Corporate Integrity Project

General Motors continues to deny that there is a problem with rusting brake lines on its vehicles, as noted here yesterday. GM’s new Vice President of Global Safety, Jeffrey Boyer, claims that brake line rust “is a maintenance issue that affects the entire automotive industry.” However, a search of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) website shows that GM vehicles have about ten times the complaints for brake lines than Ford, Toyota and Honda combined!

NHTSA has a tool to allow searches for complaints by keyword. While there is an ongoing NHTSA investigation on model year 1999 to 2003 GM trucks, the investigation has never been expanded to include newer models which also seem to be plagued by brake line corrosion which leads to brake failure. Here are the figures from a NHTSA complaint search using the keywords “brake line.”

Chevrolet models, model years 1999-2008: 1,372 complaints.

… Read More ➡

NLPC has extensively documented how Tesla Motors has taken advantage of market distortions to reap revenues – including government mandates, subsidies, and taxpayer support – not the least of which have been so-called “zero emission credits” from the state of California. But much of the revenue Tesla enjoyed last year – which often meant the difference between profit and loss – was credited based upon theoretical technological capabilities and not ones actually put into practice.

CEO Elon Musk has also relied on accounting gimmicks to enhance his bottom line over the last 18 months, during which a couple of quarterly earnings reports even showed a profit – albeit under non-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Those handsome returns were achieved in part thanks to a scheme administered under the California Air Resources Board in which additional zero emission credits are awarded to vehicle manufacturers based upon the ability for models to “fast … Read More ➡

Well, it looks like New GM is not much different than Old GM when it comes to addressing serious safety issues on its vehicles. The Associated Press reports that General Motors CEO, Mary Barra, claims that GM has not turned up any other major safety issues. I guess Ms. Barra feels that two tons of steel traveling at high speeds with brake lines that can burst at any moment is nothing to be concerned about. The continued denial by GM that there is no safety issue with their trucks that are prone to brake line corrosion proves that the company has a long way to go before they change a culture that puts profits ahead of motorists’ safety.

Last month we sent a letter to GM and Ms. Barra requesting that GM trucks that are prone to brake line rust be recalled. The problems plague Chevy Silverados, GMC Sierras … Read More ➡

The long-awaited General Motors recall report, which was compiled by attorneys with longstanding and lucrative ties to the company, has been released with few surprises. GM-hired attorneys claim that no high-level executives at the company were responsible for the deadly ignition switch recall delay that cost at least 13 people their lives. The report does nothing to vindicate GM. The company’s management must be investigated by the Justice Department.

The legal team responsible for the “investigation” was headed by Jenner and Block chairman, Anton Valukas. While Mr. Valukas is most often described as a former federal prosecutor by the media, the fact that Jenner and Block are long-time cronies of GM is not often mentioned. The company served as lead counsel for GM during its $15.8 billion IPO. Two former top GM attorneys were also partners at Jenner and Block, as reported by Reuters.

The fact that GM’s current … Read More ➡

It has now been more than two weeks since we sent a letter to General Motors CEO, Mary Barra, requesting a recall for vehicles (primarily Chevy Silverados and GMC Sierras) that have thousands of complaints regarding brake line corrosion. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has had an ongoing investigation for GM truck model years 1999 through 2003. Considering that new research has discovered newer model trucks with the same problem, just what are GM and NHTSA waiting for to recall these dangerous vehicles?

There have not been any reported deaths attributed to brake failure resulting from corroded brake lines; not yet. But serious injury or death will certainly be the result (if it has not already happened) if these defective vehicles are not taken off the roads.

GM’s initial response to complaints of rusted brake lines that cause drivers to lose braking ability has been … Read More ➡

In my previous Special Report titled “The Carnahan Wind Deal,” I documented that wind energy is highly inefficient and requires additional transmission lines and back-up gas generators when the wind doesn’t blow. Yet, windmills keep getting built, thanks to government subsidies.

But it is very hard to trace these subsidies. Vague statements about “tax credits” and “mandates” give no hint of the magnitude of returns that these subsidies provide to crony windmillers. Indeed, in the Carnahan Special Report, we had to burrow into financial statements of a foreign company and its subsidiary to understand where all the money was going.  The principal information was buried in an arcane note to these financial statements.

I had heard that Warren Buffett was a fan of green energy, so when an associate of mine accidentally left a copy of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s 2013 Annual Report on my desk a few weeks ago, I … Read More ➡