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News,
Analysis and EditorialPrompted
by a Growing Number of Injuries and an Intensified U.S. National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration Investigation, General Motors Recalls 4
Million Pickups
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Auto on Info March 2004 Prompted by a Growing Number of Injuries and an Intensified U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Investigation, General Motors Recalls 4 Million Pickups On Thursday, March 18, 2004, General Motors announced that it will recall about four million pickup trucks1 - 3.66 million in the U.S.2, 325,000 in Canada1, and 93,000 in Mexico1. The affected model-years include 2000 to 2004 Chevrolet Silverados, 2000 to 2004 GMC Sierras, 2002 to 2004 Chevrolet Avalanches, and 2002-2004 Cadillac Escalade EXTs.1,2 The problem prompting the recall are the the pickups' collapsing tailgates. The tailgate cables have broken, reportedly unexpectedly, sometimes with resulting injury. Two complaints in the 2000 Chevrolet Silverado section of the NHTSA website stated that breakage occurred at 17,000 miles and 25,000 miles.3 This recall is General Motors' fourth largest U.S. recall and likely its third largest North American recall. GM's three largest U.S. recalls occurred in December 1981, with 6.68 million recalled vehicles, February 1981, with 5.82 million recalled vehicles, and January 1973, with 3.71 million recalled vehicles.2 The four million recalled pickups brings General Motors year-to-date total to 7.4 million.2 The year-to-date number of recalled vehicles equals the number of recalled vehicles for all of 2003, when its number of recalled vehicles per vehicle sold was about 13 times that of Toyota and much greater than those of Ford and Chrysler. (See "General Motors' U.S. 2003 Recall Numbers: A Bottomless Pit and a GM Defense?") One of General Motors reported public pronouncements on the matter is rather typical GM. Kevin Williams, a GM vice president for North American quality, is reported to have said, "Working with our internal feedback system and NHTSA, we were able to act quickly on this issue."4 The recall occurs after 61,000 warranty claims and 134 injuries.1 The recall raises interesting questions:
Silence by GM's Board of Directors on this matter may be a concern to all - consumers, shareholders, and employees. Earlier this month the number of injuries resulting from tailgate cable breakage was reported to be 96;5 now it is reported to be 134.1,4 General Motors characterizes the injuries as being minor.1 However, after review of one model-year of the affected vehicles at NHTSA's website, site manager found one complaint that alleged injury to the consumer's neck, back, and shoulders.3 It is thought that the recall will be without serious financial consequences to GM. Of possibly much greater consequence are the piston slap lawsuits, in which the incensed consumer is battling the General Motors Corporation. In these contests, especially in the class actions, a victory by the consumer may be debilitating to GM, as there is, reportedly, no known simple solution. General Motors will replace the current galvanized, braided steel tailgate support cables with stainless steel cables.4 The replacement will occur over the course of the year.2 In an unrelated matter, General Motors confirmed that it plans to dump the Saturn L-Series, with an early 2000 Reliability Percentrank of .01,6 by July 2, 2004.7 1"GM Recalls 4 Million Pickups," Reuters, March 18, 2004, accessible at Yahoo! News 2"4 Million Recall Challenges GM Image," Detroit News, March 19, 2004, http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0403/19/a01-97153.htm 3"Office of Defects Investigation: Complaints - Search Results: Report Date: March 20, 2004 at 10:30 AM, TYPE: VEHICLE: Year: All Years: Make: Chevrolet, Model: Silverado," National Highway Traffic Safety Investigation Administration, accessible at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ by clicking "Problems & Issues" under "Vehicle & Equipment Information," then clicking "Consumer Complaints," on the "Safety Problems & Issues" page, and then by making the appropriate selections on http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/complaintform.cfm 4"GM Announces Recall of 4 Million 2000-04 Full-size Pickups," Associated Press, available at http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0403/19/autos-96217.htm 5"Regulators Intensify Probe into GM Trucks," 23 February 2004, Reuters, accessible at Yahoo! News 6http://www.autooninfo.net/ReliabilityPercentranksSaturn.htm 7"GM Confirms L-Series Demise," March 2, 2004, WARDSAUTO.com |
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