GM Recalls More Cars in 2014 than it Sold in the Previous 7 Years
On July 1, 2014, The Consumerist reported that as of that date, General Motors has now recalled more vehicles in the first half of 2014 than it sold in the past seven years. The stalwart Detroit automaker passed this dubious milestone when it announced the recall of an additional 8.4 million cars on June 30, bringing the total recalls for 2014 to 29 million vehicles worldwide.
According to the New York Times, this wave of recalls began in February 2014, when GM admitted that it failed to properly notify the public of potential dangers stemming from problems with ignition switches in several models of its small cars, primarily the Chevrolet Cobalt. The NY Times piece submits that the safety problems which have since resulted in further recalls—at times one a week since February—may not have been discovered had the families of victims of crashes related to the problems with GM ignition switches not sued the company for millions of dollars in damages.
GM President Mary Barra said that the recalls of June 30 are part of “the most comprehensive safety review in the history of our company…“We have worked aggressively to identify and address the major outstanding issues that could impact the safety of our customers.” Barra also admitted to “incompetence and neglect” on the part of GM regarding letting the public know about the ignition switch problems, but also denied that “G.M. had a repeated pattern of deliberately ignoring safety issues.”
The Consumerist provides a full list of the General Motors vehicles involved in the June 30, 2014 recalls.