Feds order GM to explain faulty ignition recall delay
Government says automaker must explain why it didn't see fatal link between faulty switch and failed airbags sooner. GM has linked the faulty switches, and their failure to provide power to front airbags, to 31 crashes and 13 deaths. Ref. USAToday
General Motors said it will take a $300 million charge against first-quarter earnings to pay for the three new recalls and the ignition recall. M taking $300 million charge to earnings Ref. USAToday
General Motors CEO Mary Barra vowed that "We will fix our process," So that it doesn't take a decade or more to fix the next potentially deadly fault. But she wouldn't promise to accept responsibility for accidents that happened before GM went through government-backed bankruptcy reorganization in 2009, nor to set up a victims' fund. Ref. USAToday
Feds: GM flunks 'timeliness' query on recall, faces $7,000 a day in fines
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the automaker hasn't provided enough information about parts of the ignition switch recall. NHTSA says it has the authority to turn over what it sees as GM's deficiency to the Justice Department. Ref. USAToday