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News, Analysis and EditorialBeware
O'ware, Mr. Saturn Buyer: GM's Saturn Vue's Collapsing Left Rear Wheel: Did
General Motors and NHTSA Strike a Sweet Deal?
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Beware O'ware, Mr. Saturn Buyer: GM's Saturn Vue's Collapsing Left Rear Wheel: Did General Motors and NHTSA Strike a Sweet Deal?
As a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration test driver made sharp turns at 45 miles per hour, the left rear wheel of both the two-wheeled version and the four-wheeled version of the 2004 Saturn Vue collapsed. Now, one might think that this is a serious defect, maybe even a very serious defect, but the New York Times quoted Rae Tyson, an NHTSA spokesman, as saying, "When we closed our investigation, we made a point of noting we did not recognize a safety-related defect,"1 as making a very sharp turn at 45 miles per hour is "an extreme maneuver."1 However, Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety retorted, "This maneuver was designed to replicate what a consumer might do in an emergency situation. Is this an ordinary maneuver? No. But it's an emergency avoidance maneuver that might happen in real life. How many other vehicles that ran through this test had their suspension fail? Zero."1 And Joan Claybrook, currently president of Public Citizen and formerly administrator of NHTSA, weighed in, "For NHTSA not to recall these vehicles on something as serious as this is entirely wrong and completely undercuts the agency's authority."1
The NHTSA decision keeps 250,000 Saturn Vues out of GM's recall total for 2004, a gargantuan number even without the Vues. (See "GM Safety Recalls Take a Leap," November 2004, "General Motors' Recalls Remain Gargantuan in First Half of 2004," July 2004, and "General Motors' U.S. 2003 Recall Numbers: A Bottomless Pit and a GM Defense?" March 2003.) Nonetheless, GM is recalling the vehicles under what is called a "service campaign." This one might think is sort of honorable.
However, since the August announcement of the "service campaign," GM has replaced only a few thousand of the defective suspensions and has continued to sell 2004 Vues with the defective suspension, several thousand to date.
Mr. Ditlow didn't think much of this; he commented, "It's preposterous they're still selling the vehicle."
The New York Times found only one post-August 2004 Vue buyer who had not been informed of the defective suspension prior to or during purchase and offered no assessment as to how many of such buyers might have, or might not have, been informed. It did note that GM had not issued a formal directive to its dealers on the matter, although GM alleged extensive manufacturer-dealer communication regarding the defect.
Ms. Childers Arb, an employee of GM, expressed the belief that most dealers have likely been upfront about the defect; she said, "Our philosophy is full disclosure."1 And Rob Cochran, a Saturn dealer and a member of the Saturn dealer council that coordinates relations with GM, expressed something of the same belief, as one of the line's "hallmarks is candor and being upfront - everything is on the table."1
Yes, and does each Saturn dealer tell every prospective customer that the Vue is on Consumer Reports' list of least reliable vehicles? (See "Toyota and Honda Dominate Most Reliable SUV List; General Motors and Ford Dominate Least Reliable SUV List," November 2004.)
1 "Despite Defect, G.M. Keeps Selling S.U.V.," New York Times, November 23, 2004, available at http://www.nytimes.com
Source for defect information: above article
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