通用汽车挨罚：2.8万美元起步，每天加7千
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美国联邦监管机构向通用汽车（General Motors）开出了2.8万美元的罚单，而且每过一天罚款金额就会增加7千美元，原因是这家公司未能回答监管部门就点火开关召回事件提出的问题。 美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）对这次召回事件进行调查的原因是想弄清楚，为什么通用汽车在10多年以后才发现自家产品的点火开关存在缺陷——而且在此期间可能已经因此造成13人丧生。NHTSA就此提出了107个问题，要求通用汽车在4月3日之前作出回答。 NHTSA表示，通用汽车回答所有问题之前，这笔罚款每天都将增加7000美元。它还可能要求美国司法部（Department of Justice）通过民事手段迫使通用汽车作出回应。NHTSA针对通用汽车签发的特别调查令显示，如果不能全部或者如实回答所有问题，通用汽车面临的民事罚款最多可以达到3500万美元。 今年2月份，通用汽车宣布召回2005-2007年款的雪佛兰Cobalt、庞蒂克G5和庞蒂克Pursuit、2003-2007年款的土星Ion、2006-2007年款的雪佛兰HHR和庞蒂克Solstice以及2007年款的土星Sky。随后，它又将召回范围扩大到了这些产品的所有年款，全球范围内需要召回的车辆约有260万辆。 通用汽车称，在某些情况下，上述车辆的钥匙在拧到“开”的位置后会发生偏转，从而造成车辆损失部分电力供应以及发动机熄火。如果钥匙圈上挂有其他物品或者路面不平，这样的风险就会增大。如果钥匙不在“开”的位置，发生撞车事故时安全气囊可能会无法打开。 NHTSA首席法律顾问凯文•文森特在致通用汽车的信中指出，截至4月3日，这家公司还有超过三分之一的问题没有作答。文森特记录在这封信中的信息显示，4月4日，通用汽车向监管部门表示，它没能全部回答这些问题的原因是，它正在进行内部调查，调查负责人是前检察官安东•瓦卢卡斯。 文森特在信中写道：“通用汽车的法律责任是及时对特别调查令做出回应并和NHTSA全面合作，瓦卢卡斯先生的调查与此无关。” 通用汽车发言人在电子邮件中表示，公司已经准备了近2.1万份文件，总长27.1万页。这些文件由75名个人保管人以及其他方面提供。 通用汽车在电子回函中称：“NHTSA自身也意识到了这些问题所覆盖的广度。而且，该机构已经同意，在某些情况下通用汽车可以在4月3日最终期限过后陆续提交相关文件。”
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Federal regulators have fined General Motors $28,000 -- a total that will grow $7,000 with each passing day -- over its failure to answer questions about its ignition switch recall. GM had until April 3 to answer 107 questions related to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's investigation into why it took the automaker more than a decade to reveal an ignition switch defect that has been linked to 13 deaths. The $7,000-a-day fine will continue until the company responds to all questions, the NHTSA said. The federal agency may ask the U.S. Department of Justice to take civil action to compel the automaker to respond. The automaker could face a maximum penalty of $35 million in civil fines for failing to respond fully or truthfully, according to details in NHTSA's original special order of investigation to GM. In February, the automaker issued a recall of the 2005 to 2007 model year Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5 and Pontiac Pursuit as well as 2003 to 2007 Saturn Ions, 2006 to 2007 Chevrolet HHRs and 2006 to 2007 Pontiac Solstice and 2007 Saturn Sky models. The recall was later expanded to include all model years, affecting about 2.6 million cars worldwide. Under certain conditions, the ignition switch can move out of the "run" position, causing a partial loss of electrical power and the engine turning off, according to GM. The risk increases if a driver's key ring is carrying added weight or if the vehicle experiences rough road conditions. When the ignition switch is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash. NHTSA's chief counsel Kevin Vincent said in a letter to GM that the automaker did not respond to more than a third of the agency's questions by the deadline. A day after the deadline passed, GM told regulators it didn't fully respond because of its internal investigation led by former U.S. attorney Anton Valukas, according to Vincent's account in the letter. "Mr. Valukas' investigation is irrelevant to GM's legal obligation to timely respond to the special order and fully cooperate with NHTSA," Vincent wrote. GM has produced nearly 21,000 documents totaling more than 271,000 pages, according to an email from a GM spokesman. The documents came from 75 individual custodians and additional sources. "Even NHTSA recognizes the breadth of its inquiry and has agreed, in several instances with GM, to a rolling production schedule of documents past the April 3 deadline," GM said in an e-mailed response. |
