GM paid out nearly $600M on the ignition switches

[supton]

GM Ignition switch fund pays out $594.5M on 399 claims

Quote:
Lawyers hired to compensate victims of General Motors' faulty ignition switches have paid out $594.5 million to settle 399 eligible claims.

The numbers were released Thursday in a final report from compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg.

A total of 4,343 claims were filed with the GM fund. Only 9.2 percent were deemed eligible for payments, including claims for 124 deaths and 275 injuries.

The fund says more than 90 percent of the offers it made were accepted.

The switches in older model small cars such as the Chevy Cobalt can slip out of the "run" position and cut off the engine. They have been linked to at least 169 deaths.

GM said in September that ignition-switch scandal cost it over $5.3 billion. It still faces 217 wrongful death and injury lawsuits.

 

[Win]

I have obstinately refused to have it done to our Solstice, so I saved them a bit of money there.

I also keep getting notices about the ignition switch on the G8 for some reason.

 

[mike7139]

All they are doing is making a bigger key.

 

[zuluplus30]

So the real question is how much less than $5.3 billion would it have cost to just use a better key tumbler in the first place? Wasn't it less than $.50 per vehicle?

 

[Andrew1972]

Originally Posted By: zuluplus30
So the real question is how much less than $5.3 billion would it have cost to just use a better key tumbler in the first place? Wasn't it less than $.50 per vehicle?


My guess a decision maker wanted to keep his job and pension. Likely long gone now and living in FL.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: zuluplus30
So the real question is how much less than $5.3 billion would it have cost to just use a better key tumbler in the first place? Wasn't it less than $.50 per vehicle?


No, the real question is how that change got pushed through without a corresponding change in part number.

There's really no question about the way GM handles driving down their parts costs, and how that affects quality and safety.