Hearing on GM recall: What they said

The Associated Press

General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Anton Valukas, who led an internal investigation of the recall, testified before a House subcommittee on the decade-delayed recall of 2.6 million cars for a defective ignition switch.

The defect has been blamed for 13 deaths. Valukas’s report found that a pattern of incompetence and neglect within GM was to blame for the delay

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“The 15 people that are no longer with the company are the people that either didn’t take action they should or didn’t work urgently enough to rectify this matter, and they are no longer a part of this company. That was a strong signal to send within the company.”

–Barra

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“We found failures throughout the company. … GM will have to make decisions about how to ensure that this never happens again.”

–Valukas

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“That’s just insane, isn’t it?”

–Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., reacting to Valukas’s statement that GM engineers viewed the ignition-switch malfunctions and engine stalling as a matter of customer convenience rather than a safety problem.

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“I think this is a serious safety problem, especially if this switch is on multiple programs. I’m thinking big recall.”

–GM employee Laura Andres, in a 2005 email to engineers at the company after the Impala she was driving stalled

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“In many ways the facts surrounding what finally resulted in the GM recall are far more troubling than a cover-up.”

–Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that is investigating the recall

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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