ON THE WOMAN DRIVING GM AND HER VEHICLE RECALL

Mary Barra now knows what Barack Obama felt like when he first took office. Barely on the job long enough to find the ladies room she has learned her predecessor handed her a disaster.

President Obama inherited two wars and an economy that was so bad Ms. Barra's employer had to be bailed out financially by the Federal government. The 52-year-old Barra, on the other hand, has learned many of the cars made and sold by her company during the ten years' prior to her promotion were defective.  They were so badly made they appear to have caused hundreds of deaths.

The daughter of a former General Motors tool-and-die maker, she has been the Chief Executive Officer of GM for less than 4 months. But, in that short time, according to a Reuters story, she has recalled more than 3.1 million of her company's vehicles. It appears that not only does GM have a defect in their ignition systems, a safety issue the company has known about since at least 2004; they also have issues with the deployment of air bags, a problem that began occurring in their 2008 model year.

According to USA Today, the estimated number of deaths for the ignition failure is 12 dead in 31 crashes.  The New York Times has reported that figure may rise as 14 additional deaths in accidents involving GM vehicles are still under investigation.  Also reported by The New York Times is an estimated 303 deaths blamed on air bag failures in GM vehicles involved in collisions.

Both failures combined span the organization's makes and models...Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Buick, and Saturn vehicle owners have received recall notices. The list includes owners of Buick models manufactured in China.

Last week the Justice Department announced that Toyota will pay a $1.2 Billion fine for not reporting safety issues. The corporation, where men govern worldwide, will also be subject to Federal supervision for three years, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Toyota not only covered up the product safety issues, but also made product upgrades they did not report to the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration. Evidently they hid these fixes from dealers in order to keep the information from the NHTSA. If Toyota had reported these design changes it would have forced a recall of vehicles.

In my opinion, GM has shown wisdom in choosing a woman to run their company. The new CEO has already apologized to the public and, according to the Associated Press, told her employees that an intense review of the recall process is underway and its system will change. "The bottom line is we will get better as a result of this tragic situation if we seize the opportunity," she stated.

She cannot take back the terrible deaths most likely caused by her colleagues not reporting problems with the vehicles they manufactured. Her speedy apology and quick action, however, especially so soon after assuming her position, should go a long way to prove she is serious about solving GM's problems and forcing change on its misguided policies.

If she can quickly and amicably settle the hundreds of lawsuits that will soon be brought by the families of those killed and injured, Ms. Barra will go a long way to making it clear that large corporations cannot hide their problems forever.

Hopefully, free of male ego, this car executive can lead her company out of this horrific mess. And, another male-dominated industry, automobile manufacturing, will benefit from a woman's touch.