通用汽车召回：玛丽•芭拉的终极考验

    眼下，产品安全问题让通用汽车公司（General Motors Co.）和它初出茅庐的首席执行官焦头烂额。这次危机将成为对玛丽•芭拉领导才能的一次考验，也将对看好新通用汽车公司的观点提出挑战。有人认为，相比2009年申请破产、靠美国政府紧急救助才逃出生天的通用汽车，重组后的通用汽车已经变成了一家更优质的公司。

    现在，芭拉就任CEO才60天左右，但她声称，处理这次危机是她义不容辞的责任。此次危机的爆发恰逢通用汽车的关键时期，因为这家公司正在努力重建在消费者、投资者和监管机构中的信誉。通用汽车似乎早在十年前就知道点火装置缺陷导致司机死亡的情况，但直到上个月才开始召回可能受影响的车辆。它上周三表示，早在2001年就已经知道存在这个问题。

    到底是什么样的制度导致通用汽车（和相关人员）没有及时解决这种可能致命的缺陷？这个问题的答案目前仍不得而知。外界也不清楚2009年申请破产的通用汽车和之后重组的新公司分别要承担什么样的法律责任。

    芭拉在三月初写给通用汽车员工的电子邮件中承诺，公司将与政府当局和在召回中有利益关系的“其他方”密切配合。通用汽车已经进行了“内部审查”，邮件中还表示：“我们将负起应负的责任，改进工艺，让客户不再经历同样的事情。”

    近几年，福特（Ford）和丰田（Toyota）也曾因为车辆不安全指控，而成为大规模监管审查的目标，同时还面临着人身伤害诉讼。2000年，福特时任CEO雅克•纳瑟在美国国会作证；一年后，他就从福特辞职。丰田汽车曾面临汽车无故加速的指控，虽然最终没有得到证实，但公司依然对管理层进行了大调整。

    芭拉虽然高调承担责任，但这一举动同时也让外界对她的领导能力产生了更多的质疑。她在获得提名成为CEO候选人之前，从来都不是这个职位的考虑人选。她是一位接受过专业培训的电子工程师，她和她父亲的整个职业生涯都在通用汽车度过。1月15日，她成了汽车公司第一位女掌门人。

    如果芭拉在这次安全调查中表现良好，她就既能强化自己的领导特质和权威，又能刺激通用汽车的管理层，因为他们正面临着令人胆寒的竞争和组织挑战。通用汽车需要做很多事情，来向尚存疑虑的消费者证明自己。同时，它还必须向持怀疑态度的贷款人和投资人证明，通用汽车公司能够实现盈利，有能力避免另外一场财务危机。

    上周二，有媒体报道，美国司法部（the U.S. Justice Department）称已经开始在纽约南区展开针对通用汽车的刑事调查，但媒体方面并没有披露消息来源。刑事指控虽然尚未定论，但却增加了通用汽车的风险。通用汽车的小型车点火装置缺陷曾导致至少13人死亡，外加33起事故，而目前美国政府正在就这家公司处理这个缺陷的方式进行大范围调查。

    美国司法部可能正在根据《交通工具召回的强化责任和文件法案》（Transportation Recall, Accountability, Enhancement, and Documentation Act，又称TREAD法案），调查通用汽车应该承担的法律责任。这项法案于2000年福特/凡士通（Firestone）案调查期间获得通过，目的是惩罚汽车制造商蓄意隐瞒致命缺陷的行为。

    The safety uproar engulfing General Motors Co. (GM) and its fledgling chief executive will test Mary Barra's leadership chops, as well as the view that the new GM is a better company than the bankrupt GM that was bailed out by the U.S. in 2009.

    Barra, who became CEO less than 60 days ago, asserted her personal responsibility for handling the crisis, which comes at critical time for GM as it fights to rebuild credibility with consumers, investors, and regulators. GM appears to have known for about a decade of a defective ignition that has cost motorists their lives, though only in the past month recalling vehicles that may be affected. The company said Wednesday the problem was known as early as 2001.

    Unrevealed so far are the systems at GM (and the people involved) that failed to immediately address a potentially fatal defect. Also unclear is the extent of legal liability for the GM that filed for bankruptcy and that of the successor company that was incorporated in 2009.

    In an email to GM employees last week, Barra promised the automaker would cooperate fully with authorities and "other parties" with an interest in the recall. GM has undertaken "an internal review," it said: "We will hold ourselves accountable and improve our processes so our customers don't experience this again."

    Ford (F) and Toyota (TM) each have been the target of massive regulatory scrutiny and personal injury lawsuits in recent years following allegations that some of their vehicles were unsafe. In the case of Ford, Jacques Nasser, who was then chief executive, testified in 2000 before Congress; a year later he resigned from Ford. Toyota shook up its management ranks following allegations of unintended acceleration that were never proven conclusively.

    Barra, by conspicuously shouldering responsibility, is exposing herself to heightened examination of her leadership fitness. Before being mentioned as a possible CEO candidate, she hadn't been considered in line for the job. An electrical engineer by training, she has worked for GM her entire career, as did her father. On Jan. 15, she became the first woman to run an automaker.

    If she performs well during this safety investigation, she could reinforce her leadership traits and authority, as well as galvanize GM's management ranks, which face withering competitive and organizational challenges. GM still has much to prove to consumers who recall substandard vehicle models from pre-bankruptcy years. The company also must convince skeptical lenders and investors that it can grow profitably and avoid another financial collapse.

    On Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Department said it has opened a criminal probe against GM in the Southern District of New York, wire services reported, without identifying the source of the disclosure. Though criminal charges aren't a foregone conclusion, they raise the stakes for the automaker, which already is facing a broad government investigation into the way it handled the defective ignition in small-car models that has resulted in at least 13 deaths and 33 accidents.

    The Justice Department could be looking into possible liability under the Transportation Recall, Accountability, Enhancement, and Documentation Act, sometimes known as the TREAD Act. Passed in 2000 during the Ford/Firestone investigation, it was designed to punish automakers that knowingly fail to report defects that could endanger lives.