As long as you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few months, then you know that saying General Motors is in hot water is an understatement. GM has admitted to knowing that millions of their cars had faulty ignition switches which could cause the car to unexpectedly lock up, leaving their drivers completely helpless. The company declined to recall the defectives cars though, because it was deemed too expensive. Since then the company has promised to take responsibility for the defective cars, though it seems that one of America’s most prominent auto makers just can’t seem to stay out of trouble.

The New York Times has recently reported that GM has failed to report another massive problem with their cars. GM recalled about 8,000 Pontiacs from 2005 to 2006 for defective brake lights that failed to work when the brake pedal was applied. What GM didn’t announce at the the time though was that the recall really affected an approximate 2 million other vehicles. They included models such as the G6, Malibu, Malibu Maxx and Aura. Since that time GM has said that the broken brake lights were responsible for 13 accidents and 2 injuries. The company claims that they did not recall the other cars because the problem did not show up frequently.

GM even told dealers about the problem, but the cars were continued to be sold without directly informing consumers. Alan Adler, a GM spokesman, tried to explain “We were monitoring these vehicles and looking to see what was happening with them all along, we made a decision that we thought was appropriate.” What they thought was appropriate was to make a decision that saved the company money even if it meant risking the safety of their customers.

They have also tried to wave the blame by pointing the finger at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, who did not pressure GM to recall the newer cars. It is important to acknowledge though, that the NHTSA believed that GM was correcting the problems from its initial recall, so that it would already be fixed in the newer models. Adler further tried to defend his employer by stating “The company says it has changed its criteria for recalling cars. It now issues recalls based on the severity of a safety problem rather than the number of warranty claims or complaints.”

Though their failure to recall the vehicles did not result in deaths such as the failed ignition switch did, the point remains the same. GM is a company that has proven time and again that it does not care about its customers. While only 13 deaths have been cited as the fault of GM for failing to recall defective cars with the faulty ignition switch, trial lawyers argue that that number is really closer to 60. Maybe a billion dollar fine will teach GM that they can’t just do whatever they want. Or would they even learn anything?

Photo: cbsnews