GM Recalls Another 1.8M Vehicles Amid Safety Probe

Barra responded forcefully, announcing she would release an “unvarnished”  report following a thorough review and vowing to improve how GM handles defect  reports.

“Today’s announcement underscores the focus we’re putting on the safety and  peace of mind of our customers,” Barra said in a statement Monday.

“I asked our team to redouble our efforts on our pending product reviews,  bring them forward and resolve them quickly.”

In a video statement to employees, Barra said the federal probes are “serious  developments that shouldn’t surprise anyone.”

“After all, something went wrong with our process in this instance and  terrible things happened,” she said.

Barra’s transparency recognizes the damage the company could face after  painstakingly rebuilding its reputation following a 2009 government-backed  bankruptcy restructuring.

Japanese rival Toyota recalled some 12 million vehicles worldwide at a cost  of $2.4 billion in 2009-2010.

Toyota executives were forced to appear at US Congressional hearings, where  they were sharply denounced for allegedly hiding and downplaying dangerous  defects in some of the company’s most popular models.

GM faces only small official fines at the moment: a possible $35 million,  minute compared to $155 billion in revenues last year.

However, the automaker said Monday it would take a $300 million charge in the  first quarter “primarily for the cost of the repairs for the three safety  actions and the previously announced ignition switch recall.”

GM’s problems could yet spread.

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