Because of the bankruptcy GM is not responsible for injuries or deaths do to factory defects.

There is an estimated 30 million vehicles with defects on the road.

Wow that is just unbelieveable!!!

Make an unsafe product= ok maybe a faulty part

Take bailout money = just wrong

File bankruptcy = a load of crap(Ford is making it without help)

Not being responsible for a product with a defect you put on the road= JUST FRICKIN PRICELESS

That would only apply to incidents that happen while they were in active bankruptcy. But, while they wouldn't be directly responsible, they would be required to purchase insurance that WOULD cover those accidents/incidents.

And, that's not GM's fault, those are YOUR U.S. laws at work.

Either way, responsibility would be taken should something occur.

As for the rest, just about everyone offered took the bailout money. It wasn't accepting it that was wrong, IMO, but the bailout itself.

I guess they think that the attention span of the public is very short, that people will continue to buy their vehicles knowing it or having forgotten about it by the time they buy another car.

I don't know that they should bank on that though. I think with the economic crises, people are going to remember just fine. Had two GM cars that fell apart on a regular basis from the time they were new, so I won't ge buying from them.

Uh ohhhh looks like this a job for a Czarrrrrr!!!


LOOK OUT!!!!


But hey, ya know, they arent going to answer to us, only our appointed Genius,

Whether or not people will continue to buy their products is another issue altogether.

ford and nisson both got money from the federal govt

there is a thread about in this section some where


http://mingle2.com/topic/show/231429

Does the word "PINTO" ring a bell for anyone?

Lee Iaccoca?

Ford Motor Company actually discussed re-calling the Pinto's that were on the road, and the re-design of the assembly line...

they actually came up with the price of the re-design vs. the price of a human life...

after careful consideration, and looking at the number of Pinto's in the market, coupled along with the probability of an accident...

Ford Motor Company executives decided that it would be cheaper to just pay off any accident victims rather than re-design the assembly of the Pinto or to re-call the Pinto's that were already driving on the road!

What makes you think that anything is priceless when it comes to business? EVERYTHING has a price...and Ford Motor Company put one on the human life!!!

Ethics???

It is not just the auto companies that do this, just about every business that could be potentially hazardous does this, including food companies. Insurance companies? Same thing. People need a demon, I get that. But the fact of the matter is, if companies didn't do this, the consumers would have very little choice about anything, very few products to buy, etc. Everyone would be too scared to actually make or sell anything, especially those products that inherently carry a risk. You wanna be scared? Try figuring out what exactly is in your food, where it comes from, how it's processed, etc. You'd probably never eat again unless you bought your own farm and grew everything yourself.

That being said, if a company KNOWS that their product is defective in such a way that the inherent risk is greater than normal, than I do believe that they have a moral and ethical responsibility to either fix the problem or get rid of the product. But in today's consumer driven world, that's not particularly likely. Consumers share in the responsibility as well, you know. If you believe that a product is suspect, it's very simple. You stop doing business with said company. You spread the word. When consumers stop spending, the companies will start changing their ways IMO

I agree that the consumer needs and MUST be educated...but do we really want to know all the stuff? YUK!! there are products that I will not eat because of what I have seen...

People buy on faith, period. No matter what the item is, you buy it because you have faith in it.

The Ford motor company came out with the Pinto, because it was a fuel efficient vehicle and the American public had put faith in Ford Motor Company to make a safe vehicle, and for the most part they did!

Ford did not tell consumers at the time that they were doing this...the consumer was going on faith! This is being used as an example...and it is a very real, true, accurate example...this was back in the 60's and probably long forgotten by many people...

"The Ford Pinto case is mentioned in most Business Ethics texts as an example of Cost-Benefit analysis, yet in those formats any appreciation of the complexity surrounding the issues of such decisions is overly simplified. As a thorough study, this book provides material that enriches the entire idea of
using a particular case as an avenue of learning about Ethics, Business, Society, Technology, and Government Regulation. Rather than as a mere reference tool for educators and other professionals, this book could be successful in the classroom in a way that no other anthology or collection of short case studies could be." - Greg Pasquarello, Neumann College

It was the late 60s, when the demand for sub-compacts was rising on the market. Iacocca's
specifications for the design of the car were uncompromising:

"The Pinto was not to weigh an ounce over 2,000 pounds and not cost a cent over $2,000."

During design and production, however, crash tests revealed a serious defect in the gas tank. In crashes over 25 miles per hour, the gas tank always ruptured. To correct it would have required changing and strengthening the design.

http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/166/Ford-Pinto.aspx

this is where the regulations for the safety regulations for auto makers came from...the consumer puts FAITH in the idea that the business is making a safe product, and that they have ethics!

there is a certain amount of risk in getting out of bed, or staying in bed...we all know that.

consumer demand drove the Pinto and Ford Motor Company 40 years ago too...consumer demand drives business, it always has, and pretty much will continue to do so.

how far have we come?

I use to work in robotics/assmebly business and the ONLY fast food place I would eat is Wendy's. TRUST me on this one.