I still have GM cars with outstanding ignition switch recalls. We don’t keep a bunch of junk on our key rings. I’ve always advised against this.
In my opinion, once somebody sues a car manufacturer for sudden unintended acceleration or faulty ignition switches, etcetera, then people pile on trying to get some money from the deep pockets.
The first trial in the GM “deadly” ignition switch fiasco was supposed to pave the way for others. I’m not so sure it went the way the plaintiffs’ lawyers had intended.
This is the story I read today in The Detroit News by Sophia Pearson and Erik Larson, Bloomberg.
I’m not surprised that someone would embellish their story to get more money out of a manufacturer and I’m not surprised that the accused manufacturer defended themselves against baseless claims. I will not be surprised if GM comes across several legitimate suits and has to pay a boatload to settle them.
This does not surprise me one stinking bit and I assure you this type of thing is going on all over the country in regards to any manufactured product no matter what is.
According to court records he may have been foreclosed upon previously before wading into his new dream home.
“According to court records he may have been foreclosed upon previously before wading into his new dream home.”
In my neck of the woods we have had an increase in embezzling from employers (often schools or churches) and care providers cheating dependents out of money.
The most common reasons for this are gambling debt and unpaid mortgage payments threatening loss of a home. People become desperate when the home is endangered, especially when the situation is a secret being kept from family and friends.
I’m not surprised either. Last year I was asked to join a lawsuit group to sue Toyota for “potential loss of resale value” of my Toyota due to the floor mats.
Since Toyotas have held their value well and I’m not intending to sell it I turned it down.
I still have on my desk an invitation to join a lawsuit against my furnace manufacturer, Carrier, for short-lived secondary heat exchangers. The furnace is now 10 years old and still in perfect condition. The suit promised a refund of “as much as $284”!!!
I’m waiting now for outrageous Volkswagen lawsuits.
That doesn’t surprise me either…but that also doesn’t exonerate GM from this ignition switch problem either. There are ALWAYS going to be frivolous claims even when there are legitimate claims. People see deep pockets and want in.
I Think Many (Most) Of These Class-Action Suits Are A Way For Lawyers To Enrich Themselves.
Not too hard to find people who’ll volunteer to go along for the ride.
MOST…So me the stats on that one…I’m sure there are some…but MOST…that’s just a total wag.
Many people don’t like class action suits…I LOVE them. For many things it’s the ONLY way companies can be forced to act for something they did.
One company (I think it was Chryco)…had many of their vehicles with car radio problems…The cost to each person was about $300. But there were tens of thousands of customers. There wasn’t a lawyer in the world who would take on a $300 case against Chryco. Without class action suits Chryco never would have been held accountable for the radio problem.
I only picked on Chryco because that’s the one I remembered…I think every auto manufacturer has had class action suits.
Oops, I Meant To Write, "I Think Many (Most [?]) Of These Class-Action Suits Are A Way For Lawyers To Enrich Themselves."
I didn’t mean to say most. I don’t have stats on all that.
I have received mailings for different things that want me to join a law suit for a successful settlement of 28 bucks, for example, and my TV channels have many lawyer ads daily asking people to join law suits against manufacturers with deep pockets.
I have received mailings for different things that want me to join a law suit for a successful settlement of 28 bucks, for example,
I was involved with one for my cable provider. They were over charging all their customers by $10/yr. I had been with them for a total of 3 years…so my total rip-off was $30. But the company raked in a few hundred million from all it’s customers over the years.
And again the answer is yes. There are legitimate class actions and also illegitimate ones to enrich the lawyers. The ignition switch fiasco may be a mix of both.
“No surprise here either. People are greedy. How they sleep at night is beyond me.”
And greedy people also work for the manufacturers. Sorry if I don’t feel too sorry for GM and other manufacturers that avoid fixing problems they know exist. Dealing with these greedy people is the price GM pays for not dealing with the problems sooner.
A car is thousands of individual components, each one which could have been a little better for only slightly more cost, but those nickles and dimes add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the price of the finished product. If you make every component as fine as it could possibly be, you end up with a Bentley and your greedy customers end up buying from the competition.
A car is thousands of individual components, each one which could have been a little better for only slightly more cost, but those nickles and dimes add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the price of the finished product
That’s a false argument. No one is suggesting GM starts building Bentley’s…all we ask is that they start building vehicles that are SAFE to drive…and as reliable as other manufacturers. While all manufacturers have problems…GM seems to have a lot more then most.
And I don’t expect that you would never find problems. There are simply too many pieces/parts and too many ways to drive to reasonably be able to find all problems before selling. Just when you do find them, fix them.
Don’t get me wrong, I do not agree with people starting frivolous lawsuits and I hope each of these kind of lawsuits get squashed expediently. However, the decisions made at GM opened them up to these actions.
The concept of Total Quality will lead to the best product at the lowest manageable price. Toyota and Honda, as well as US firms like Motorola have practiced this for years. GM’s approach was always to shave down cost and take a “good enough” approach to quality and durability.
@Mike is right; quality and safety don’t have to cost extra; they can be built in as part of the design process. At GM the stylists and accountants ruled the roost and the result was less than optimal cars. If it had not been for the Japanese invasion we might still be driving these mediocre vehicles.
“Dealing with these greedy people is the price GM pays for not dealing with the problems sooner.”
When all the car manufacturers deal with greedy people, lawyers, and endless law suits, it’s the consumers who pay. CSA