I have a difficult time with the "What? Really? When did that happen?" attitude from GM's lawyers. I get corporate hand-hiding after taking a cookie from the cookie jar tactics, but Mary needs to get in front of this one and fast. They probably shouldn't hide behind the "that was the OLD GM" excuse for this one. Many people don't differentiate the legal status when they start to write their check for a vehicle purchase. To many customers, GM is and always has been the same GM. Read any of their "history" and they're always proud to tout things like "back in 19xx this was a great thing for GM" as if GM was never split in the first place. But in court, they want you to believe GM of today never existed in the 19xx's. Which is it? An apology alone isn't going to cut it when people have died from a result of an alleged faulty vehicle. If they are at fault and responsible heads don't roll, then something's amiss.
It does raise a few questions. Where was Mary when all this was happening to begin with? Hasn't she been in the upper management arena for a good while now? If the reports are indeed true about this has been a known issue, I find it kind of difficult to believe this hasn't been discussed in engineering meetings once or twice while she was head of global engineering.
Maybe this may have them look at the keyless ignition system and have Pushbutton Starts on the new cars???
I believe in corporate responsibility as I do personal accountability. I just hope they do the right thing, even if it is not a "legal responsibility" thing. If people sense that, they'll be ok.