That's a yes if I ever saw one.

 

Hello a454elk,

I am glad to hear your Chevrolet dealership was able to resolve your concerns. I would like to look into this further for you with your Chevrolet dealership. I have just sent you a private message and hope to hear from you soon.

Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

I have more facts here you can ignore:

GM Is Super Sorry It Sent Recall Notices To Families Of Crash Victims

GM took the time to kill off 13 (possibly higher actually)... then send their families letters letting them know that it... well... killed their loved ones...


So, factually speaking, that seems like something a car company shouldn't do.

 

Ok, I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but let's look at one of those 13 fatalities.

Amber Marie Rose, age 16, mentioned in the Reuters article.

Fact: Crash occurred at 3:40 AM
Fact: Police suspect alcohol was involved
Fact: She was not wearing her seatbelt
Fact: She lost control of the car and hit a tree

Conclusion: The ignition switch was the culprit.

Really????

I'll bet you $100 that we can get in a car together, with me driving, and you can kill the engine and electrical system any time you want, at any speed, and we won't hit a tree.

From a Washington Post article HERE :
Here's a picture of the car. She was in a residential neighborhood (look it up on Google maps HERE). Think she might have been speeding a bit?


A 16 year-old out at 3:40 AM? Might the parents be feeling a little guilty?

This whole thing reminds me of the Ford Explorer Bridgestone tire separation thing from the 90s and the Audi sudden acceleration thing from the 80s.

ETA: Let's look at the timeline of this whole, sorry debacle HERE

I'll sum up for the TL;DNR crowd.

2001: GM detects a possible problem in preproduction Saturns.
2005: Detected again in preproduction Cobalts
2005: Keyhead redesign and switch redesign rejected by GM
2007: The government (NHTSA) looks into it, finds nothing.
2010: NHTSA looks into again, finds nothing.
2012: GM links some fatalities to the defect (remember, a link is not a cause)
2013: GM links 31 accidents and 13 fatalities to the defect.
2014: GM notifies NHTSA, issues recalls.

Glad to see the government did its job so well.

Look, I'm not defending GM. Ford had the Pinto and the Explorer thing. They're no better. Does that make these companies evil, or simply incompetent? Frankly, from my dealings in the auto business, I'm amazed any cars roll off the line at all.

 

Were the other 12 all 3 AM and alcohol related?

Obviously there is some natural selection occurring, however had the airbags deployed properly, this situation may have been different.

Just because she was drinking does that mean a feature that was paid for (air bags, working car) should stop working? I'm not defending the drunk driving, that's deplorable, I am stating that if I buy something, it should work.

 

Well the Audi 5000 debacle was caused by folks that couldn't tell the difference between the brake and accelerator. Of course leaving the brake pedal in the same location as the manual tranny car which put it slightly closer to the accelerator didn't help.

The Firestone/Bridgestone/Explorer debacle was largely attributable to the fact that most were underinflated (hence the now req'd TPMS) driven at high speeds in the South during the summer (HOT).

Although I haven't seen anything on the recent Toyota "unintended acceleration", I still find it hard to believe that even w/ a WOT, the brakes can't slow the car or you can't put it in neutral or you can't turn the key off.

The GM thing, just don't know.

 

one of the issues w/the Toyota, specifically the State Trooper in a Lexus, was that the ignition wasn't a key. it was a push to start button. Hold to stop. he didn't know the car and kept pushing the start/stop, but never HELD it down.

Engineer's 'switch from hell' began GM recall woes

GM became evil, when for 11 years they continued their stance of profits above all.

Quality be damned
Safety be damned
MPG be damned.

I'm sure if GM could find a way to grind up babies and make $5.00 each, they would.

 

Use hyperbole much?

GM's quality has steadily risen. You got a lemon. Basing your entire opinon on a company's quality based on a data point of one is the pinnacle of ignorance. It's called "statistically insignificant."

Consumer Reports Dings Ford and Chrysler, While GM and Audi Improve

For 2013, Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet are rated higher than Ford, Lincoln, Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler.

Ah, yes, shining the great light of truth onto the unwashed, ignorant masses. You're just like an anti-gunner hanging out on a gun board. Hoping to peel back the veil of ignorance on all the uneducated bumpkins. How noble of you. We're doing just fine without you, thank you very much, and I can assure you, my Harvard-educated wife keeps the veil of ignorance away from my eyes.

And regards to MPG - GM (and Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, et al) is giving customers what they want. The American public has shown time and again that they won't be crammed into high-mileage, light weight sh1tboxes like the Fiat 500, Scion IQ or Smart Car. Americans want big 4-door cars, and they want their SUVs and pickup trucks. Personally, the price of gas doesn't bother me. I want to be able to haul my family and my stuff in my Suburban.

And plugin cars like the Volt and the Tesla are a scam. They actually create MORE pollution, besides the fact that the electric grid couldn't handle the increased load if several million cars were converted to plugins.

And, finally, who's the first "victim" mentioned in the above-linked article?

Never mind the alcohol and the excessive speeding in a residential neighborhood. They were minor factors in the crash.

 

what about this one?

Victims Of Saturn Ion Crash Accuse GM Of Letting Driver Plead Guilty To Accident She Didn’t Cause

was drinking involved? Did this man deserve to die? was he statistically insignificant?

 

I never said anyone deserved to die. I simply said that placing 100% of the blame on the ignition switch is dishonest, and smells like something a shyster lawyer would do.

And you're also being dishonest. I never called a death statistically insignificant. I said your lemon was statistically insignificant. For the love of all that's holy, at least use some reading comprehension.

From a story on the accident you linked to...
This is patently false. Even if the engine is off, you still have steering, and there is enough vacuum left in the master cylinder to still have assist on the brakes. Lack of power assist makes steering a little more difficult, but the faster you're going, the easier it is to steer. She shouldn't have lost control of the car.

Yes, the airbags did not deploy, but remember, the airbags are called SRS - supplemental restraint system.

From Merriam Webster:
Airbags are designed to work with other safety systems in the car, they are not the only line of defense. I am unable to find any reference to whether or not the two were wearing seatbelts. I'd wager they weren't. It's a rare occurrence where the airbag makes the difference between life and death. In fact, the reverse is true. There are several hundred instances of airbags killing people in otherwise benign accidents.

My sister in-law was t-boned by a Kawasaki Ninja doing over 100 MPH. She was 17 at the time, was pulling out of a blind residential intersection, and the speed limit was 35. She was driving her little brother to little league practice.

The collision totaled a Chevrolet Caprice station wagon. The speed of the bike was determined by measuring the bloody marks from how far the two riders slid down the road after impact. One rider was killed, the other would be a paraplegic for life. The parents sued everyone - my wife's family, the Kawasaki dealer, Kawasaki, the town, etc.

My point? The shark lawyers go after the deep pockets, regardless of fault. Again, in my dealings with the big 3 and Tier 1 suppliers, I'm amazed vehicles roll off the assembly line at all.

Lastly, I believe the government should not have bailed out GM. They should have let it fail. Only reason the gov stepped in is to basically hand the company over to the union pension fund.