• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

GM to Recall 1.3 Million Cars to Fix Power Steering System

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Ripclawe

Banned
http://www.freep.com/fdcp/?1267500077376

WASHINGTON – General Motors said tonight it will recall 1.3 million cars in North America to replace a power steering motor that could fail, following a federal probe launched in January.




GM said the recall would cover 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007-10 Pontiac G5s and similar models sold in Canada and Mexico.


The National Highway Traffic Safety Agency in January had opened a probe of 905,000 Cobalts from the 2005 through 2009 model year following 1,132 complaints of power steering failures that could make the cars hard to control. The complaints included reports of 14 crashes and one injury.


"After our in-depth investigation, we found that this is a condition that takes time to develop. It tends to occur in older models out of warranty," said Jamie Hresko, GM vice president of quality, in a statement. “Recalling these vehicles is the right thing to do for our customers' peace of mind.


GM said even if the problem occurred, the vehicles are “safe to drive” but would require more steering effort under 15 m.p.h., with a chime and “Power Steering” warning light coming on.


The recall, the largest by GM in a number of years, comes as Congress scrutinizes the auto industry’s regulation by NHTSA following a string of Toyota recalls linked to sudden acceleration problems.

GM recalled 2.2 million vehicles in 2009, and its total number of vehicles recalled had been falling in recent years as the company said it was catching problems erlier in production.
Click to expand...
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
QuadCore said:
So will the media attack Government Motors like they did with Toyota?
Click to expand...

Of course not, because GM doesn't have the same long history of incompetence as Toyota.

lol
 
G

Gallbaro

Banned
Skiptastic said:
So why aren't Fords selling like hot cakes, what with Toyota and GM fucking up royally?
Click to expand...

Because the USA's median income is $52,029 while the average cost of car ownership is above $7,000 AAA and the average car sits idle %95 of the time. Simply put we are figuring that cars are a waste of money.
 
S

Skiptastic

Member
ConfusingJazz said:
They are. Ford and the Koreans are cleaning up right now.
Click to expand...

I'm not gonna lie, I drive a Hyundai, but I was looking at the Ford Fusion Hybrid after the 2010 model did so well.

Gallabaro: Well, I live in the burbs, so I'm gonna be buying cars. :/
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Gallbaro said:
Because the USA's median income is $52,029 while the average cost of car ownership is above $7,000 AAA and the average car sits idle %95 of the time. Simply put we are figuring that cars are a waste of money.
Click to expand...
I don't have a car anymore, and I don't miss it. I do want to live in Europe, though, just to be around more people who get it.
 
C

ConfusingJazz

Member
Skiptastic said:
I'm not gonna lie, I drive a Hyundai, but I was looking at the Ford Fusion Hybrid after the 2010 model did so well.

Gallabaro: Well, I live in the burbs, so I'm gonna be buying cars. :/
Click to expand...

I am trying to get my finance ducks in a row to get a Ford Fusion Hybrid, its a damn good car. However, I am not looking forward to trying to haggle with the bank to try to get a good interest rate.
 
S

Skiptastic

Member
ConfusingJazz said:
I am trying to get my finance ducks in a row to get a Ford Fusion Hybrid, its a damn good car. However, I am not looking forward to trying to haggle with the bank to try to get a good interest rate.
Click to expand...

I'm hoping by the time it's time for me to get another car, the Hyundai Sonata would be revamped to have a hybrid capability and get something like 40 MPG.
 
C

ConfusingJazz

Member
Skiptastic said:
I'm hoping by the time it's time for me to get another car, the Hyundai Sonata would be revamped to have a hybrid capability and get something like 40 MPG.
Click to expand...

Oh, I have to do it soon. My car is just waiting to finally kick the bucket. Its a 1990 Acura, I have a decent paying job, and have no real expenses. I need a car.
 
J

Jeels

Member
Ya, I like how GM is not going to get any shit like Toyota did because they are an American brand, even though they are the REAL incompetent company.
 
C

ConfusingJazz

Member
Jeels said:
Ya, I like how GM is not going to get any shit like Toyota did because they are an American brand, even though they are the REAL incompetent company.
Click to expand...

Nah, that's Chrysler. The only reason they don't have these recalls is because they don't have cars make it to the warranty ;)
 
D

devilhawk

Member
ConspiracyGAF is switching from "the government would never go after GM like they did Toyota" to "the media won't go after them the same."

:lol
 
B

black_13

Banned
holy shit, I'm pretty sure my sister's saturn has this problem. We found a way to get it working but every once in a while the problem comes back and we have to redo it.

Seriously if GM gets away with this clean, that is absolute bullshit. Toyota got fucking hammered when their fatality rates were much lower.
 
T

The Crimson Kid

what are you waiting for
Jeels said:
Ya, I like how GM is not going to get any shit like Toyota did because they are an American brand, even though they are the REAL incompetent company.
Click to expand...

You don't even care to think, let alone read, do you?

There has only been one injury caused by these power steering systems and they are obviously trying to get them fixed before anyone else gets hurt, hence this recall.

Multiple people are dead because of Toyota's failure to include the proper computer failsafes against unintended acceleration that come standard in most brands' vehicles, GM's included.

Getting out in front of the problem before anyone else gets hurt is exactly what I would call a competent decision. Telling your customers an unintended acceleration problem will be fixed by replacing the floormats and shortening the accelerator pedal while letting the problem go on unresolved, only to have it blow up in your face years later is pretty close to the model of incompetence, if you ask me.
 
K

Kunan

Member
avatar299 said:
:lol
Click to expand...
If where you live has great public transit, why bother with a car? Paying for insurance and gas, the car itself, parking, etc. is not worth it, plus it gives me some time to play my DS. In a lot of busy places in the city, finding parking worth a damned that doesn't cost a fortune takes so much time that it isn't worth it at all.

Of course this post will just be met with more lols cause people who are really attached to cars never agree with people who aren't.
 
6

6.8

Member
Kunan said:
If where you live has great public transit, why bother with a car? Paying for insurance and gas, the car itself, parking, etc. is not worth it, plus it gives me some time to play my DS. In a lot of busy places in the city, finding parking worth a damned that doesn't cost a fortune takes so much time that it isn't worth it at all.

Of course this post will just be met with more lols cause people who are really attached to cars never agree with people who aren't.
Click to expand...
The problem is that most of the people living in the New World don't have access to great public transportation.
 
X

Xeke

Banned
Kunan said:
If where you live has great public transit, why bother with a car? Paying for insurance and gas, the car itself, parking, etc. is not worth it, plus it gives me some time to play my DS. In a lot of busy places in the city, finding parking worth a damned that doesn't cost a fortune takes so much time that it isn't worth it at all.

Of course this post will just be met with more lols cause people who are really attached to cars never agree with people who aren't.
Click to expand...

Because the vast majority of this country has zero public transit. It's a pretty hollow statement for most of us.
 
B

Baraka in the White House

2-Terms of Kombat
Kunan said:
If where you live has great public transit, why bother with a car? Paying for insurance and gas, the car itself, parking, etc. is not worth it, plus it gives me some time to play my DS. In a lot of busy places in the city, finding parking worth a damned that doesn't cost a fortune takes so much time that it isn't worth it at all.

Of course this post will just be met with more lols cause people who are really attached to cars never agree with people who aren't.
Click to expand...

Well that, or there might be people who live in large swaths of the country where public transportation isn't so well developed and/or is practically impossible.

edit: beaten like a red-headed stepchild

Kunan said:
Tis true. I used to live in Houston, man you could not live without a working car there.
Click to expand...

I live in Baytown, which although technically a city unto itself would probably be more accurately described as a suburb of Houston. Houston and its surrounding sprawl is the perfect example of a place where individual vehicles are a necessity.
 
X

Xeke

Banned
Kunan said:
Tis true. I used to live in Houston, man you could not live without a working car there.
Click to expand...

...I come from a town of 5,000 people in central PA, farms all around. 3 hours drive to any major city. A car is a necessity.
 
K

Kunan

Member
Xeke said:
...I come from a town of 5,000 people in central PA, farms all around. 3 hours drive to any major city. A car is a necessity.
Click to expand...

My original post had said if you live in one with good public transit anyways (hence the "If where.."). He just lol-ed at the concept of not having a car, and I was putting back an argument for not. Not trying to say everyone can do it..
 
X

Xeke

Banned
Kunan said:
My original post had said if you live in one with good public transit anyways (hence the "If you.."). He just lol-ed at the concept of not having a car, and I was putting back an argument for not. Not trying to say everyone can do it..
Click to expand...

Well lets say you live near NYC, public transport is nice but how do you get to a small town in upstate NY? A car. It' easy when your entire country is the size of the state of PA.
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Xeke said:
It counters your ridiculous statement pretty well. Same substance.
Click to expand...
My post had 3 points.

1) I live without a car. This demonstrates lack of necessity FOR ME to own one.
2) I don't miss it. This affirming what Gallbaro said about costs vs benefits.
3) Europeans are more understanding of a no-car lifestyle. This is just true by my experience of the 100+ Europeans I have befriended and everything they have described to me about life in their home countries. Yeah, major cities here usually have decent transit systems, but not everyone likes living in large cities. Aside from those, most smaller cities here have crappy transit systems and you're considered a weirdo if you don't have a car.

I was just making some personal statements of my experience to affirm Gallbaro's point. I didn't elaborate because I didn't think someone here would have such an ignorance of American culture to believe it was so far-fetched that it deserved nothing more than a :lol

EDIT: So you don't think I'm making a damn universal argument even though I clearly only referred to myself several times.
 
X

Xeke

Banned
Dice said:
My post had 3 points.

1) I live without a car. This demonstrates lack of necessity to own one.
2) I don't miss it. This affirming what Gallbaro said about costs vs benefits.
3) Europeans are more understanding of a no-car lifestyle. This is just true by my experience of the 100+ Europeans I have befriended and everything they have described to me about life in their home countries. Yeah, major cities here usually have decent transit systems, but not everyone likes living in large cities. Aside from those, most smaller cities here have crappy transit systems and you're considered a weirdo if you don't have a car.

I was just making some personal statements of my experience to affirm Gallbaro's point. I didn't elaborate because I didn't think someone here would have such an ignorance of American culture to believe it was so far-fetched that it deserved nothing more than a :lol
Click to expand...

Oookay, try living where I'm from without a car, or most of the damn country.:lol The average European county is so small it's a horrid comparison.
 
K

Kunan

Member
Xeke said:
Well lets say you live near NYC, public transport is nice but how do you get to a small town in upstate NY? A car. It' easy when your entire country is the size of the state of PA.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. My only experiences with public transit so far have been in the UK and Canada, need to remember that GAF is mainly US. Ending this de-railing.. :p
 
A

akachan ningen

Member
Dice said:
My post had 3 points.

1) I live without a car. This demonstrates lack of necessity to own one.
2) I don't miss it. This affirming what Gallbaro said about costs vs benefits.
3) Europeans are more understanding of a no-car lifestyle. This is just true by my experience of the 100+ Europeans I have befriended and everything they have described to me about life in their home countries. Yeah, major cities here usually have decent transit systems, but not everyone likes living in large cities. Aside from those, most smaller cities here have crappy transit systems and you're considered a weirdo if you don't have a car.

I was just making some personal statements of my experience to affirm Gallbaro's point. I didn't elaborate because I didn't think someone here would have such an ignorance of American culture to believe it was so far-fetched that it deserved nothing more than a :lol
Click to expand...

It's not really a matter of understanding. Most people in America live in a place where it's not practical or sometimes not possible to get by without a car.
 
R

Ripclawe

Banned
If where you live has great public transit, why bother with a car?
Click to expand...

Because my bougie self hates buses and most of the people that ride on them when I was younger and vowed never again.
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Did I say this was for everyone? No, I was talking about my life. Does the nature of whatever boondocks you live in make a difference that the people around me think it's dumb to not have a car when it's possible where I am?

I live in a town with a population of 125k and it is only 5 miles across. Most people here seem to think not having a car is crazy. Are you going to tell me that such an unreasonable mindset isn't distinctly born of American culture?

I didn't say that this mindset means that ANYONE ANYWHERE in the US can do just fine without a car, but using a car for anything over a 10min walk is a distinctly American mindset and all I was saying is that it would be nice to me to live somewhere that people realize being human can involve physical activity for basic transportation.
 
X

Xeke

Banned
Dice said:
Did I say this was for everyone? No, I was talking about my life. Does the nature of whatever boondocks you live in make a difference that the people around me think it's dumb to not have a car when it's possible where I am?

I live in a town with a population of 125k and it is only 5 miles across. Most people here seem to think not having a car is crazy. Are you going to tell me that such an unreasonable mindset isn't distinctly born of American culture?

I didn't say that this mindset means that ANYONE ANYWHERE in the US can do just fine without a car, but using a car for anything over a 10min walk is a distinctly American mindset and all I was saying is that it would be nice to me to live somewhere that people realize being human can involve physical activity for basic transportation.
Click to expand...

If I follow your lifestyle and decide I want to go to nyc I'm shit out of luck.
 
S

SouthernDragon

Member
Jesus Christ. He was talking about himself and how Europeans can understand his feelings about car ownership. He was not saying everyone should feel the same way. Hell, he included Europeans precisely because the design of their city structure allows for a multitude of alternatives to the individual car.

Man, guys, don't get so defensive. I live in Miami, so I can empathize with the necessity of a car, but I've also lived in Europe, and it's also nice not owning a car.
 
X

Xeke

Banned
FlightOfHeaven said:
Jesus Christ. He was talking about himself and how Europeans can understand his feelings about car ownership. He was not saying everyone should feel the same way. Hell, he included Europeans precisely because the design of their city structure allows for a multitude of alternatives to the individual car.

Man, guys, don't get so defensive. I live in Miami, so I can empathize with the necessity of a car, but I've also lived in Europe, and it's also nice not owning a car.
Click to expand...

And he expressed it to make it sound like Europe is so great because each country is 20 miles across and they don't need cars but Americand are douches for owning cars.
 
T

tokkun

Member
QuadCore said:
So will the media attack Government Motors like they did with Toyota?
Click to expand...

The Toyota accelerator problem has already caused over 30 fatalities. The GM issue 'requires more steering effort when under 15 mph'. Are these two defects of equal significance in your mind?
 
K

Kunan

Member
Xeke said:
If I follow your lifestyle and decide I want to go to nyc I'm shit out of luck.
Click to expand...
Way to miss the entirety of his post. He's posting about the city he lives in and you keep posting about NYC over and over. There's more to the US than NYC and theres more to the world than the US. He distinctly said its not a blanket statement meant for everyone but about where he is specifically.

FlightOfHeaven said:
Jesus Christ. He was talking about himself and how Europeans can understand his feelings about car ownership. He was not saying everyone should feel the same way. Hell, he included Europeans precisely because the design of their city structure allows for a multitude of alternatives to the individual car.

Man, guys, don't get so defensive. I live in Miami, so I can empathize with the necessity of a car, but I've also lived in Europe, and it's also nice not owning a car.
Click to expand...
Seriously.

Xeke said:
And he expressed it to make it sound like Europe is so great because each country is 20 miles across and they don't need cars but Americand are douches for owning cars.
Click to expand...
He's talking about the mindset that everyone must drive everywhere, even if its a small walk. He didn't say its douchey. Even here in Canada people have the ridiculous mindset of over 10 min walk = drive. Half the people I know will barely walk across a university campus (just 10 min) to get good food and will just get the same junky crap over and over from the place nearby, bitching about its awfulness every day. Getting people to walk to a bagel place only 15 minutes away from my house requires a ridiculous amount of convincing that its walkable, with people constantly trying to get one of the drivers in the house to go so they don't have to walk.

That, and the fact that people always respond incredulously when he says he doesn't own a car are what he's talking about. He's not calling drivers douches, he's saying that drivers cant for the life of them understand his point (even in a small town) whereas europeans can as they have all or have many friends who live such a life.
 
A

akachan ningen

Member
FlightOfHeaven said:
Jesus Christ. He was talking about himself and how Europeans can understand his feelings about car ownership. He was not saying everyone should feel the same way. Hell, he included Europeans precisely because the design of their city structure allows for a multitude of alternatives to the individual car.

Man, guys, don't get so defensive. I live in Miami, so I can empathize with the necessity of a car, but I've also lived in Europe, and it's also nice not owning a car.
Click to expand...

His first post came off as elitist and pretty tacky too. He didn't clarify until later, which is why people called him on it. He's the one who is being defensive and he could have avoided all this by thinking a little before he posted.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

[PC Gamer] How Cyberpunk 2077 clawed its way back from disaster to complete one of the greatest redemption arcs in gaming history
Opinion News 2
99
7K
EDMIX replied
GTA III: behind the scenes of the game that propelled Rockstar to the top of the world
Analysis Retro Game Dev
47
8K
Uhtred replied
The Atari 7800 is a criminally underrated system filled with fun games and hidden gems.
2 3
149
20K
n0razi replied
How Super Mario 64 changed the face of the games industry – 25th Anniversary
Retro 2
79
9K
IKSTUGA replied
  • Locked
Ford Recalls Nearly 445K Vehicles For Power Steering Failure, Fuel Leak Issues
4
1K
Eos replied
Top Bottom