Earlier this year, GM issued a massive recall of nearly 1.4 million vehicles due to problems with the ignition switch. GM apparently knew about those problems — which have caused several fatalities — for up to thirteen years before issuing the recall, and reportedly also ignored piles of consumer complaints in that timeframe. Consumers’ entirely predictable lawsuits against GM have already begun, but those lawsuits are facing a big potential snag. [More]
GM
Comcast, Abercrombie, Chase Victorious In First Day Of Worst Company Competition!
March 19, 2014
The 2014 Worst Company In America competition got off to a big start today with readers turning out in droves to vote on the tournament’s first three match-ups that saw a former Golden Poo champ flexing its muscle, a tournament mainstay making its case for the WCIA title, and the year’s first upset. [More]
Have Fun Breaking Down This Year’s Worst Company In America Bracket
March 18, 2014
The above bracket will be updated at the end of each day of WCIA competition to reflect that day’s results.
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After going through all of your nominations, then having y’all rank the contenders and eliminate the chaff from the wheat, we’re proud to present the first round match-ups for this year’s Worst Company in America tournament! [More]
GM Announces Three Additional Recalls Affecting 1.5 Million Vehicles
By 3.17.14
General Motors Co announced three new recalls affecting 1.5 million vehicles for airbag deployment and other issues. The announcement comes on the same day it was revealed that the company faces its first class action lawsuit tied to February’s massive recall of vehicles for ignition problems. The company will also take a $300 million charge against earnings to pay for repairs as part of an initiative to be more responsive to problems with its vehicles. [More]
Here Are Your Worst Company Contenders For 2014 — Help Us Seed The Brackets!
March 17, 2014
After sorting through a mountain of nomination e-mails, we’ve whittled down the field of competitors for this year’s Worst Company In America tournament to 40 bad businesses. Here’s your chance to have your say on how these players will square off in the bracket, and which bubble teams will get left out in the cold. [More]
First Class-Action Suit Filed Over Botched GM Recall Tied To At Least 12 Deaths
By 3.17.14
When a carmaker recalls more than a million vehicles over an ignition problem that could cause a car to stall and crash without the airbags deploying, a lawsuit is likely. Throw in the fact that the car company knew about the defect for a dozen years, received numerous complaints from customers and dealerships, and is tied to anywhere from 12 to more than 300 deaths, and you have the beginnings of a lawsuit bonanza. [More]
GM Knew Of Faulty Ignition Switches In 2001; NHTSA Says “Data Was Inconclusive”
By 3.13.14
The number of questions about General Motors’ recent recall of more than 1 million vehicles with potentially defective ignition switches continues to grow with the recent revelation that the automaker first learned of problems with the part more than a dozen years before issuing the recall that is now tied to at least a dozen deaths. [More]
GM Offers Owners Of Recalled Vehicles $500 Off Of New GM Purchase
By 3.12.14
Some owners of cars involved in the recent mass recall of GM vehicles with faulty ignition switches will no doubt remain loyal to the car company when it comes time to purchase their next vehicles. But others are no doubt considering looking elsewhere, especially as it becomes more apparent that GM took great lengths to avoid this recall for seven or eight years. In an effort to placate the former group and hold on to the latter, GM is offering $500 credit toward the purchase of a new GM vehicle. [More]
GM Received Dozens Of Customer Warnings About Faulty Ignition Switches
By 3.11.14
Things are going from bad to worse for General Motors. First, it recalled nearly 800,000 vehicles because the ignition switches could turn off for no reason. Then it was revealed that the company was alerted to this problem by a NHTSA investigator back in 2007, and then the recall was expanded to 1.37 million cars, with GM saying that the defect may be tied to 13 deaths. New revelations show that GM had received dozens of complaints from vehicle owners about the faulty ignition switches, but still chose to not issue a recall until 2014. [More]
Chevrolet Commercial Makes Dog Lovers Sad, Doesn’t Sell Cars: Is It Real?
By 3.7.14
A new minute-and-a-half long commercial for Chevrolet grabs the viewer’s heart and stomps on it a few times with the story of a young woman and her childhood pet going through life together as best friends and making their final trip to the veterinarian. It’s a beautifully-made ad, currently going viral. But is it real? [More]
If American Car Companies Are Doing Well, Why Aren’t They Hiring?
By 6.19.13
American auto manufacturers are selling cars and making profits again, so that means that our auto industry has recovered from its terrible collapse of just a few years ago. Right? The companies themselves have recovered, but that doesn’t mean that they’re going on a hiring spree just yet. [More]
From The Shameless To The Egregious, We Grade The Product Placements In 12 Ad-Packed Movies
By 6.7.13
You’ve probably seen the 30-second TV ads promoting that new 2-hour commercial for Google starring those two actors from that other movie that people really liked eight years ago. We’d like to think product placement has sunk to a new low, but every time we’re convinced that advertisers have hit bottom, someone throws them a more powerful digging implement. [More]
GM May Recall Additional 400,000 Vehicles Over Airbag Concerns
By 6.4.13
In the last year, General Motors has issued two small airbag-related recalls affecting a total of around 7,000 vehicles. But the folks at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration think that recall may need to be expanded a little bit… by around 400,0000. [More]
GM & Ford Decide To Be Best Pals In Order To Build New Transmissions Together
By 4.16.13
Rivalries between car companies run deep, especially when they’re sharing the same American turf. So it’s somewhat surprising, if not sensible, that General Motors and Ford are coming together in order build the best fuel-efficient automatic transmission out there. At least, that’s the goal. [More]
Report Rips Treasury Dept. For Giving Out Raises To Execs At Bailed-Out Companies
By 1.28.13
Today, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program released her report on 2012 compensation for executives at institutions that received TARP bail-out money, and well… the title — Treasury Continues Approving Excessive Pay for Top Executives at Bailed-Out Companies — is about as on-the-nose as it gets. [More]
GM Recalling 145,628 Mid-Sized Pickups As Hood Latch Issue Could Cause Pop-Up Surprise
By 12.20.12
This week seems to be all about vehicle defects that could cause quite a nasty surprise on the road. Yesterday we heard about sunroofs shattering on Hyundai Velosters, and today General Motors announced it’s recalling 145,628 mid-sized pickups because the hood should not pop up unexpectedly while you’re driving. [More]
The Death Of The Great American Automotive Bench Seat
By 10.1.12
Many of my earliest memories are sitting three or four abreast in the front seat of the family’s powder blue Chevy Nova. Years later, I remember packing friends onto the bench seats of my ’71 Malibu (a lovely hand-painted pickle green) for hours of terrorizing the streets of suburban Philadelphia. So it’s with a tear in my eye that I hear today about the disappearance of this American icon. [More]
Honda & GM Both Recalling Vehicles As No One Wants To Have Their Car Catch Fire
By 10.1.12
It’s one of those days where car recalls are abounding and it seems that fuel leaks are to blame in both cases: General Motors has issued a recall of almost 41,000 vehicles from the 2007 to 2009 model years after discovering a possible problem with cars sold in warm weather states. And then Honda blows that recall out of the water by issuing an alert for 573,000 Accords from model years between 2003 and 2007. [More]
