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dentmac · 04-01-2014, 21:16

Annoyed---

This hits home : I thought it was referring to Blue Bird. Same thing-- exactly. Where is NHTSA ?

"The company continued to sell cars knowing they were unsafe," DeGette said. "We're going to get to the bottom of this."

Barra said the statements in GM documents from 2005 showing that GM decided it was too expensive to implement a fix were "very disturbing."

"If that's the reason the decision was made, that is not acceptable," she said. "That is not the way we do business today."

Who at GM knew what and when: Barra admitted the company had been operating under a "cost culture" in the days before the 2009 bankruptcy

Hisham Amaral · 04-02-2014, 06:27

(04-01-2014 21:16)dentmac Wrote: Annoyed---

This hits home : I thought it was referring to Blue Bird. Same thing-- exactly. Where is NHTSA ?

"The company continued to sell cars knowing they were unsafe," DeGette said. "We're going to get to the bottom of this."

Barra said the statements in GM documents from 2005 showing that GM decided it was too expensive to implement a fix were "very disturbing."

"If that's the reason the decision was made, that is not acceptable," she said. "That is not the way we do business today."

Who at GM knew what and when: Barra admitted the company had been operating under a "cost culture" in the days before the 2009 bankruptcy

Ross
Money drives everything in this world. Cost is important to everyone can't spend what you don't have.

dentmac · 04-02-2014, 10:06

"Money drives everything....."
True, but that does not condone or require Fraud, deciept, or the lack of ethics that effect safety. And when found guilty (admission in company documents or/and in court), a true fix or compensation must be made along with some penalty to prevent recurrence.
GM appears have the fix .Their penalty is bad press and $$$ M n lawsuits.

BB ??......... Guilty..................... 0

We need agencies like NHTSA to prevent to total "Buyer beware" world. Sadly, they are overwhelmed by the big number defects to have time for just 56 coaches.

***Arcticdude*** · 04-02-2014, 10:35

GM's penalties are a mere pittance to the company. The CEO is spending time in DC on the company dime getting courted by congress. It's all a complete sham. There is no accountability anymore. NHTSA is just like the rest of the government, inadequate, flawed and nothing but a bunch of crooks.

davidbrady · 04-02-2014, 10:45

An Engineer's Eureka Moment with a G.M. Flaw.

***Arcticdude*** · 04-02-2014, 13:21

Exactly, most of the company didn't even know there was a problem, much less a running change to a part. With a death failure rate of 0.0005%, I'm sure that MOST of our vehicles (that are deemed "safe" by NHTSA) have the same rates. And in this case, it actually took bumping of the switch to possibly create an issue. When was the last time one inadvertently bumped the ignition switch?? I can't think of a time I ever have. I can't even think of a time I've been close to bumping the switch.

dentmac · (This post was last modified: 04-02-2014 18:36 by dentmac.)

Acticdude, I tried to be a little more gentle-- restraint is difficult. But you are correct, NHTSA plays a political game. It has the mandate for power, but has no "Balls". Turns a blind eye but publicises its "Glory".

I like the letter to NHTSA from The Centre for Auto Safety "......the only way that NHTSA cold not see a defect trend is if they closed their eyes..."
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/...nhtsa.html

BB problem is far ahead of GM; the Fraud, defect, and failure to remedy have already been proven in two courts. The NHTSA defect investigation is still open-- since 2009. Crashes continue.
Just not a high enough profile.

(The Centre for Auto Safety .. Founded by Ralph Nader )

davidbrady · 04-02-2014, 19:53

We'll eventually get to the bottom of this. The NHTSA surprises; GM doesn't. Society needs to make corporate penalties large enough ($) and severe enough (jail time) so the math and incarceration allows them to grow a conscience, ethics, and morals. The stories are very sad. Mostly young drivers who don't know that a car can be steered and stopped w/o the engine running and with the key in accessories. As a parent, it's very difficult keeping emotions out of this.

***patticake*** · 04-02-2014, 21:03

David, the people who teach driver ed don't teach anything. You really want to get upset, watch a driver ed car, and watch how they teach new drivers.

dentmac · 04-02-2014, 23:56

QUOTE ".......With a death failure rate of 0.0005%, I'm sure that MOST of our vehicles (that are deemed "safe" by NHTSA) have the same rates......"

A statistic is one way of deriving a safety issue. But when a defect is IDENTIFIED even by one incident , it needs to be CORRECTED openly and properly.
Not ignored by NHTSA even with a fatality and 4 crashes as in the Blue Bird issue or allowed by NHTSA to be unethically modified in a cover up attempt as with GM.

NHTSA should be reformed to be a REAL watchdog for consumers.

This is far beyond Blue Bird and GM.

.http://www.autosafety.org/ is trying and Americans should help by contacting their Representatives or Senators to demand a change.