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GM Recalling 1.3 Million Vehicles; InTrade Odds Of Toyota Congressional Witchhunts Repeating At Zero To Quite Zero

Tyler Durden's picture




 

This is one of those poetic justice moments. After Toyota was dragged through hell and back (aka Congress) over a sticky accelerator issue, now it is the turn of the automotive division of the US government, better known as General Motors. The reason: the company "is recalling 1.3
million compact cars in North America to address a power steering
problem that has been linked to 14 crashes and one injury, the company
said on Tuesday." We can't wait to see GM's brand new consultant Fritz Henderson (paid the miserly stipend of $3,000/hour) sweat tungsten-filled bullets before Congressional grillings because after all in America justice is blind, especially when it comes to such things as past and potential car accidents, even if the unionized labor consortium in question is a protectorate of a feudal, post-capitalist, communist state (Toynbee is hopefully spinning in his grave).

From Reuters:


The recall covers the 2005-2010 model year
Chevrolet Cobalt and 2007-2010 Pontiac G5 in the United States;
2005-2006 Pontiac Pursuit sold in Canada, and the 2005-2006 Pontiac G4
sold in Mexico, GM said in a statement.

GM
said it told U.S. safety regulators about the voluntary recall on
Monday after concluding an investigation that began in 2009.

The
U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an
investigation on January 27 into approximately 905,000 Cobalt models in
the United States after receiving more than 1,100 complaints of loss of
power steering assist.

Does this mean we can all forget about the Toyota circus now? Please?

 

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Tue, 03/02/2010 - 02:12 | 250710 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

...the bad GM part was probably made in Japan, Mexico, or Canada.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:30 | 250894 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

Weren't the bad Toyota's made in US plants?

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 02:18 | 250714 Bear
Bear's picture

Wow ... Japan has a problem going too fast and we have a problem steering a straight course ... next week my Mercedes will be recalled for a leaky-Greeky gas tank.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 02:24 | 250718 Gubbmint Cheese
Gubbmint Cheese's picture

Nice.

 

what a joke

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 02:36 | 250725 Bthewee
Bthewee's picture

Owe.... (literally) what a tangled web we weave.

 

 

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 03:05 | 250738 Unscarred
Unscarred's picture

We can't wait to see GM's brand new consultant Fritz Henderson (paid the miserly stipend of $3,000/hour) sweat tungsten-filled bullets before Congressional grillings because after all in America justice is blind...

This is the kind of dark and twisted humor that I long for, but I can't help but feel that this statement is a bit incomplete.  Blind justice doesn't end in America, it permeates all of humanity.

It's during these precious late hours of solitude that I relive each and every experience I've endured in life, and I can't think of a single situation where justice was ever truly served (that is, unless the delivery had been taken into someone's hands to help it along it's way).

Current stories of tungsten-filled gold, corporate coverups, and government larceny cause me to take the long perspective and wonder if this is any different from all that has come before... and all that we'll see tomorrow.  If not, then how much upside do we really have in resisting or speaking against it?

What we're experiencing is not a systemic failure of government, global financial markets, or international economics.  It is a systemic failure of man himself.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 07:17 | 250802 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

It is pure folly to seek justice.

What we have is a system of laws, a loose set of rules made to be broken, arranged by lawyers to maximize their incomes.

If it's justice you want you must wait till you get to heaven.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 08:38 | 250828 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

The systemic failure of man. That hits it on the head. May I use that?

The failure started in the garden. But it must be snowing in the garden, because the snowball is getting larger and rolling faster. Or so it seems.

Whats the end game? No, don't tell me. I want to pretend to live in peace.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:33 | 250896 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

We were placed in that garden to be the gardener.

Why gripe now about a lineage of servitude?

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 09:09 | 250840 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

"We can't wait to see GM's brand new consultant Fritz Henderson (paid the miserly stipend of $3,000/hour) sweat tungsten-filled bullets before Congressional grillings because after all in America justice is blind..."

Yeah, it's all the 'lazy overpaid union workers' LOL... Gee, his pay is about equal to that of half an entire plant...

But yeah, GM's problems are the overpaid assembly line guys...

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:13 | 250879 suteibu
suteibu's picture

Men and organizations can shield themselves from justice in our eyes, but karma is blind.  However, even karma may not have the power over those who are doing God's work.  Just saying.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 13:33 | 251151 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

I noticed a trend: US Americans lean to associate themselves and their unique experiment as they call it to the whole humanity.

Do you have an exhaustive knowledge of mankind to affirm that justice was ever truly served?

Nope, it is not a systemic failure of man himself. It is the US ideological system either failing big time or revealing itself in full light.

The US people is not the whole humanity, you know...

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 03:16 | 250745 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

no problem, it is Government Motor, I am sure someone will spin it as a positive and GM will rally 20% next day.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 03:29 | 250746 straightershooter
straightershooter's picture

HA! I wonder will Japanese lawmakers subpoena General Manger of GM and grill him just like Congress grilled the general manager of Toyota? Well, double standard of US. If US bombed other nations, it is called justice and freedom fighter. If others shall dare to resist and bomb back, it is called terrorism. If toyota screwed up, grill before the Congress. If GM screwed up, huge year end bonus for GM and its union workers. If vampire squid cooked the book for European, it is perfectly OK. If UBS dares to act to help hide us citizens for tax avoidance, then it is perfectly OK to screw up UBS and its banking secret law.It is OK for the US to spy China. But if China shall dare to spy the USA, call them evil or whatever. It is perfectly OK for Bernanke to print money, but if any other person dares to print one single dollar, FBI will show up in no time. It is perfectly OK for banksters to rob anybody and everybody in daylight via fraudulent CDO, CLO, CDS, Cxx,,,,,,but if anybody dares to rob bank in daylight or nightlight, FBI will show up in no time.

Double standard, the nickname for the US.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 04:31 | 250761 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

Even a double standard in their claim of not being double standard...

By the past, you had nations which were double standard but they stated they were about double standard.

To that, people should not forget to include other components of the US society. Black marking the US congress alone is a bit easy. It seems to me that a large part of the US media relished the opportunity to smear Toyota and incidentally, a large segment of the US population loved seeing Toyota grilled.

These two components are even more essential than the US congress in this kind of business.

Lets see if the US mob mind reacts the same when it is about their companies and if the US media maintains the same level of frenziness...

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 05:04 | 250771 carbonmutant
carbonmutant's picture

"Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood took heat from House members who questioned whether Toyota’s popular compact Corolla, which has also experienced power steering issues, was receiving more attention from safety regulators than GM’s Cobalt, even though the American car had generated more consumer complaints."

http://detnews.com/article/20100302/AUTO01/3020346/GM-to-recall-1-3M-car...

 

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 03:51 | 250752 digalert
digalert's picture

If the US owns 55% of GM, will taxpayers be called to testify before CONgress.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 06:49 | 250793 junkyard dog
junkyard dog's picture

No, taxpayers will be called to purchase and install the replacement parts.

 

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 09:09 | 250838 deadhead
deadhead's picture

it's a part of the new jobs bill.  

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 04:56 | 250766 AR15AU
AR15AU's picture

Contacting my congressman NOW... 

I want Hearings...!!  Firings...!!  Bans...!!  Public Executions...!!  These DEATHTRAPS are a crime against humanity... 

Get me an old disgruntled black woman.  We're going to Washington!!!!

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:11 | 250873 Postal
Postal's picture

Ban dihydrogen monoxide!

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 05:00 | 250769 carbonmutant
carbonmutant's picture

GM says the cars can still be driven safely but could become harder to steer below 15 mph.

Sounds like parking could be a problem...

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 18:19 | 251606 seventree
seventree's picture

"Do not let your speed drop below 15mph or..."

Wow, somebody could turn this into a movie

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 08:26 | 250824 MarketTruth
MarketTruth's picture

'Revenge" is a dish best served cold.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 11:26 | 250941 aldousd
aldousd's picture

then it's too bad it's not cold enough yet. my thinking is they wanted to throw it out there when the people were already in recall denial and recovery mode from toyota so there wouldn't be a separate and more long-lasting 'pain point' that people would associate with GM.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 09:09 | 250839 CEOoftheSOFA
CEOoftheSOFA's picture

The Toyota execs were dragged to congress as a gift to the trial lawyers.  Getting them to admit to making mistakes while under oath maked the class action suites a slam dunk.  But you can't sue the federal government, so it would be pointless to have GM testify.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:12 | 250875 Postal
Postal's picture

Meh, "Do as I say, not as I do."

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:29 | 250890 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

I'm sure we'll see Mr. Phil "Union man" Lebeau 62 times per day on CNBC, keeping us updated on the gravity of this problem on a minute by minute basis.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:42 | 250900 Missing_Link
Missing_Link's picture

I heard on NPR this morning that the bad component was made in a US factory partly owned by Toyota.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:46 | 250901 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

GM claims the parts came for the JTEKT corp which, as far as Wiki is concerned, is part of the Toyota group. So it should be pretty easy to pass the buck on this one.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:53 | 250905 Anonymous
Anonymous's picture

Look for other domestic auto manufactures to start cleaning the closet of skeletons. This is not the first and won't be the last. What Toyota did with respect to their issue is typical in the industry. If you want to open Pandora's box, review the history of cases reported to NHTSA.

If you don't have a significantly large number of defects in a very large sample size (e.g. millions), then statistically you do not have a trend. You conduct your own investigations, go through detailed internal records, and often come away with nothing that points to a defect.

From a trial lawyer's perspective, this is great. If (as described in one case of sudden acceleration), a driver has a medical concern and can't control a leg muscle spasm or loses nerve control during acceleration - well, you add the incident to the class action suit. If a person does nothing to maintain their vehicle and a safety incident results due to their negligence, then as a trial lawyer you look to find the manufacturer liable.

You notice you don't see widespread planes being grounded after the number of worldwide crashes from flights (or more recently, trains after the number of crashes reported world wide). This could be because the number of deaths are not statistically significant or ...

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:56 | 250908 suteibu
suteibu's picture

I guess it was too late in the month to help GM's sales numbers.  Of course, Phil Lebeau just explained that it was the snow storms in NY that caused GM's poor numbers.  I guess no one in the rest of the country buys cars.  At least not from Government Motors.  And while everyone has their eyes on Japanese and American automakers, Hyundai, from S. Korea, is kicking butt.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 11:14 | 250929 spekulatn
spekulatn's picture

Can we blame the snow yet?

 

I foookin luv it. Hope Mr. Toyoda is having a nice laugh today.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 13:01 | 251106 texpat
texpat's picture

GM will end up recalling Pontiac G6, Saturn Aura and Chevy Malibus.

This problem concerns loss of the electrically assisted power steering, and either steering hard-overs or lockups.

This is likely bigger than the Toyota episodes.

Tue, 03/02/2010 - 18:19 | 251612 swmnguy
swmnguy's picture

Wait a minute.  GM sold 1.3 million cars in the US?

Fri, 04/16/2010 - 10:24 | 303836 Tom123456
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