Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 3, 1994 TAG: 9412060022
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: DETROIT LENGTH: Medium
``Proceeding with the recall process would have taken years in court,'' Transportation Secretary Federico Pena said. ``During all that time, the trucks subject to this investigation would have remained on our highways.''
At a news conference in Washington, D.C., Pena said the safety and research programs will begin saving lives immediately. The deal also calls for his department to add $27 million to GM's $51 million.
At issue are about 9 million Chevrolet and GMC trucks from model years 1973 to 1987, an estimated 5 million of which still are in use.
Pena in October concluded the trucks are prone to catch fire in side collisions because their gas tanks are mounted outside the truck's frame, and he blamed the fuel tank design for 150 deaths. GM has steadfastly maintained the trucks are safe, and it had vowed to fight any recall attempt in court.
Some industry analysts have said a recall could have cost GM $1 billion or more.
Friday, GM said its agreement to collaborate with the government on safety programs is ``clearly in the public interest.''
GM will spend its money on 200,000 child safety seats for poor families, a fire safety research lab with the Transportation Department, education programs to promote seat belt use and deal with drunken driving, and for burn and trauma treatment research.
``Our position has never wavered that these trucks are not unsafe and do not pose an unreasonable risk to owners who continue to operate them,'' GM said in a statement.
Ralph Nader, who had pressed for a recall, called the agreement a payoff.
``This is the most unprecedented buyout of law enforcement officials by a culpable corporation in regulatory history,'' the consumer activist said. ``General Motors can keep these trucks on the road. They can keep burning people. And all we are going to get out of it is paying the government for research and the purchase of some child-restraint seats.''
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating the trucks two years ago after consumer groups petitioned for a recall. The agency asked GM to recall the trucks in 1993. The automaker refused.
To gather more information on whether he should order a recall, Pena had scheduled a public hearing Tuesday that could have been a public relations disaster for GM. Crash victims' families were expected to tell their stories. GM last month sued to block any further action by Pena in the case.
Friday's deal cancels the recall process.
Pena acknowledged in October that the trucks meet federal crash safety standards, but he said the law requires that they be safe in real-world conditions, as well.
In 1993, a jury in Atlanta found General Motors negligent in the death of a teen-ager in a fiery 1989 crash involving a GM pickup. The jury awarded the parents of 17-year-old Shannon Moseley $105 million in damages.
The verdict was thrown out on appeal, and a retrial is pending.
by CNB