Battle4Liberty

GM is recalling nearly 200,000 SUVs because the master power door and window module in the driver’s door can short out and catch fire. This is a serious recall. According to NHTSA documents, GM says owners should park the trucks outdoors until the module is repaired. See www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/06/16/general-motors-chevrolet-buick-saab-gmc-isuzu-suv-recall/2428061/ for details.

Rewind several years to DOT Secretary Ray LaHood’s incessant beatdown of Toyota during its 2009-2010 “unintended acceleration” recall, a fracas discussed extensively on this blog. Barraged by LaHood, select Congressional Democrats and the left-wing press, Toyota suffered significant market share losses for almost two years before an extensive NHTSA investigation finally concluded that driver error was the culprit for most of the reported incidents.

So why isn’t the government “protecting its citizens” and thrashing GM today like it did Toyota? Why isn’t this the lead story on CNN and in the New York Times? Where are the Congressional demands for televised hearings? The answer is inherently obvious. GM is a US-based, heavily unionized, part government-owned auto manufacturer. Toyota is not.

GM is accepting responsibility for this crisis and consumers should make their purchase decisions accordingly. It’s a travesty that Toyota wasn’t given the same opportunity to address an arguably less significant problem absent of government grandstanding and a media circus. The comparative silence is deafening, however, and represents another example of government cronies picking winners and losers.