[a_Username]

Originally Posted by LOWDOWN

...and IF there is "no one" formerly of NHTSA "directly" on a payroll means exactly WHAT?

"Influence" is not predicated by a direct, personal pecuniary relationship...that's the field of play for Lobbyists and Lawyers and Manufacturer's Associations... ALL perfectly "legal" under current "rules" established by the American Federal Government, under whose domain "vehicle manufacturing and safety standards" were created and are enforced.

NHTSA was after GM to supply "certain information" last year over the "Cobalt Steering" issue. It wasn't until AFTER the matter was made public, last month in Congressional Hearings, that a subsequent "recall" was issued...

While NHTSA investigators went to Toyota City in December and were given access to "certain information", this same "hospitality" was NOT afforded them by the Tech Centre in Warren...they had to wait for GM to "do their thing"...and AFTER this was mentioned in Washington, THEN there was a "recall".

[That's NOT an indictment of ANYONE, that's simply how it played out.]

source: C-SPAN

Does THAT mean GM is "wrong" for doing things the way they did? No one (so far...) has been killed by "Cobalt Steering", but there have been injuries sustained. Does THAT mean a different measuring stick can be used?

Who/what defines "the process"? Who "enforces" it? How do you "prioritize"? When? Why?

NHTSA...a.k.a. the American Federal Government...is the "guardian of the gate".

There are simply "no easy answers". Pulling a couple of "apparent" e-mails, out of context, does not necessarily prove a "smoking gun" REGARDLESS of who you "think" may be holding it. And just because someone collects a paycheck from a "certain source" makes them neither "innocent" nor "guilty" of anything other than being "gainfully employed".

"Staging" by ABC and Brian Ross, is not helpful, just as it wasn't with the C/K fuel tank issue years ago. "Replication", in whole and/or in part, may or may not "solve" the issue(s). Different time and/or place.

In this modern world of ECMs and BCMs and vehicular complexity, and "market pressures", and "consumer rights", there are still situations that arise with no discernible explanation from time to time. Witness service issues with intermittent problems that all Techs at all Dealerships deal with... No "tell-tale" symtoms present...electronically, or otherwise. "Problem" persists...

Out of benign neglect? Out of malice? Out of greed? Out of malfeasance? Because "we know/pay someone to hide our sins"?

Not hardly...

The "court of public opinion" tends to serve those best who already "know the answer"...regardless of "what comes after".

Regarding your first two paragraphs, because everything after it seems to be rambling, you are right in saying they don't have to be directly associated with the company. However, its usually neither credible or easy to make a connection between indirect cases as you explained. This is true especially when comparing to being caught with ex-government officials on your PAYROLL. It's beyond a reasonable conclusion that they were hired because of their influence over NHTSA.