13 GM traffic deaths are tied to a 57-cent part

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fix for a faulty ignition switch linked to 13 traffic deaths would have cost just 57 cents, members of Congress said Tuesday as they demanded answers from General Motors' new CEO on why the automaker took 10 years to recall cars with the defect.

Barra was firm, calm and polite throughout the proceedings. But she struggled at times to answer lawmakers' pointed questions, particularly about why GM used the switch when it knew the part didn't meet its own specifications.

http://news.yahoo.com/13-gm-traffic-deaths-tied-57-cent-part-213613083--finance.html

http://news.yahoo.com/video/owner-families-share-cobalt-stories-151730794.html

So, to be perfectly accurate on this, here is what happened:

GM produced 2.3 million cars, over a decade with a known defect.
There solution to the problem was "tell everybody to get a lighter key chain".
The "fix" for the problem costs 57 cents... so a total of about $1M would have fixed it and solved the problem.
But, for some reason they chose not to do so.

GM recommends lighter key rings after recall

 

The problems in the affected vehicles in some instances allowed the engine and other components, including front airbags, to turn off while the vehicle was traveling at high speed. GM previously had said there were 13 deaths linked to the faulty ignition switch, but revised that to 12 on Tuesday because it had double-counted one incident.

The failure is believed to be caused when weight on the ignition key, road conditions or some other jarring event causes the ignition switch to move out of the "run" position, turning off the engine and most of the car's electrical components mid-drive, with sometimes catastrophic results

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/even-recall-repair-gm-recommends-173601809.html

Mars Food North America is voluntarily recalling one specific production lot of UNCLE BEN’S® READY RICE®

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 28, 2014 - Mars Food North America is voluntarily recalling one specific production lot of UNCLE BEN’S® READY RICE® Original Long Grain White Rice product, representing less than 3,500 cases. This product does not meet our quality standards due to punctures in the pouch packaging.

This action relates only to UNCLE BEN’S® READY RICE® Original Long Grain White Rice product with a Best By date of “12/14 MADE IN CANADA,” and with Lot Code 351GBBFPXX printed on the package, where “351GBBFP” is the lot code, and “XX” represents the packaging equipment, and could be any of 1L, 1R, 2L, 2R, 3L, or 3R. No other Lot Codes, or any other UNCLE BEN’S® Brand products, are involved in this action. No Mars Foodservices products are involved in this action.

FDA Website

There are many root causes.

10 cars most likely to go 200,000 miles

For many shoppers, choosing a car that can go the distance is an important way to save money. A new study approaches the concept of longevity from an interesting angle, focusing on models that have achieved 200,000 miles.

Put together by the data aggregator iSeeCars.com, the study was based on listings for 30 million vehicles advertised for sale during the last year. Looking at the model years 1981 to 2010, the company ranked those vehicles based on the percentage that achieved the impressive 200,000-mile mark. Not surprising, most were vehicles that also have had good reliability rankings in our annual owner surveys.     

Moral: The kind of cars that last a long time are the kind of cars owned by the type of people that don't drive their cars very hard.  What happens if you have a nice old car, like a Mustang, for example, and don't drive it very hard....

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/10-cars-most-likely-200-000-miles-213000133.html