A report by Safety Research and Strategies says that more than 3,400 Americans will be injured or killed by defective GM and Chrysler products in the first year after bankruptcy.  Since Chrysler and most likely GM won’t be held liable for any defects on vehicles sold before their bankruptcies, all those people will have nobody to sue to try and recoup some of their medical bills and lost wages.

Safety Research and Strategies is also reporting that without any incentive to fix known problems in their vehicles, Chrysler and GM most likely won’t bother to issue recalls on any vehicles sold before bankruptcy.  There’s obviously no way to know for sure that these companies will avoid recalls that could save lies just because it would cost them money, but there’s no reason to believe they won’t.

The report also says that 47% of all claims against automakers were against GM and Chrysler, even though the two companies have a combined market share of 38%.

Not holding these companies responsible for the crap they manufactured pre-bankruptcy is terrible move.  First of all, it’s horrible that people who were or will be injured by defective products will have no recourse.  That’s on the heads of everyone involved with the bankruptcy, and depending on your religious views they’ll either burn in hell for it or be reincarnated as feeder fish destined for a piranha tank.

This is also a terrible business move.  Sure, these companies will get out of a few million dollars in lawsuits and a few million more in recall costs, but at the cost of any brand loyalty they might have had left.  When news gets around that anyone injured by a defective GM or Chrysler product is unable to seek restitution, and the companies have no reason to recall products known to be faulty, what will that do to resale values?

If current owners aren’t put off by the possibility of injury or death and the financial destitution either will bring to their families, they will be when they attempt to sell their car or truck and find out it’s worthless.

Now put yourself in that situation (if you’re not already in it), you’ve got a car that could maim or kill you at any minute, and you try to sell it only to find out it’s not worth much of anything.  Now when you finally get rid of that heinous devil machine that wasn’t sure if it would rather ruin or end your life, are you going to go shopping for another from the same maker?

Chrysler cars have killed before.

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