US committee criticizes GM’s ‘culture of secrecy’
Print Edition
LAWMAKERS in the United States yesterday slammed General Motors Co for a “culture of secrecy” and said an investigation that found top executives did not know for years about a deadly ignition switch defect does not absolve them of responsibility.
CEO Mary Barra returned before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee to face questions about why the carmaker waited more than a decade to recall millions of vehicles with the defect linked to at least 13 deaths.
Barra, who became chief executive only in January but is a GM veteran of more than 30 years, said she didn’t know of the problem until last December.
Democratic Representative Diana DeGette of Colorado said it is “frankly alarming” that a GM report released earlier this month found that top executives were not made aware of the deadly flaw for years, even though there was widespread evidence among lower-level engineers and lawyers.
“This is nothing to be proud of,” she said. She also said GM’s “culture of secrecy” must be changed.
Lawmakers said they are concerned that the number of recalls linked to ignition-switch issues keeps growing.
GM has issued 44 recalls this year totaling about 20 million vehicles worldwide, which is more than total annual US vehicle sales. Of the recalls this year, nearly 6.5 million were recalled for ignition switch-related issues, including more than half a million Chevrolet Camaros on Friday.
In the past week, GM has recalled more than 3 million vehicles that apparently suffer from a separate ignition defect than the 2.6 million vehicles already recalled for a deadly ignition flaw.
GM has portrayed the new recalls as the product of its review of safety issues since the ignition-switch recalls were first announced in February.
But lawmakers have pounced on the mounting recalls as potential evidence of bigger safety problems at GM.
Republican Representative Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, chairman of the oversight subcommittee holding the hearing, said the latest recalls are “hauntingly similar” to the prior recalls connected to more than 13 deaths.
GM has not tied any fatalities to the more recent recalls.
The ignition-switch problems can cause the cars to stall during operation. Because of the engine stalls, airbags failed to deploy during crashes and drivers had difficulty operating their vehicles because the power steering and brake systems also malfunctioned.
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