Photo: GM
While the so-called 'GM Recall Saga' might not ring a bell to people that don't watch TV regularly or aren't that much into the auto industry, the aforementioned is considered by many as one of, if not the darkest of moments in North America's automotive history.
Starting with a 325,000 strong recall on January 13th, General Motors' year-to-date tally now stands at almost 30 million cars called in over the various faults. Whereas the population of recalled vehicles suffer from defects ranging from oil cooler fitting, fuel line quick connectors, snappy shift cables and glitchy airbags, the defect that made the "GM Recall Saga" such a hot topic nationwide is the sub-standard lot of ignition switches fitted to a handful of nameplates such as the Chevrolet Cobalt, Chevrolet HHR and Pontiac G5.
Over 21 people died in vehicle accidents related to the defect, thus forcing General Motors to create a special fund for compensating the families of the faithful departed. As anyone would expect, such a big flop couldn't have passed under the radar of safety advocates. GM CEO Mary Barra was summoned a handful of times to Capitol Hill to explain how stuff got out of hand in such a short period of time.
In office since January, Mary was virtually hurled to the lions when things just started to fall apart at General Motors. It's not really her fault such a mess happened. There's plenty of evidence other higher-ups and engineers knew about the faults more than 10 years now but kept quiet about the fiasco for monetary reasons, which is enough reason for not blaming Mary Barra.
But even saints can be sinners sometimes
Mary's on the cover of Time magazine's October 2014 issue, leveling up from the April issue of the publication where she was included in the top "100 Most Influential People in the World" feature. But it's funny how on both occasions, Time presented her as some sort of recall tugboat captain, the person that's struggling to wash General Motors' very dirty hands. But if you looks back and take in what she did in order to make amends with her company's error, you'll be surprised to find out that she's not actually the guardian angel described by Time mag.
When the judges posed very sensible questions to her on Capitol Hill about those people that died in vehicles fitted with faulty ignition switches, she did the worst a chief executive officer could do for her company: pointing the finger at the company that made those switches (according to General Motors requirements, that is), reply with sugarcoated promises about how General Motors is gonna learn from mistakes and how safe GM-developed cars will be following this saga. That's a very rude answer to offer when you take into consideration that GM also had the nerve to refuse to explain to the NHTSA why so many cars are being recalled. To boot, late reporting got General Motors a $35 million fine in May.
There's solid evidence Mr. Doug was aware of the sub-standard switches on the car since the year 2005, but didn't even consider to call those cars in to fix the deadly glitch. A lot of people died because of his bad judgement, yet he's still the vice-president of General Motors without a care in the world, great status and a fat monthly paycheck.
Sorry for the long rant, but GM execs including CEO Mary Barra don't deserve at the present moment to be featured in the blah-blah influential people or on the cover of Time magazine. There's still a long way to go for them to properly atone for their sins.
When the judges posed very sensible questions to her on Capitol Hill about those people that died in vehicles fitted with faulty ignition switches, she did the worst a chief executive officer could do for her company: pointing the finger at the company that made those switches (according to General Motors requirements, that is), reply with sugarcoated promises about how General Motors is gonna learn from mistakes and how safe GM-developed cars will be following this saga. That's a very rude answer to offer when you take into consideration that GM also had the nerve to refuse to explain to the NHTSA why so many cars are being recalled. To boot, late reporting got General Motors a $35 million fine in May.
Mary proves that gender doesn't matter in executive positions…
…but Mary also proved she's got the coldest blood in the biz, a defining feature of virtually every bigwig in the United States. Furthermore, General Motors fired 15 low-ranking employees that are reportedly involved in the ignition switch fiasco. What's wrong with that? Well, there are a few GM executives that knew about the problem years before the previously mentioned low-ranking employees. To name one of them, we'll nominate Doug Parks, current vice-prez of GM and former chief engineer of the Chevy Cobalt.There's solid evidence Mr. Doug was aware of the sub-standard switches on the car since the year 2005, but didn't even consider to call those cars in to fix the deadly glitch. A lot of people died because of his bad judgement, yet he's still the vice-president of General Motors without a care in the world, great status and a fat monthly paycheck.
Sorry for the long rant, but GM execs including CEO Mary Barra don't deserve at the present moment to be featured in the blah-blah influential people or on the cover of Time magazine. There's still a long way to go for them to properly atone for their sins.
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