GM recall: Many victims were young drivers (a few photos of victims)

[Omaha Steve]

Anyone that thinks I'm giving GM a pass on this after roasting Toyota a few years ago should check my several posts about GM in the last week including LBN! I I drive a recalled 09 Cobalt.

OS

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140401/DACT1I8G0.html

Mar 31, 9:40 PM (ET)

By TOM KRISHER

DETROIT (AP) - As the deaths are tallied from General Motors' delayed recall of compact cars, one thing is becoming clear: Of those killed, the majority were young.

In a way, this isn't surprising. Low-priced cars like the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion were marketed to young, first-time buyers and parents shopping for their kids.



This combination of undated family photos shows, from left, Amber Marie Rose, Natasha Weigel, and Amy Rademaker. All three were killed in deadly car crashes involving GM's Cobalt during 2005-2006. The complaint tally for the top-selling small cars in the 2005-2007 model years was: Corolla, 228; Cobalt, 164; Honda Civic, 60; Ford Focus, 25; and the Mazda 3, 19. (AP Photo)


But price may not be the only reason for the disproportionate number of youthful deaths.
The faulty ignition switches behind the recall can shut off the engine while the car is in motion. When that happens, power-assisted steering and power brakes are lost, and the air bags won't inflate in a crash.

The faulty ignition switches behind the recall can shut off the engine while the car is in motion. When that happens, power-assisted steering and power brakes are lost, and the air bags won't inflate in a crash.

FULL story at link.

[BeyondGeography]

1. Horrific

Has it ever stalled on you?

[Omaha Steve]

3. I made a complaint over the weekend and got a reply this afternoon to call back

It didn't stall. It jammed in the ON position. I couldn't turn it off. So I didn't lose power, steering, or air bags. Just a small inconvenience.

OS

[seabeyond]

2. thank you for the article. i will be sure to have a discussion with both my teen boys about

loss of power and loss of power steering. t hat is horrible and so disappointing for a company to do that to consumers.

[Dawson Leery]

5. Ford Pinto, meet the Chevy Cobalt.

[Omaha Steve]

6. Clink

BOOM!!!!

Ever see the movie "Top Secret"?

[kentauros]

8. Yes!

And the fact that the heroes drove away in a still burning VW Thing

[NutmegYankee]

7. To be honest, I'm surprised of the deaths.

I drove an old clunker that stalled on me a few times while in motion. The same thing that happened to these youths happened to me - no power brakes or power steering. Steering while moving at speed isn't as hard as it is when slow, so while it took some extra oomph to move the wheel, it moved as expected. And the brakes did respond, I just didn't have the power boost. If I hadn't been able to stop in time the one time this happened at an intersection, I still would have only rear ended the car ahead at a fairly slow 10-15 mph at most. In my case, I was able to stomp the pedal hard enough to just stop in time. Fuel pump relay did me in that time.

The car I drive now has electromechanical steering, so the power assist is retained even with the engine off. But I did do some testing of my own by turning the key off past accessory just enough to avoid the wheel lock and seeing how the steering felt without the electric motor assisting. Hard to steer, but still controllable.

[flvegan]

9. I don't think that anyone thinks that of you.

Thank you for posting this.