Lawmakers question GM CEO over deaths, say execs should have known

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday accused General Motors Co. of a "disturbing pattern" of neglecting safety, and revealed emails from 2005 in which a GM employee warned a "big recall" may be necessary over an ignition-switch problem that was only addressed this week.

GM Chief Executive Mary Barra held steady during her third public appearance before Congress since the No. 1 U.S. automaker started recalling in February millions of vehicles for an ignition flaw linked to at least 13 deaths over the past decade.

Barra faced tough questions about widespread safety failures at GM. The automaker has issued 44 recalls this year totaling about 20 million vehicles, mostly in the United States.

Nearly 6.5 million of the vehicles were recalled for ignition switch-related issues.

In the emails made public Wednesday, GM employee Laura Andres in 2005 sent one to engineers warning that a 2006 Chevy Impala Special car she was driving had experienced an engine stall when moving between a paved road and gravel.

She said a technician had advised the problem may be with part of the ignition switch.

"I think this is a serious safety problem, especially if this switch is on multiple programs. I'm thinking big recall," Andres said in an email sent to 11 other GM employees, including the vice president of North American engineering.

The 2006 Impala was not recalled until Monday of this week, as part of an additional 3 million cars that GM recalled for an ignition-switch issue.

A GM investigation found the automaker had ignored warnings about the deadly defect for more than a decade.

"This latest recall appears to follow the same disturbing pattern as the Cobalt breakdown," House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton said about the email exchange he revealed on Wednesday.

When asked by reporters about the emails after the hearing, Barra said, "I think the important thing is, as it relates to stalls, we consider stalls to be a safety issue. And if it is because of a defect, we're going to take action."

Barra appeared alongside Anton Valukas, the GM-hired investigator who delivered a report earlier this month about the recall scandal that spared top executives and pinned blame on lower-level engineers and lawyers.

The report said those employees either did not appreciate the danger of the flaw or did not share the risk with their superiors.

Barra, who became CEO only in January but is a GM veteran of more than 30 years, has said she did not become aware of the problem until December 2013, and was not fully briefed until January of this year.

But lawmakers at the hearing were skeptical of many of the conclusions in Valukas's report, and of the idea that people such as Barra could remain unaware of such deep flaws in the company’s designs.       

"That the most senior GM executives may not have known about a defect that caused more than a dozen deaths is frankly alarming and does not absolve them of responsibility for this tragedy," said Democratic Representative Diana DeGette of Colorado.

Since the recalls were announced the company has pushed out 15 employees, including some high-ranking officials, but the departures have not affected the top level of executives.

"We are currently conducting what I believe is the most exhaustive, comprehensive safety review in the history of the company," Barra said Wednesday.

But lawmakers pounced on the mounting recalls as potential evidence of bigger safety problems at GM.

Republican Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, chairman of the oversight subcommittee holding the hearing, said the latest ignition-related recalls are "hauntingly similar" to the prior recalls connected to more than 13 deaths.

Barra said in her testimony Wednesday that GM is addressing any and all safety concerns. She also said the company is committed to change.

"I want this terrible experience permanently etched in our collective memories,” she said. “This is a tragic problem that never should have happened. And it must never happen again."

Wire services