GM’s 2nd quarter earnings show $400 million charge taken to compensate victims

General Motors reported last week that it’s 2nd quarter earnings fell by 85%. This huge drop was caused by the financial fallout of its delayed recall of defective vehicles and also a $400 million charge taken to compensate victims of car accidents caused by faulty ignition switches.

The Associated Press reported that recall expenses chopped $1.5 billion from GMs bottom line in the 2nd quarter as it added up the costs of repairs for nearly 30 million cars. GMs safety problems began earlier this year with the recall of 2.6 million Chevy Cobalt and other small cars that had faulty ignition switches. GM knew about the problem for more than ten years before issuing the recall. The company admitted at least 13 people died in crashes caused by the switches, although federal lawmakers say the total could be as high as 100.

According to the New York Times, […]

GM recalls 8.4 million more vehicles, announces compensation

GM recalled another 8.4 million vehicles on Monday, which included more than 8 million for ignition switch defects. The latest recall brings the total vehicles recalled by GM this year alone to 29 million. U.S. News and World Report mentioned that 17.1 million of the recalled vehicles were because of faulty ignition switches.

Some of the latest vehicles recalled date back to 1997 and extend to 2014 models. According to Forbes, vehicles included in the latest recall include the 1997-2005 Chevrolet Malibu, 1998-2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue, 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am and 2003-2014 Cadillac CTS.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the automaker admitted it knew of seven crashes, eight injuries and three fatalities involving the cars recalled for the new ignition switch problems. This was essentially the same problem with 2.6 million recalled Chevy Cobalts and other vehicles linked to 13 deaths and 54 accidents. […]

GM recalls another 3.4 million vehicles for ignition switch

The latest recall from GM came yesterday for more faulty ignition switches that can move out of the run position, turning off power steering and power brakes while the car is being driven.

The recalled cars include:

• Buick Lacross 2005-2009
• Chevrolet Impala 2006-2014
• Cadillac Deville 2000-2005
• Cadillac DTS 2004-2011
• Buick Lucerne 2006-2011
• Buick Regal LS and GS 2004-2005
• Chevrolet Monte Carlo 2006-2008

Monday’s recall came after more review of ignition switch issues in the wake of 2.6 million recalled Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars for similar problems. GM said this recall pertains to a different ignition switch than those previously recalled. This latest recall raises even more questions about just how extensive the safety problems are at GM.

GM said in a statement yesterday that the switches could rotate out of “run” if the key has excess weight and the car experiences some jarring event such as hitting a pothole or crossing a railroad track. […]

GM recalls more than 500,000 Chevrolet Camaros for ignition switch problem

GM announced recalls of nearly 600,000 vehicles on Friday, including approximately 510,000 Chevy Camaros from the 2010-2014 model years for an ignition-switch issue. GM said the Camaro issue is similar, but not linked to, the problem with the Chevy Cobalt that resulted in the recall of 2.6 million vehicles earlier this year.

The automaker found that a tall driver in a Chevy Camaro, sitting close to the steering wheel, can hit the key fob with a knee, knocking the ignition switch from the run to accessory position, shutting off important car functions, such as power steering, airbags and the power break assist. GM is aware of three crashes that resulted in four injuries that may be attributed to this problem. The company discovered the problem during internal testing following the recall of millions of older small cars earlier this year for a faulty ignition switches. […]

GM fires 15 for actions related to ignition switch defect

GM CEO Mary Barra announced today that 15 people have been fired for being incompetent or irresponsible in their actions involving fatally flawed ignition switches that are linked to 13 deaths where airbags failed to inflate during car crashes.

This included those in senior management and executive roles and also switch engineer Ray DeGiorgio and development engineer Gary Altman. DeGiorgio, the GM engineer who signed off on a change to the ignition switches that improved their performance, met with investigators last week to talk about his role in the problem which resulted in so many fatal car crashes.

In 2006, approximately two years after cars with the defective switches were launched, DeGiorgio signed off on a change to the switches, according to court documents. Company documents also show that the design change was not accompanied by a change in the part number, making it difficult to track the change. […]