Forum Discussion
39 Replies
- I agree Fast Mopar. And the govt conveniently unloaded all of the last of their stock right before all of this hit the fan. Coincidence? They all knew this coming and covered it up for a long time.
Dadoffourgirls wrote:
lbrjet wrote:
...I agree this doesn't belong in tow vehicles, but got slammed by the GM fanboys yesterday for saying an article about Buick/Cadillac didn't belong here either.
Because there are Buick's and Cadillac's that tow at least 4500lbs. The tow rating on these vehicles was 1500lbs or less.
Wow, 4500lbs. Your post yesterday was obviously of the rah rah rah GM variety, not about using a Buick or Caddy as a tow vehicle. Can't change facts. Maybe slammed was too strong of a term, maybe I should have used 'disciplined' and could have got a free vacation out of it.
GM will find some low level hacks to be the scapegoats and then give them full retirement benefits.- The old saying, dress up, screw up, move up.
fla-gypsy wrote:
Integrity is always relevant. Human life was lost and someone is accountable.
This is true.
However, I have various concerns about this case. I am not defending GM's practices. I am not a big GM fan, but I currently own one of the recalled cars, and it has been my daily driver for 5 years (and still is today).
In one of the cases, the person killed was a 16 year old female who was drunk, not wearing a seat belt, and was speeding. Unless I am wrong, it is against the law to drive drunk (and it is against the law for a 16 year old to be drunk), it is against the law to not wear seat belts, and it is against the law to speed. So, in this case, I think it is important to at least consider the possibility that the driver had some fault. Plus, I have studied crash tests enough to know that when you are not wearing seat belts, the air bags will not automatically save your life. Air bags are an important part of the process, but they are not the only part.
I also recall reading in the past about how you need to disconnect the battery before working around the steering column since the airbags can be active for a certain amount of time (maybe 5 minutes??) after shutting off the engine. I wish I could find the reference to that. I always thought that was basic common sense when working on modern cars. Maybe this has changed in recent years.
On edit, www.airbagsolutions.com states the following:
The diagnostic computer, or “airbag control unit”, is constantly monitoring the system as long as the vehicle key is “on”. The system retains power even after the car is turned off by means of a capacitor. The airbag system will remain ‘live’ for approximately 2-10 minute after turning the vehicle off, depending on the manufacturer. This is designed so that if the vehicle loses power during a crash, the protection of the airbag system is still there.
My biggest gripe is that Dan Akerson obviously knew about this and conveniently left just a few days before this all broke loose. Again, I am not a big GM fan and not necessarily a fan of Mary Barra, but I'm just saying that Akerson should be involved in the grilling.fla-gypsy wrote:
Bingo!
How many of you truly believe a couple of engineers orchestrated the cover up? No operation that big does a design change that costs money and affects production without many levels of oversight.- To me it looks like a paid scapegoat.
gbopp wrote:
Ric Flair wrote:
Didn't affect any trucks, only a few weenie cars.
And since that also means it didn't effect diesel doolies, it's not relevant to "tow vehicles"
Can a weenie car pull a pop up camper?
If so, isn't that a 'tow vehicle' :@
My weenie car is my TV... Abysmal 1650 lb rating is all I need.
Those were PEOPLE that Lost their life over a stupid decision. Doesn't matter what kind of vehicle they were in.lbrjet wrote:
How is an extra paid vacation considered a disciplinary action? They learned something from govt ownership I guess.
I agree this doesn't belong in tow vehicles, but got slammed by the GM fanboys yesterday for saying an article about Buick/Cadillac didn't belong here either.
Some would say, that post yesterday was of the fanboy variety.
I don't think you were 'slammed'.... I would say you were merely 'corrected' by some, because some Buicks and Cadillac models are rated for and used for towing.lbrjet wrote:
...I agree this doesn't belong in tow vehicles, but got slammed by the GM fanboys yesterday for saying an article about Buick/Cadillac didn't belong here either.
Because there are Buick's and Cadillac's that tow at least 4500lbs. The tow rating on these vehicles was 1500lbs or less.lbrjet wrote:
How is an extra paid vacation considered a disciplinary action? They learned something from govt ownership I guess.
I agree this doesn't belong in tow vehicles, but got slammed by the GM fanboys yesterday for saying an article about Buick/Cadillac didn't belong here either.
I don't care what the GM fan boys think.
And, on the disciplinary action, I think getting your name splashed across the main stream media across the country would have an effect more detrimental than getting put on "paid vacation". After they've been publicly outsted as liars, cheats, and cover up artists, who would hire them/keep them on as an automotive engineer? Their careers should be over.
