DoctorNo
04-16-2004, 12:22 PM
Amazingly, GM has already recalled 7.7 million vehicles in 2004 (and it's still April), surpassing the 7.4 million cars and trucks it recalled all of last year; GM recalled 4.6 million vehicles in 2002.
Let's hope GM can get their act together, since they were campaigning about how much their reliability has improved and try not to hit the 10 million mark this year.
Link to Article (http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0404/16/g01-124748.htm)
WASHINGTON — In the latest in a string of recalls, General Motors Corp. will fix about 330,000 SUVs because their seat belts fail to comply with federal safety regulations.
GM has now recalled 7.7 million vehicles in 2004, surpassing the 7.4 million cars and trucks it recalled all of last year. GM recalled 4.6 million vehicles in 2002, according to federal statistics.
The recalls could hurt GM’s effort to convince consumers its quality has vastly improved in recent years.
GM said the seat-belt problem, which affects certain 2001 and 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Oldsmobile Bravada SUVs, was inconsequential to safety.
“We’ve had no reports of any crashes, failures or injuries,” attributable to the seat belts, said GM spokesman Jim Schell.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration disagreed, forcing the recall after a two-year investigation.
NHTSA said the seat belts in the mid-size SUVs would allow too much head and chest movement during a crash.
GM notified NHTSA in April 2002 that 1.9 million pickups and SUVs fell short of federal seat-belt requirements. GM petitioned the government for a waiver from the regulation, arguing a backup system would lock the belts sufficiently in place during a collision.
NHTSA decided that GM’s backup systems provided an adequate safety margin for about 80 percent of the vehicles in question, including the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups and Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanch and Escalade SUVs.
GM will notify the government next week with details about precisely which vehicles would be affected, how they would be fixed, and how soon the repairs would be available to consumers, Schell said.
In August 2000, GM recalled 156,000 cars and trucks because their seat-belt buckles did not meet federal regulations. That recall covered 16 different models, including some 2000 and 2001 Chevy Blazers.
While its recalls have mounted, GM models have scored well in recent independent quality and reliability studies. In November, a Consumer Reports survey on vehicle quality found the Buick Regal scored ahead of well-regarded imports such as the Toyota Camry and Nissan Maxima.
In another survey of initial quality covering 2003 models, GM placed fifth behind Toyota, Porsche, BMW, and Honda, but ahead of Nissan, Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen.
Let's hope GM can get their act together, since they were campaigning about how much their reliability has improved and try not to hit the 10 million mark this year.
Link to Article (http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0404/16/g01-124748.htm)
WASHINGTON — In the latest in a string of recalls, General Motors Corp. will fix about 330,000 SUVs because their seat belts fail to comply with federal safety regulations.
GM has now recalled 7.7 million vehicles in 2004, surpassing the 7.4 million cars and trucks it recalled all of last year. GM recalled 4.6 million vehicles in 2002, according to federal statistics.
The recalls could hurt GM’s effort to convince consumers its quality has vastly improved in recent years.
GM said the seat-belt problem, which affects certain 2001 and 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Oldsmobile Bravada SUVs, was inconsequential to safety.
“We’ve had no reports of any crashes, failures or injuries,” attributable to the seat belts, said GM spokesman Jim Schell.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration disagreed, forcing the recall after a two-year investigation.
NHTSA said the seat belts in the mid-size SUVs would allow too much head and chest movement during a crash.
GM notified NHTSA in April 2002 that 1.9 million pickups and SUVs fell short of federal seat-belt requirements. GM petitioned the government for a waiver from the regulation, arguing a backup system would lock the belts sufficiently in place during a collision.
NHTSA decided that GM’s backup systems provided an adequate safety margin for about 80 percent of the vehicles in question, including the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups and Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanch and Escalade SUVs.
GM will notify the government next week with details about precisely which vehicles would be affected, how they would be fixed, and how soon the repairs would be available to consumers, Schell said.
In August 2000, GM recalled 156,000 cars and trucks because their seat-belt buckles did not meet federal regulations. That recall covered 16 different models, including some 2000 and 2001 Chevy Blazers.
While its recalls have mounted, GM models have scored well in recent independent quality and reliability studies. In November, a Consumer Reports survey on vehicle quality found the Buick Regal scored ahead of well-regarded imports such as the Toyota Camry and Nissan Maxima.
In another survey of initial quality covering 2003 models, GM placed fifth behind Toyota, Porsche, BMW, and Honda, but ahead of Nissan, Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen.