Heads must roll at GM over ignition-switch controversy

Members of Congress from both parties are justifiably skeptical about assurances from General Motors’ new chief, Mary Barra, that an internal investigation into a major ignition-switch problem now tied to 13 deaths will answer all their questions.

Credibility isn’t GM’s strong suit these days, given that as more details emerge about the engineering problem, it appears that individuals involved in the design and manufacture of the ignition switches sought to deep-six the information.

Indeed, members of Congress who grilled Barra last week are accusing the automaker of trying to cover up the problems.

There are 2.6 million cars, mainly Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions, that are bring recalled for the faulty switch, and senators made it clear they want GM to tell the owners to stop driving the cars until their cars are repaired.

As of Monday, the automaker was telling owners that the cars are fine to drive so long as nothing is placed on their key chain except the ignition key.

Barra, the first woman to serve as chief executive officer of a major American auto company, has generally been praised for the way she has handled the crisis and her willingness to admit that the company failed its customers by not being totally honest with what has been going on for almost a decade.

But Barra also has gone to great lengths to separate what she has referred to as the old General Motors from today’s company. She has talked about a change in philosophy with regard to safety and the consumer and has pledged that the families of the 13 crash victims are not being ignored.

However, as the congressional hearings last week showed, the CEO has a monumental task ahead of her.

After she failed to provide details of the ignition-switch problems that senators sought, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., quipped: “You don’t know anything about anything. If this is the new GM leadership, it’s pretty lacking.”

Though we would agree that General Motors’ mishandling of the ignition-switch problem is cause for concern, we are not willing to condemn every aspect of production.

Indeed, given the Mahoning Valley’s intimate knowledge of GM’s Lordstown assembly plant, we would argue that a distinction must be made between the design and engineering and the actual building of the cars.

The Lordstown plant, which produced the top-selling Chevrolet Cobalt, has consistently ranked high for quality and cost-efficiency.

Cavalier, Sunfire

Before the Cobalt and the Pontiac G5, the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire ranked among the nation’s best-selling cars.

Today, the Chevrolet Cruze is getting rave reviews and is the top-selling compact car in the United States. The Lordstown plant has again received positive coverage from national automotive experts.

General Motors’ decision-makers in Detroit have said that the successor to the Cruze — a diesel model is also being built — will be made in Lordstown. There is a shroud of secrecy over the new project, but the Mahoning Valley stands to benefit economically from GM’s continued presence.

Thus, our contention that the ignition-switch problem must viewed apart from the assembly of the car at the Lordstown plant.