Report: GM recall tally nears 5 million cars
The year has not started off well for GM or for the recent hire of their new CEO, Mary Barra, who will testify before the folks who green-lighted the bankrolling of the company in the first place: the US Congress. GM’s recall is significantly weighted towards the faulty ignition switch found the the Chevy Cobalt and Saturn Ion, among others, but newer recalls have been issued for 2013 and 2014 Cruze sedans, which comprise a significant volume of GM’s recent sales, and GM’s full size trucks and SUVs.
As the successor to the Cobalt, the Cruze is meant as a Honda Civic-fighting cheap and cheerful compact sedan, but thanks to faulty passenger side axle shafts, those cars fitted with the 1.4 liter turbo four are being recalled due to the significant safety implications of self destroying axles in a front wheel drive car. Poorly fitted and therefore leaky oil cooling lines for GM’s full size SUVs such as the Yukon and the Tahoe, among others, have been documented to cause three vehicle fires at this point. Though the angst towards the ‘General may be significant at this point, it’s Barra’s “moment” to usher in a legacy of safety and accountability for an automaker that has often been accused of making their cars out of cut-rate materials and outdated technology. Toyota had a significant issue with their unintended acceleration recalls, but somehow, they are still selling quite few cars. Let’s just hope that GM’s current woes are, in fact, temporary and that the company does not spiral into another tax liability for US taxpayers.
-By: Sawyer Sutton
Source: Car and Driver
