Barra apologizes for deaths tied to recalled cars

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By TOM KRISHER

DETROIT (AP) - The top executive of General Motors apologized for deaths linked to the delayed recall of 1.6 million small cars, saying the company took too long to tell owners to bring the cars in for repairs.

Faced with a crisis just months into the job, CEO Mary Barra has put herself front and center in the company's efforts to take responsibility for mishandling a defect with ignition switches in small cars, and to ward off a threat to its sales and reputation. She named a new head of global safety, one day after telling employees that GM is pushing to resolve safety issues more quickly.

Barra, who met Tuesday with reporters for the first time since last month's recall, stopped short of saying the company would compensate families of those killed in crashes caused by faulty ignition switches. But she said GM would do what's right for customers after it completes an internal investigation, which she expects to take about seven months to finish.

"I am very sorry for the loss of life that occurred, and we will take every step to make sure this never happens again," she said.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140318/DACKC52G1.html

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In this Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014, file photo, General Motors CEO Mary Barra ddresses the media during a roundtable meeting with journalists in Detroit. Barra says it's likely she will testify before congressional committees investigating the company's handling of a faulty ignition switch that is tied to 12 deaths. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

[seabeckind]

1. MBA solution to a corporate culture disease

Having a review step after the fact is worthless because at that point the investment has already been lost.

The problem is that for the last 40 years the primary focus is on increasing profits by reducing quality and cutting labor. When I saw the parts described on the news it was obvious that the switch had been designed within barely acceptable tolerances instead of being overengineered to reduce potential failures.

Exactly the same as is happening in just about all of the products we have available today. Ref: crappification.

This is a systemic problem that this CEO is facing...then again, perhaps she is a result of that same corporate attitude. I have no doubt that there is probably someone much more competent than she but in the face of the exploding pay in the corporate board world the truly competent cannot be afforded. Then again, the truly competent wouldn't accept the environment.

Long ago the CEO might have faced a labor force that would refuse to produce a shoddy product. Outsourcing sure eliminated that conflict.

[Locrian]

2. exaxty - the system demands crappification

When a few can get rich on cutting pennies, then the product gets designed into crap. That's because a LOT of pennies can be rolled in quantity and they reap the rewards. And the 'risk' (actually no risk to them) is worth that money to the few.

If the benefits are spread around (many people) - it doesn't happen. The more you spread it around - the less attractive a few pennies are to people vs the potential risk.


I see it all the time as an engineer. Products that could be SO much better if a few more $0.01 were spent.

[backwoodsbob]

4. 40 years of reducing quality?...what color is the sky in your world?

if you really believe the quality of cars has been reduced in the last 40 years there isn't any point in engaging you.

[seabeckind]

5. Prompts the question...

so why did you?

Overall the quality of the cars has increased but many of the individual components, especially those produced by subs over which the primary manufacturer has no control other than contractual, have suffered from the barely acceptable syndrome.

Example: the water pump in my wife's car went out. When I took it in for a replacement at a very reputable place the manager said that he doesn't use the manufacturer part because it uses plastic impellers and those are only good for 5 or 6 years -- which was about as long as the part lasted. The replacement, made in germany, used aluminum ones and is still going strong going on 12 years now

And don't get me started on phones. Or toasters...definitely not toasters.

Or airline travel.

Or shopvacs -- one I picked up a while back (a Stanley -- my how that company fell) wouldn't suck up a dust bunny unless you pounded it into the nozzle.

BTW, still using the lathe my father bought in 1954...on its original washing machine motor. (added on edit): About that motor...it had been in an old ringer washing machine made many years before but the tub had rusted out. My father salvaged the motor.

[backwoodsbob]

7. I worked for a teir one supplier for twenty years

I have first hand knowledge of how much quality improved.

[JoeyT]

6. It depends on how we're defining quality.

Yes, cars today are more fuel efficient, create less emissions, and the parts are more reliable. They're generally viewed as being of much worse quality because of the number of parts that can break, and the difficulty in the average person working on their own vehicle.

You can't just go fuck around with the carb or fuel pump until your car cranks up anymore. Now it's the primary master thermal overload emission control reset sensor relay (rear left) messing up, which may take six trips to the dealer at $500 a pop to fix.

Edited to add: For example my mom had a Toyota RAV4 that stayed messed up. A bunch of warning lights would come on, and the car would refuse to shift into overdrive. The only way to fix it was to disconnect the battery. After three trips to different Toyota dealerships and more than $3000 in repair costs that never fixed anything, I finally dug around the internet and started replacing things. It turned out to be the rear wheel speed sensor going out. I only had to replace a bit over a thousand dollars worth of parts before I found the right one. I had similar experiences with Honda and Chevrolet, and my dad had a Dodge truck that was an absolute nightmare.

I think part of it is confirmation bias. Everyone remembers Grandpa's Chevy that racked up 400k miles with barely any trouble, and they forgot the Gremlin they had that shit important parts out on the road with every bump, or the Pinto that burst into flames if you looked at it funny. Or the Yugo that looked like a Yugo.

[Blue_Tires]

3. Kind of sad...

A whole lot of people at the Ren Cen never wanted Barra to have the job in the first place (some of it had to do with her background, some of it was just plain old sexism) -- So her shit had to already be twice as clean as everyone else's...