News: Video and Live Updates on G.M. 1nternal Recall 1nvestigation

Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times

As my colleague, Bill Vlasic reports, executives from General Motors discussed the findings of an internal investigation into why it took the company more than a decade to recall about 2.6 million small cars with defective ignition switches. The auto company says the problem has caused at least 13 deaths, but lawyers bringing suits against G.M. say the toll is at least 60.

Mary T. Barra, recently appointed chief executive officer of the auto company, told employees at a worldwide meeting on Thursday morning "this never should have happened." The report, turned over to federal officials, is expected to be made public later today.

Auto-Refresh: ON Turn ON Refresh Now Feed 12:28 P.M. G.M. Report Traces Ignition Problem to 2002

The 325-report internal investigation into G.M.'s delayed recall of small cars has been made public by federal safety regulators. In the introduction, the report traces the problem to the fall of 2002 when a G.M. employee "made a decision that would lead to catastrophic results."

In the fall of 2002, General Motors ("GM") 1 personnel made a decision that would lead to catastrophic results – a GM engineer chose to use an ignition switch in certain cars that was so far below GM's own specifications that it failed to keep the car powered on in circumstances that drivers could encounter, resulting in moving stalls on the highway as well as loss of power on rough terrain a driver might confront moments before a crash. Problems with the switch's ability to keep the car powered on were known within GM's engineering ranks at the earliest stages of its production, although the circumstances in which the problems would occur were perceived to be rare. From the switch's inception to approximately 2006, various engineering groups and committees considered ways to resolve the problem. However, those individuals tasked with fixing the problem – sophisticated engineers with responsibility to provide consumers with safe and reliable automobiles – did not understand one of the most fundamental consequences of the switch failing and the car stalling: the airbags would not deploy. The failure of the switch meant tht drivers were without airbag protection at the time they needed it most. This falure, combined with others documented below, led to devastating consequences: GM has identified at least 54 front-impact crashes, involving the death of more than a dozen individuals, in which the airbags did not deploy as a possible result of the faulty ignition switch.

11:27 A.M. Victim's Family Disappointed in Barra's Remarks

Laura Christian, the birth mother of Amber Marie Rose, whose death has been linked to the ignition failure, said Ms. Barra's comments today sounded hollow and that it was frustrating that she kept referring to Mr. Valukas's internal report without naming specifics, even though the company has not made the report public.

"She was just saying the same scripted lines over and over," Ms. Christian said in an interview. Ms. Christian said she was looking forward to getting the results of the Department of Justice's investigation of the company.

"I'm not sure I can trust G.M. to do a thorough internal investigation of itself," she said. "I hope the Department of Justice is able to uncover the entire truth and actually hold G.M. accountable."

Amber, a 16-year-old from Dentsville, Md., was killed when her 2005 Cobalt hit a tree around 4 a.m. on July 29, 2005. Despite the impact to the front of her car, her air bag did not deploy and Amber hit the steering wheel so hard that she broke it. Had the air bag worked, she might not have suffered the laceration to her liver that killed her.

Her family was suspicious and hired an investigator, who said the air bag should have inflated. Despite Amber's blood alcohol level, which was above the legal limit, plus her speeding and lack of a safety harness, G.M. paid the family an undisclosed settlement in February 2006.

Amber's adoptive mother, Terry DiBattista, said the attorneys for the company acted like they were doing her family a favor, and they never mentioned the ignition switch defect, which engineers at the firm had discovered years before.

If we had known, we never would have settled anything," Ms. DiBattista said. "I would have been screaming from the rooftops."

Ms. DiBattista said she thought Ms. Barra had not said much during her presentation that was not already known, aside from the fact that some people had been removed from the company.

"It's exactly what I expected," Ms. DiBattista said, but she added that she was glad Ms. Barra did not make a point of differentiating between the "Old G.M." and "New G.M.," as she had during two April congressional hearings.

"As far as I'm concerned," said Ms. DiBattista. "It's G.M. across the board.

— Danielle Ivory

11:07 A.M. G.M. Has No Plans to Release Names of Victims

Ms. Barra said G.M. has no plans to release the names of the 13 people whose deaths G.M. has linked to its faulty switch. Last month, The New York Times identified 12 of those 13 victims.

Among them was a 25-year-old man, Gene Mikale Erickson, a father of two young girls who was riding in the passenger seat of his girlfriend's car as she drove. His girlfriend, Candice Anderson, survived the November 2004 accident and faced a manslaughter charge for his death.

Ten years later, Ms. Anderson found out that G.M. is responsible for her boyfriend's death when federal regulators responded to Mr. Erickson's mother's request for information last month.

Ms. Anderson took the day off of work at a call center to watch Ms. Barra's remarks from East Texas.

"I'm glad that they're taking responsibility. They're saying it was their fault," she said. But Ms. Anderson said that she was upset by G.M.'s refusal to directly name its victims, and the fact that the company has never contacted her privately.

"It's not for the comfort or privacy of the families that they're not releasing the names," she said. "It's a business decision, not a right decision. It's all this pattern of protecting themselves. I haven't heard anything from them, and I feel disrespected."

— Rebecca R. Ruiz

10:57 A.M. G.M. Outlines Steps to Handle Safety Issues

In her remarks, Ms. Barra emphasized to employees that the company has adopted and will continue to adopt sweeping changes in the way it handles safety issues.

G.M. officials outlined actions they have taken to date that include:

Appointing Jeff Boyer as Vice President of Global Vehicle Safety, elevating and integrating G.M.'s safety processes under a single leader.

Adding 35 product safety investigators that will allow G.M. to identify and address issues much more quickly.

Instituting the Speak Up for Safety program encouraging employees to report potential safety issues quickly and forcefully.

Creating a new global product integrity organization to enhance overall safety and quality performance, and restructuring the recall decision-making process to raise it to the highest levels of the company.

10:41 A.M. G.M.'s Official Statement on Internal Report

G.M. has issued an official statement on the internal investigation, emphasizing Ms. Barra's response that she found the report "extremely thorough, brutally tough, and deeply troubling."

The statement said that G.M. will act on all of the report's recommendations. The company did not release the report, which was turned over to regulators and members of Congress. The New York Times will publish the report as soon as we get it.

10:24 A.M. U.S. Senator Says Remaining Questions Will Be Addressed

Senator Claire McCaskill, the Democrat from Missouri who chaired the April Senate committee hearing on G.M.'s recall failures, said that she is going to reserve judgment on the company's report until she has seen it personally.

"I'm looking forward to getting a full briefing from Mr. Valukas," Senator McCaskill said in a statement. "I won't be letting G.M. leadership, or federal regulators, escape accountability for these tragedies."

The senator said she is going to hold a follow-up hearing later this summer to address unanswered questions.

"The families of those affected deserve no less," she said.

10:23 G.M. Vows to Find Victims of Defective Ignition

Ms. Barra and other executives said they would look for victims who were injured or killed in the crashes because of the faulty ignition switch. However, they said they were not in the position to speculate whether there were more than 13 fatalities tied to the ignition defect.

Officials said Kenneth Feinberg, who is overseeing the G.M. compensation fund, may determine different criteria that could lead to a rise in the number of deaths tied to the problem.

Ms. Barra stressed that the company wants to compensate "everyone who lost a loved one or was seriously injured as a result of the ignition switch."

But, under questioning, company officials repeatedly refused to indicate whether they would alter the criteria they have used to determine who died as a result of the defect. The company has said 13 deaths were linked to the problem but it only counts those who died in front-impact crashes as a result of airbags not deploying.

In at least one case, the company has counted the death of one passenger, a front-seat rider, but not the person who died in the back seat.

— Hilary Stout and Danielle Ivory

10:22 A.M. G.M. on Wall Street The company's stock activity over the last six months.

Even before General Motors announced the first recall over the ignition-switch flaw in February, its stock was already falling, and it is down almost 10 percent over the last six months. As for today, it opened trading with a gain just after Ms. Barra's address to employees, then fell back in the course of the morning.

10:07 A.M. Questions Remain on Airbag Issue

Asked by reporters why G.M. engineers were unable to diagnose the ignition switch defect based on nondeployment of airbags upon front impact, Ms. Barra replied: "I wish I could" answer the question.

Mark Reuss, G.M.'s executive vice president for product development, said the airbag nondeployment had been categorized internally as a "customer satisfaction activity."

Mr. Reuss declined to comment beyond that, saying he would let the Valukas report speak to the question.

10:04 A.M. Barra Did Not Say How Many G.M. Employees Were Fired

Ms. Barra was asked how many of the people that were "removed" from the company were fired and how many were allowed to retire. Ms. Barra declined to answer the question.

— Danielle Ivory

9:59 A.M. Lawyer for Victim in California Reacts to G.M. Report

Brian Chase, a lawyer who represented the family of Shara Lynn Towne — a mother of five killed in a 2004 Saturn Ion whose death G.M. counts among the 13 dead as a result of its faulty switch — tuned in to Ms. Barra's remarks from California.

"She didn't answer any questions. She just toed the party line," said Mr. Chase. "She says there was no evidence of putting profit over people, but 15 people got removed. Why? She didn't give any details other than incompetence or 'didn't do enough'. That's not enough."

Mr. Chase brought the first known litigation regarding the defect against the automaker in 2006. Ms. Towne's death on July 4, 2004, is the earliest of the deaths that G.M. links to its defect.

Mr. Chase said he did not believe the Valukas investigation could have been impartial. "If G.M.'s paying this guy, how are you going to have an objective analysis?" he asked. "It's like the fox guarding the hen house."

— Rebecca R. Ruiz

9:44 A.M. Questions Remain Over Faulty Ignition Part

Journalists asked Ms. Barra why no one took action when the defective ignition part was changed in 2006. While Ms. Barra said the internal investigation found a "pattern of incompetence," she said that she still did not know why "the part number was not documented", and why it was not communicated.

She said that the company's longstanding practice is "you do not change a part" without changing the part number.

9:36 A.M. Executives Answer Questions From Reporters

After Ms. Barra discussed the findings of the report with employees, she answered questions from reporters. When she was asked about the people who are no longer working at G.M. because of their role in the delay of the recall, she described them as representing multiple departments from across the company. She said that more than half of the employees were in "senior roles or executive roles."

9:35 A.M. Full Transcript of Barra's Remarks to G.M. Employees

Ms. Barra's prepared statement.

9:26 A.M. Fifteen G.M. Employees No Longer With Company

In her remarks, Ms. Barra said that 15 people who worked for the company and were deemed to have acted "inappropriately" are no longer with G.M., adding that action has also been taken against five other employees.

9:21 A.M. "This Should Never Have Happened," Barra says

"This should never have happened," Ms. Barra told G.M. employees as she presented findings of the internal investigation.

9:18 A.M. Employees Did Not Take Responsibility

Ms. Barra said that the report found that numerous individuals did not "take the responsibility" to identify and resolve the problem.

9:17 A.M. Report Found "Pattern of Incompetence"

Ms. Barra said the report found "a pattern of incompetence and neglect."

9:13 A.M. Barra Vows To "Do the Right Thing"

"We will do the right thing to those who were harmed," Ms. Barra said. "We will accept responsibility for our mistakes and do everything within our power to make sure this never happens again."

9:07 A.M. CEO Mary T. Barra Offers Sympathy to Victims Steve Fecht for General MotorsGeneral Motors chief executive Mary Barra spoke to employees about the ignition switch recall investigation on Thursday in Warren, Mich.

Mary T. Barra, the chief executive officer for G.M., began her discussion about the findings of the report by offering her sympathy to the victims. "Again, my deepest sympathy to the families who lost loved ones and to those who were injured. There are no words of mine who can ease their grief or their pain. "

8:47 A.M. Former U.S. Attorney Conducted Investigation

As Danielle Ivory reports, the internal investigation was conducted by Anton R. Valukas, a former United States attorney. The report is expected to name the people and departments within General Motors that he believes were responsible for the long delay leading up to the recall. Mr. Valukas may also recommend personnel changes or other corporate measures.

G.M. turned over the report to federal regulators and members of Congress, which have not yet made the investigation public. The report is expected to be made public later this morning.

source : http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/640316/s/3b327acb/sc/4/l/0Lnews0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C0A60C0A50Clive0Evideo0Eand0Eupdates0Eon0Egm0Einternal0Erecall0Einvestigation0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm