is now acknowledging at least 56 fatalities. [More]
Rental Car Companies Asked GM To Look Into Ignition-Related Crashes Years Before Recall
By 7.31.14
It’s becoming harder and harder for GM execs to claim that the company was largely unaware of the problems with the Chevy Cobalt and other vehicles with an ignition problem that has resulted in at least 13 deaths, dozens of accidents and the long-delayed recall of millions of cars. A new report shows that car rental companies have been telling GM to look into the issue since at least 2005. [More]
Docs Show Current GM VP Aware Of Ignition Problem In 2005; Federal Grand Jury Probing Recall Delay
By 6.26.14
General Motors’ internal investigation claims that no top executives at the car company were aware of the defective ignition switch that has resulted in at least 13 deaths (and likely many more) and the recall of nearly millions of vehicles. But newly released documents from the Congressional investigation into the debacle indicate that one current GM Vice-President was made aware of the problem as early as 2005. [More]
Lawmakers Not Exactly Thrilled By GM CEO Mary Barra
By 6.18.14
A lot has happened since General Motors CEO Mary Barra first appeared before lawmakers looking into the massive GM ignition switch recall tied to at least 13 deaths. The company has admitted a culture of incompetence while denying a cover-up, recalled another 3 million vehicles, and faces concerns that the total death count may be significantly higher than 13. So this morning’s hearing before a Congressional subcommittee was less friendly than Barra’s previous visit. [More]
GM Admits Incompetence In Ignition Debacle, Denies Cover-Up
By 6.5.14
This morning, General Motors CEO Mary Barra discussed the findings of the car maker’s internal report on an ignition switch defect that went without a recall for more than a decade and has resulted in at least 13 deaths. The company’s findings claim that while GM screwed up big-time, there was no attempt by executives to cover the problem up. [More]
GM Is Super Sorry It Sent Recall Notices To Families Of Crash Victims
By 6.4.14
By this point, most owners of recalled General Motors vehicles don’t need a notice from the car maker to know their ignition switches need work. One group of people who definitely don’t need reminding of this fact are the families of those who died in crashes tied to the ignition defect. [More]
Report: 74 Deaths May Be Tied To GM Ignition Defect
By 6.3.14
While General Motors has admitted that an ignition switch defect in Chevy Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other vehicles has been tied to 13 deaths, others have indicated that the number could be significantly higher than that. A new report from Reuters claims to have found at least 74 fatalities that may be related to the defective switches. [More]
Suspended GM Engineer “Forgot” He Had Bad Ignition Switch Fixed In 2006
By 5.30.14
Last year, the General Motors engineer who quietly signed off on a fix to an ignition problem that has resulted in at least 13 deaths claimed in a deposition that he had no knowledge of making this incredibly important improvement. But after Congressional investigators have turned up all sorts of evidence showing that he did indeed give the okay for this fix, the engineer reportedly says he simply forgot about it. [More]
Video: Here’s How Easy It Is To Turn Off (And How Hard It Is To Steer) A Recalled Chevy Cobalt
By 5.16.14
Earlier today, General Motors was hit with a $35 million penalty for its decade-plus delay in recalling millions of vehicles with defective ignition switches that could be inadvertently turned off, leaving the car without power steering and braking and deactivating the air bags. GM has repeatedly stated that these cars are safe to drive because an accidentally turned-off vehicle could still be steered to safety. But is that true? [More]
GM Asks Plaintiffs To Pretty Please Hold Off On Ignition-Related Lawsuits
By 5.1.14
General Motors has already asked a federal bankruptcy court to put an end to the spate of recently filed lawsuits related to an ignition defect that has resulted in the deaths of at least 13 people, but the carmaker is now asking the plaintiffs in those suits to voluntarily back off. [More]
GM Shipping Kits To Finally Repair Ignition Defect Responsible For 13 Deaths
By 4.23.14
Amid probes from legislators, regulators, lawyers and criminal investigators into how General Motors managed to get away with allowing more than a million vehicles to hit the road with defective ignition switches tied to at least 13 deaths, the car maker has finally begun shipping out kits to its dealerships so they can start fixing the problem. [More]
GM Asks Bankruptcy Court To Block Ignition-Related Lawsuits
By 4.22.14
A few weeks back, new General Motors CEO Mary Barra hedged on whether her company would hide behind the shield of its 2009 bankruptcy in order to block lawsuits tied to the ongoing ignition-related recalls, telling lawmakers only that “we have civic responsibilities as well as legal responsibilities.” In the weeks since, GM has made it very clear that it will do everything it can to use its own financial incompetence and ineptitude to put up a wall against these lawsuits. [More]
Why Every Driver Should Care About The GM Ignition Recall
By 4.21.14
The massive ongoing recall of General Motors vehicles with faulty ignition switches (and the dozen years the company spent not issuing a recall) has made headlines, launched lawsuits, angered legislators, but many consumers who don’t own a recalled car have shrugged and said, “Glad I don’t drive one of them.” [More]
Court Denies Bid To Keep Recalled GM Cars Off Road
By 4.17.14
A U.S. District Court judge in Texas has put the brakes on an attempt to compel General Motors to tell owners of recalled vehicles to keep their cars parked pending repairs. [More]
GM Test Drivers Knew Of Ignition Problem In 2006
By 4.17.14
Another data point on the General Motors ignition recall timeline has been filled in with the latest revelation that test drivers for the car maker’s Cadillac division spotted the problem eight years ago, possibly leading to a hush-hush design tweak in the switch. [More]
GM Puts Engineers Tied To Ignition Recall On Leave
By 4.10.14
In the middle of an investigation into why General Motors allowed vehicles with defective ignition switches to not only hit the market, but continue to be sold and driven for years while at least 13 people died, the carmaker has placed to engineers directly involved with this issue on paid leave. [More]
