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General Motors Traumas

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During the year 2014 General Motors has recalled millions of their newest vehicle models. Most recently in June 2014, GM has been under fire from the media over their issues with the Chevy Cobalt as well as other sedan and pickup truck models for mechanical issues that have resulted in several accidents as well as a handful of deaths. General Motors lack of safety concern is baffling and has led to investigation that resulted in the loss of jobs for multiple employees, including some high level executives with the company. I will be writing on General Motors and their recalls as a whole this year, with key points on vehicles that have caused the most trauma to this masses as of this year. The Chevy Cobalt seems to be the model that has caused …show more content…
In addition, it affected other aspects of the car as well, such as the power steering, and the braking components that could cut out while under operation. The ignition component itself would become jostled out of the run position, shutting off the motor and putting the car into accessory mode causing all the above listed issues, leaving a car to continue in its momentum with no brakes, no ability to steer and no air bags to deploy at whatever speed the vehicle is currently going(Healey). As General Motors discovered the issue, rectifications were introduced, but only if the customers complained about a problem. This response was a snap-on key cover that would be used to keep the ignition in its natural place. A GM engineer had this problem while the vehicle was under testing, bringing this key cover into …show more content…
A GM engineer ran into this problem in 2004, the vehicle being sold as a 2005 model prior to the key cover resolution being created. A woman working as a pediatric nurse, Brooke Melton, was killed in 2010 when her 2005 chevy cobalt’s ignition system shifted out of place and killed her on her twenty-ninth birthday. Let it be known, however that her vehicle was bought new and didn’t fail until five years later. GM would not release any details of the Melton case due to confidentiality reasons, and offered no comments because the issues with GM continued. Information was brought to light during Melton’s case, as people found out that she had just taken her car in to be serviced to resolve the ignition issues a mere day before her fatal automotive accident. While GM had issued a technical service bulletin to its dealers informing them about the ignition switch issue, and the key cover solution to be offered to customers ONLY if they complained. Melton did not receive one upon her visit to her local dealership and was killed that very next day. Another example of a General Motors vehicle being recalled as of the beginning of 2014 is the 2014 Chevrolet Spark, a new hatchback model that has had at least three thousand affected units (vehicles) with substantial mechanical issues. In the case of the Chevy Spark, the front-wheel

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