Free Republic

This letter is being sent today to GM CEO Mary Barra: We ask that General Motors (the Company) recall Saturn Ions for the model years 2004 through 2007 without further delay. These automobiles endanger the lives and safety of their drivers and passengers due to a loss of power steering, a serious problem of which the Company has been aware for several years. According to a summary of an ongoing investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): ...GM indicated that the EPS (electric power steering) system used in the subject vehicles was the same as that used...

The following letter was sent today to Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee: As your committee prepares for the upcoming House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the recent GM recall, I urge you to use every opportunity to examine what, if any, influence the U.S. government's ownership of GM has had on this troubling failure to address the dangerously flawed vehicles. In addition, we urge your committee to consider posing the following questions to panelists at your hearing: 1. In late 2009, GM sued supplier JTEKT North America for $30 million over faulty...

Chrysler Group is recalling 18,092 Fiat 500L cars in the U.S. because the transmission shifter can be delayed or stop working. […] According to documents posted Saturday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, cold temperatures can affect signals sent between the car’s main computer and the gear shifter. If that happens, the shifter may not shift out of park or the response may be delayed, increasing the risk of a crash. …

The New York Times hinted that the 11 year death toll for victims who drove defective General Motors' vehicles (that are just now being recalled) may rise from the current 12 confirmed fatalities. The Times reports, "Since 2003, GM has reported at least 78 deaths and 1,581 injuries involving the now-recalled cars, according to a review of agency records." It is not clear how many of the accidents involving one of the 1.6 million now-recalled vehicles were caused by the defect. The article does state that "the records mention potentially defective components" and "regulators appear to have overlooked disturbing...

The Justice Department has begun a criminal investigation into the decade-long failure by General Motors to address deadly safety problems in its some of its cars before announcing a massive recall last month, according to a person briefed on the matter. The preliminary inquiry by federal prosecutors in New York is expected to center on whether G.M., the nation’s largest automaker, failed to comply with laws requiring timely disclosure of vehicle defects. The probe is the latest in a widening series of investigations of G.M.'s handling of faulty ignition switches in its Chevrolet Cobalt sedan and other cars that the...

Former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Joan Claybrook, has weighed in on the deadly delay by General Motors on a recall for a defect that is alleged to have resulted in 13 deaths and 33 accidents. Ms. Claybrook appeared on the Cavuto Show on Fox Business where she blasted both GM and NHTSA for waiting 10 years to recall the defective models and went as far as saying that there should be criminal charges brought against GM by the Justice Department. Congress was questioned for its response (or lack thereof) as Cavuto started the segment by...

For Laura Christian, July 29, 2005, was the worst kind of anniversary. One year earlier, Ms. Christian had been reunited with Amber Marie Rose, the daughter she gave up for adoption at birth. But Ms. Christian did not get to call her daughter a year later. In the predawn hours that day, Amber, 16, died after her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt crashed and the air bag failed to deploy. Now, nearly nine years later, Ms. Christian knows that the air bag’s failure was the result of a defective car part. General Motors has recalled nearly 1.4 million cars in the United...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is opening an investigation into General Motors' response to an ignition-switch defect that has been linked to 13 deaths, prompting a recall of 1.6 million vehicles. As I have previously reported, the ignition-switch problem has been known for years. What took NHTSA so long? NHTSA is an executive branch agency, part of the Transportation Department. According to its website, NHTSA "is dedicated to achieving the highest standards of excellence in motor vehicle and highway safety. It works daily [emphasis added] to help prevent crashes and their attendant costs, both human and financial." Five...

The recall now affects 1.37 million vehicles built between 2003 and 2007. In addition to 778,000 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5 cars recalled earlier this month, GM is also recalling Saturn Ions, Chevrolet HHRs, Pontiac Solstices and Saturn Sky models for the same issue. GM says the ignition on the vehicles recalled can accidentally switch out of the “Run” position while the car is being driven. When that happens, the car’s engine shuts off, rendering power brakes, power steering and airbags not operational. Originally, GM said there had been six fatalities among front-seat passengers as a result of this problem....

New evidence is surfacing that General Motors has known for years about the deadly defects in its vehicles ( as I suggested here last week) that are just now being recalled. The defects have led to the deaths of at least six people and are the basis of an ongoing lawsuit against GM. The deadly recall delay by GM has garnered the attention of Mainstream Media as usually GM-friendly sources like USA Today, The New York Times, CNN Money and even CBS Evening News have rightfully decided that the accusations of deplorable behavior by GM deserve to be shared...

Nestlé (Swiss Exchange: NESN-CH) announced Tuesday that it was voluntarily recalling two of the snack products following a widespread meat recall. The move affects its Philly Steak and Cheese Hot Pockets in three sizes and its Croissant Crust Philly Steak and Cheese flavor in the two-pack box. In total, about 238,000 cases of Hot Pockets were recalled, NBC News reported.

General Motors recently recalled close to a million vehicles for a deadly problem that resulted in six deaths. The models involved were Chevy Cobalts and Pontiac G5s from the 2005 through 2007 model years. The question is, why did NHTSA and GM wait so long to recall vehicles with a dangerous defect when the problems surfaced years ago? Scouring the internet reveals many reported stalling incidents for the models in question. My particular Google search went back to 2009 and unearthed disturbing evidence that GM did not properly address issues with faulty vehicles. While the vehicles were manufactured by...

A month and a half after the unsuccessful effort to oust four Exeter Town Council members, financial reports filed by both sides show that in the weeks leading up to the recall vote, the firearms-rights supporters who mounted the effort were badly outgunned in terms of campaign cash. According to contribution and spending reports filed by We The People/Rhode Island Firearms League, the Exeter Democratic Town Committee and Save Exeter, the council members’ own political action committee, the anti-recall forces were able to outspend We the People by a better than 2-to-1 ratio in the 10 weeks leading up to...

Numbers of public sector unions in Wisconsin collapsed in the wake of an historic vote that ended on Thursday. The unions are acutely feeling the impact of Act 10, Governor Scott Walker’s controversy-generating collective bargaining reforms of 2011. The reforms require public sector unions to hold annual recertification votes. In order to be certified as unions by the state, the labor groups must get the approval of over 50% of their members. For several weeks now the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission has been holding an open and ongoing vote for over 400 unions, mostly made up of public school teachers...

 “I didn’t realize that so many people here in our corner of Rhode Island were so passionate about guns,” a nonplussed Calvin Ellis told the Wall Street Journal. Bless his heart. It’s safe to say, though, that he his three fellow Exeter town council members have now been thoroughly educated on that matter. That’s because, as RF relayed, 80% of the town council – Ellis included – stand to lose their jobs in a recall election today because they voted to transfer their shall-issue concealed carry licensing authority to the state’s may-issue attorney general. As resident Letitia Davis told wsj.com, ”Our rights are...

These are bad numbers. Really, really bad.What is interesting about the Harvard University’s Institute of Politics millennial poll is that it subdivides older millennials (25-29) from younger millenials (18-24). And it’s the latter group that is more predictive and its verdict is wholly negative.There’s more support among 18-24 year olds for recalling Obama from office, than for recalling their member of Congress or even all members of Congress– at a time when Congressional approval ratings have hit record lows. Obama’s approval rating among young Americans is just 41 percent, down 11 points from a year ago, and now tracking...

Remember that third recall effort out in Colorado, targeting two-term Democrat Evie Hudak? It is now moot. State Sen. Evie Hudak has decided to resign rather than risk facing a recall election that, should she lose, would flip control of the senate to Republicans, FOX31 Denver was first to report Wednesday. Later Wednesday morning, Hudak made her resignation letter public. “In the interest of preserving the progress made over the last year, I am resigning as State Senator for District 19, effective immediately,” Hudak wrote. By resigning before the signatures are turned in, she assures that a Democratic vacancy committee...

After seeing two of her Colorado colleagues recalled over anti-gun votes, Democratic State Senator Evie Hudak, will submit her resignation. Hudak will hold a news conference Wednesday morning at the Arvada Library. "By resigning I am protecting these important new laws for the good of Colorado and ensuring that we can continue looking forward," Hudak wrote in her resignation letter in regard to her gun votes, which led to the recall effort. Proponents of the recall have until early next week to submit about 18,900 valid signatures to the secretary of state's office. If enough signatures are valid, Hudak would...

A Democratic Colorado state senator resigned Wednesday to avoid a possible recall election over a controversial gun control law that led to the ouster of two of her colleagues earlier this year. Sen. Evie Hudak, who has represented a district that includes Denver’s western suburbs since 2008, announced her resignation less than a week before opponents planned to submit petitions to recall her. Calling the decision “difficult,” Hudak said she decided to resign to protect the new gun control legislation and to ensure her constituents would not have to pay for a special election.

It looks like the dems want the Hickenlooper to appoint a dem so We the People don't elect a Republican.