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GM issues 4 new recalls for 90k vehicles, Chevy, Buick, GMC affected

One day after releasing an internal report that found a pattern of "incompetence and neglect" within the company, General Motors announced four more recalls that affect 89,126 vehicles. One of the recalls affects 31,520 vehicles that may contain a defect that could prevent airbags from deploying in a car accident. GM said it was aware of at least one crash in which a vehicle occupant sustained an injury because the airbags didn't deploy when they should have. The company said it was aware of other crashes that were similar in nature, but it is not yet known whether they're related to the condition, in which the shorting bar inside the driver's airbag may occasionally contact the airbag terminals. If the car and terminals are touching each other in a crash, the bags will not deploy. Vehicles from the 2012 model year are affected by the problem, and they include the Buick Verano, Chevrolet Camaro, Cruze and Sonic. GM has conducted two previous recalls for this condition involving 7,116 cars. GM is also recalling 57,512 models of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 and 2015 Silverado HD, Tahoe and Surburan, as well as the 2015 GMC Sierra HD, Yukon and Yukon XL models because their radio control modules may not work, and thus prevent certain audible safety warnings. Certain models of the 2013-2014 Chevrolet Spark and 2013 Buick Encore are being recalled for a different airbag problem, which could prevent airbags from deploying properly during a crash. And 33 2014 Chevrolet Corvettes are being recalled for yet another airbag problem, in which an internal short circuit could disable the airbags. So far in 2014, General Motors has issued 34 separate recalls that affect approximately 15.9 million vehicles – more than the company has sold in the past five years combined. GM Announces Four Recalls DETROIT – General Motors today announced three safety recalls and one non-compliance recall, all of which were reported to the NHTSA on Thursday, June 5, 2014. In all cases, customers will receive letters from GM letting them know when they can bring their vehicles into a dealership, where all repairs will be performed free of charge and courtesy transportation would be provided as needed.

How Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra will take on the Ford F-150 profit machine

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — When General Motors engineers were developing the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, some of them joined public tours of Ford's Dearborn, Mich., factory to watch aluminum-bodied F-Series trucks go down the assembly line. The redesign of the Ford F-Series trucks, launched in 2014, set a new standard for fuel economy and lightweight vehicle construction. But armed with stopwatches and trained eyes, the GM engineers believed they saw problems. "They had a real hard time getting those doors to fit," Tim Herrick, the executive chief engineer for GM truck programs, told Reuters. His team did more intelligence gathering. They bought and tore apart Ford F-Series doors sold as repair parts. Their conclusion: GM could cut weight in its trucks for a lower cost using doors made of a combination of aluminum and high-strength steel that could be thinner than standard steel, shaving off kilograms in the process. These pounds-and-pennies decisions will have major implications in the highest-stakes game going in Detroit: dominance in the world's most profitable vehicle market, the gasoline-fueled large pickup segment. What's more, GM is banking on strong sales of overhauled 2019 Silverados and GMC Sierras to fund its push into automated and electric vehicles — a business many investors see as the auto industry's long-term future. The risks are high given the hits automakers have taken from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies. Rising aluminum prices spurred by Trump's tariffs are driving up costs on the Ford's F-Series, while rising steel and aluminum prices likewise drag on GM results. GM also has a significant risk should the United States, Mexico and Canada fail to agree on a new NAFTA trade deal, given GM trucks built at its Silao, Mexico, factory could face a 25 percent tariff if NAFTA collapses. Major profit per truck Interviews with GM executives and a tour at its factory here in northwest Indiana provide a detailed look inside GM's plan for the most important vehicles in its global lineup. These big pickups are everything Tesla's Model 3 or Chevy's Bolt electric car is not. The mostly steel body is bolted to the truck's steel frame, rather than the one-piece body and frame electric vehicles. The majority of trucks will have a V-8 gasoline engine powering the rear wheels — like the classic GM cars of the 1950s. Some Silverados will have new four-cylinder engines, but there is no electric or hybrid offering as of now.

New J.D. Power Initial Quality Study puts Porsche, GM in spotlight

J.D. Power and Associates has released its annual Initial Quality Study, and this year, Porsche and General Motors took the spotlight. The study, which asks new car owners to report problems experienced during the first 90 days of ownership, found that overall, the industry averages 113 problems per 100 vehicles.
Porsche managed a score of just 80 problems per 100 vehicles, while GMC took the second spot on the podium with 90. Lexus filled out the top three with 94 problems per 100 vehicles, followed by Infiniti at 95 and Chevrolet at 97. The study also looks at specific models, and found the Lexus LS to enjoy the best initial quality at 59 problems per 100 vehicles.
Interestingly enough, the report found that around two-thirds of most owner problems experienced in the first 90 days are attributable to vehicle design instead of mechanical failure. Specifically - echoing a refrain we've been hearing for the last few years - owners are having a hard time figuring out how to use the technology present in their new vehicles. Head over to the J.D. Power site for more information, or scroll down below for the company's related press release.