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General Motors CEO Provides Few Details In Appearance Before Congress

It was only two months ago that Mary Barra, freshly crowned as the new General Motors chief executive officer, visited Washington DC as an esteemed guest of First Lady Michelle Obama for the State of the Union address. On Tuesday, Barra returned to the Capitol under more strained circumstances. For more than two contentious hours, she took questions from members of a House of Representatives subcommittee investigating General Motors years-long delay in initiating a recall of millions of vehicles that contained a defect that has killed at least 13 people. Why did GM accept faulty ignition switches that were below the company's set specfications? Why did GM learn about the problem in 2001 yet take no action until 2014? Will GM compensate victims' families even though the company's bankruptcy may limit its liability? Those were a few of the questions members of the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee asked. Few concrete answers were forthcoming. For her part, Barra sidestepped most of the questions, saying she wouldn't have information needed to answer them until an internal review is completed. David Friedman, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, testified after Barra. The biggest news that emerged from the hearing was that General Motors has retained attorney Kenneth Feinberg to advise the company on its civil and legal responsibilities. He has made a career of resolving disputes and serving in a 'fixer' role, serving as the chief of the federal government's September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, as an administrator of compensation fund for victims of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster and a similar fund for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Barra, who has been GM's CEO since January but been with the company since 1980, expects to meet with Feinberg on Friday, and have a concrete plan within the next 30-60 days. Yet Barra would not say for certain Tuesday that GM would compensate the victims at all. Despite repeated questions from Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Barra did not outline the company's intentions. "I assume GM is hiring (Feinberg) to help identify the size of claims and then compensate the victims? Is that right," DeGette asked. "Is GM willing to put together some kind of a compensation fund for these victims that Mr. Feinberg will then administer?" "We've hired him to help assess the situation," Barra replied. "So really, there's no money involved at this point," DeGette asked.

2016 Camaro gets most revealing tease yet

Chevrolet started its long teaser campaign for the 2016 Camaro by just revealing the exhaust manifold and front frame, but as time has passed the company has slowly unveiled more. In the latest glimpse ahead of the pony car's May 16 debut, we're actually getting to see the model's profile completely undisguised. As suggested by the recent tease of the rear and hood, the 2016 Camaro wears a sharper, more angular design than the current model. This is especially the case when you look at the taut lines making up the rear. Chevy claims that the new shape underwent 350 hours of wind tunnel tests to be able to generate left lift, improve cooling and reduce wind noise in the cabin. A smooth underbody pan is among the aerodynamic tweaks, and it runs from underneath the front grille to the center of the Camaro. Chevy asserts that all of the changes at the front help reduce lift by 30 percent. Related VIdeo: 2016 Camaro is all about the Aero Total aerodynamic lift improved by 30 percent for improved stability 2015-05-11 DETROIT – After 350 hours of wind tunnel testing – often 24 hours a day – the new Camaro will slip more easily through the wind, and drivers of the Camaro SS will experience a marked improvement in reduced aerodynamic lift. These changes illustrate the lengths the aerodynamics team went to for improved performance, stability, cooling and lower wind noise intrusion "The importance of aerodynamics increases exponentially as we increase vehicle performance," said Kirk Bennion, Exterior Design manager. "As engine output increases, we need more engine cooling. As acceleration and top speeds climb, we need to reduce lift for better high-speed stability. However, we cannot make any changes at the expense of increasing drag, which can hurt fuel economy. "To balance these different aerodynamic targets, we tested literally hundreds of changes on the new Camaro, millimeters at a time." For example, the initial design called for the lower grille bars to be set at a 20-degree angle to the horizon. However, after meticulous testing, the team improved engine-cooling airflow by 1 percent by shifting the angle to 13 degrees – a change that achieved the airflow target while maintaining the original grille design. And rather than a traditional front air dam to reduce aerodynamic lift, the team developed a flush belly pan that stretches from the front grille to the center of the vehicle.

GM recalling 118K Colorado, Canyon pickups over missing hood latches

General Motors has announced a recall of 118,800 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks due to the possibility of secondary hood latches not being installed at the time of manufacture. The affected vehicles are from the 2010, 2011 and 2012 model years, all of which were built between November 9, 2009 and August 28, 2012.
According to the official National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report, these trucks fail to "comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 113, 'Hood Latch System.' The hood may be missing the secondary hood latch." In other words, owners of these trucks could find their vehicles' hoods opening unexpectedly while driving.
The official recall campaign is expected to begin on January 17, 2013. Dealers will inspect the affected pickups and if a secondary hood latch is not present, one will be installed free of charge. Scroll down to read the official NHTSA report.