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GM recalls nearly 1 million vehicles for airbag defect

WASHINGTON — General Motors said on Friday it will recall nearly 1 million sport utility vehicles in the United States because the driver's airbag inflator may explode during deployment. The recall covers 994,763 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles from the 2014 through 2017 model years with modules produced by ARC Automotive Inc. Dealers will replace the driver's airbag module. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a driver in Michigan of a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse was in a crash in which the front-driver airbag inflator ruptured during deployment causing facial injuries. An April 25 inspection confirmed that the front driver airbag inflator ruptured in the vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) demanded the recall of 67 million air bag inflators because it believes there is a safety defect, but auto supplier ARC Automotive Inc rejected the U.S. regulator's request, documents released on Friday show. The auto safety agency said the inflators pose an unreasonable risk of death or injury. Even as ruptures mount, "ARC has not made a defect determination that would require a recall of this population," NHTSA said in its demand letter to the Tennessee-based company. "Air bag inflators that project metal fragments into vehicle occupants, rather than properly inflating the attached air bag, create an unreasonable risk of death and injury." GM said it was still investigating the issue with the assistance of a third-party engineering firm. "GM is taking this expanded field action out of an abundance of caution and with the safety of our customers as our highest priority," the Detroit automaker said. GM said it was aware of two prior ruptures of ARC-manufactured airbag inflators in 2015 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles, and GM conducted two earlier small recalls of about 3,000 ARC inflators. All three rupture events in Chevrolet Traverse vehicles involved the same inflator variant. ARC noted in a letter made public Friday that no root cause for those ruptures has been identified by ARC or GM. ARC said it was assessing the scope of GMÂ’s recall.  Government/Legal Recalls Buick Chevrolet GMC Safety Crossover SUV

Chauffeur attacks motorist in road rage incident

A California man was the victim of an intense and violent road rage attack on the 405 freeway on Tuesday, but when the police were called they told the driver to shake it off. Shahnam Asbaghi told KTLA that the altercation began when a GMC Yukon private car began tailgating him. "This limousine Yukon driver was just tailgating me the whole time since when I got onto the 405 North," Asbaghi told reporters. "It was so bad I actually got scared and nervous so I exited early." When Asbaghi exited the freeway, the Yukon followed and rear ended him at the bottom of the ramp. "He just rammed me with his car at probably 25, 30 miles per hour," said Asbaghi. "When he hit me he got out of his car, came around to the driver's side and punched my window four or five times. Then he ran back to his car, got in his car, and drove away." Startled, Asbaghi followed his assailant in an attempt to get the Yukon's license plate number. After a quick chase, the Yukon stopped near Sepulveda Boulevard and Sherman Way where the driver got out of the truck, retrieved a long, unidentified item from the rear cargo area, and attacked Asbaghi's car again. Video shot by Asbaghi shows the chauffeur striking the driver's side window with the object, tossing it back in the Yukon, then leaving the scene. Asbaghi called 911, but the police weren't impressed. "Because my head wasn't smashed, because the window wasn't smashed, no harm no foul is what they told me," Asbaghi told KTLA. The cops did make the drivers exchange information, but no arrests were made. The Los Angeles Police Department is now looking into the incident to make sure they handled the situation correctly. The day after the attack, L.A. Private Car announced via Twitter that they fired the angry Chauffeur after reviewing the footage. News Source: KTLA Government/Legal Weird Car News GMC Driving Safety Crossover SUV Commercial Vehicles road rage 405 freeway chauffeur

GM CEO Barra says 'we are selling every truck we can build'

DETROIT — General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra said on Monday the automaker is "selling every truck we can build" and expanding North American truck-building capacity, even as U.S. gasoline prices hit record highs. Barra made her comments during the automaker's annual shareholder meeting. GM is pursuing a two-track strategy: Investing heavily in electric vehicles for North America, China and other markets, and funding those investments by trying to maximize profits from its North American combustion pickup truck and large SUV lineups. Barra said GM is planning higher-priced versions of its Silverado large pickup and its large SUV models. GM and its Detroit rivals Ford Motor Co and Stellantis NV rely heavily on sales of large pickup trucks and SUVs for global profits. High U.S. gasoline prices in the past have undermined consumer demand for relatively inefficient models. Nominal pump prices hit an average of above $5 a gallon for the first time ever last week, the federal government said Friday. GM is ramping up production of EVs. Barra said the Cadillac Lyriq electric sport utility is sold out through 2023. In response to shareholder questions, Barra said the "clear priority" for using cash generated by its operations is to "accelerate our EV plans." She did not rule out share buybacks or other approaches to returning cash to shareholders. GM still expects to increase production this year by 25-30%, despite continuing pressure on semiconductor supplies globally. Barra said GM is working to redesign vehicles to reduce the number of processors required by 95%. Barra serves as GM's board chair and CEO. GM shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to separate those roles.