Exclusive: GM apologizes for sending recall notices to victims' families

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Exclusive: GM apologizes for sending recall notices to victims' families

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By Marilyn Thompson and Paul Lienert

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(Reuters) - General Motors on Tuesday apologized to families of accident victims who have been notified to bring in cars for replacement of defective ignition switches.

"We are deeply sorry to those families who received a recall notice," said GM spokesman Greg Martin in response to questions from Reuters.

GM has recalled 2.6 million of its most popular models to replace a defective switch that it has linked to 13 fatalities. Some families who lost loved ones in fatal crashes have complained that GM should not have sent them notices to bring in cars for repairs.

Terri DiBattista, who lost her 16-year-old daughter Amber Marie Rose in a 2005 Maryland accident involving a Chevrolet Cobalt, told Reuters she received two recall notices from GM last week asking her to bring in the vehicle to fix the ignition switch and power steering. The car was destroyed when Rose crashed into a tree.

The postcards were mailed to the family at its new address in South Carolina, where DiBattista said they moved to recover from the loss. Sent by a local GM dealer, the cards detailed three different recalls GM has issued involving the Cobalt in recent months.

DiBattista said GM could have identified the destroyed car through a simple check of Vehicle Identification Numbers.

Rose has been identified as one of the 13 victims GM links to the faulty switch.

Why are GM sales jumping higher as recall woes lin … Play Video

Federal regulators now say they believe that GM’s death toll is an undercount. A Reuters analysis of federal crash data found at least 74 people have died in General Motors cars in accidents with some key similarities to those that GM has linked to the defective switches.

Martin said in an email that GM "continues to look into all claims we are made aware of in the recall population."

Some families say they are still seeking answers on whether fatal accidents could be linked to the switch.

Kim Pierce, who lost her 17-year-old son, Austin Sloat, in a crash in Maine involving a 2004 Saturn Ion, said she learned about GM's problems with a defective switch from news reports early this year. She then obtained a police accident report that showed the driver's side air bag did not deploy when he crashed at high speeds into a tree. Another teenage driver was charged in the accident, which involved racing.

Pierce has hired an attorney and contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding the incident that led to her son's death.

Martin declined comment on whether GM was reviewing Sloat's case.

"Out of respect for their privacy, we do not discuss private conversations we may have had with family members or their legal representation," he said.

Pierce and other victims' families have asked the NHTSA, which regulates GM, to give them more information about the fatal accidents.

The NHTSA has said they are helping families to get answers from GM by asking the car maker to provide additional information on its vehicles.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-gm-apologizes-sending-recall-000430837.html

Sorry we killed your family member or friend, but can we get that truck back? What a load of #######!

[Karee 4,190]

Seems like GM has hired a North Korean public relations firm.

[Novembro 1,763]

My husband has a Cobalt. We keep getting the notices but can't get in at a dealership to get it fixed. He thought I was kidding when I said people died.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

My husband has a Cobalt. We keep getting the notices but can't get in at a dealership to get it fixed. He thought I was kidding when I said people died.

Just horrible. They need to rent a car for you all until you can return that hunk of metal.

[Novembro 1,763]

Just horrible. They need to rent a car for you all until you can return that hunk of metal.

Oh, I wasn't aware that they were taking them...I thought they were just replacing the ignition switch or whatever the faulty part is?

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Oh, I wasn't aware that they were taking them...I thought they were just replacing the ignition switch or whatever the faulty part is?

They are doing a recall. That's what I meant when I said return. I understand that they have a difficult job, but when people's lives count on it, being sloppy is not an option.

Not calling your taste in cars a hunk of junk, just the way they threw the cars together.

Also, they have some GMs with faulty air bags too.

[Novembro 1,763]

Oh I don't care. We'll get it fixed or die trying.

Too soon?

[spookyturtle 9,465]

They are doing a recall. That's what I meant when I said return. I understand that they have a difficult job, but when people's lives count on it, being sloppy is not an option.

Not calling your taste in cars a hunk of junk, just the way they threw the cars together.

Also, they have some GMs with faulty air bags too.

And the faulty accelerator pedals on Toyota's a few years back.

[GandD 5,966]

I work in automotive. You guys would be surprised what rolls out.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

I work in automotive. You guys would be surprised what rolls out.

I knew people that worked at the GM assembly plant in Framingham, MA years ago. Not much would surprise me. Friday on the night shift, a couple of workers decide to "drop a car" at a critical movement point on the assembly line, after 4 hours into the shift of course, so that they'd all get sent home early, paid for 8 while they cleaned up the mess in time to start the next shift fresh.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Oh I don't care. We'll get it fixed or die trying.

Too soon?

Uhhh no dying please. Some of us will actually miss you.

And the faulty accelerator pedals on Toyota's a few years back.

Yeap.

I work in automotive. You guys would be surprised what rolls out.

With the U.S. growing moral decay, not really. Nothing can surprise me anymore. I think.

[Karee 4,190]

I work in automotive. You guys would be surprised what rolls out.

The word growing up in Detroit was never buy a car that was assembled on a Monday. Too many folks hungover from the weekend. That was in the 70s and 80s though. Since they don't make many cars in the U.S. anymore not sure what the word is now.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

I would never buy a Gumberment motors vehicle.

Toyota's and Ford Mustangs

[GandD 5,966]

The word growing up in Detroit was never buy a car that was assembled on a Monday. Too many folks hungover from the weekend. That was in the 70s and 80s though. Since they don't make many cars in the U.S. anymore not sure what the word is now.

Well that's not really true. Tons of cars are made here. We make lots and lots of parts for them.

Uhhh no dying please. Some of us will actually miss you.

Yeap.

With the U.S. growing moral decay, not really. Nothing can surprise me anymore. I think.

moral decay is an illusion.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Well that's not really true. Tons of cars are made here. We make lots and lots of parts for them.

moral decay is an illusion.

Why is it an illusion?