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Please consider GM Has at Least 20 Million Vehicles With Potentially Dangerous Air-Bag Parts

General Motors has at least 20 million vehicles built with a potentially dangerous air-bag part that the government says should be recalled before more people are hurt or killed.

The number of affected GM vehicles—a figure that hasn’t been disclosed publicly—makes the Detroit-based automaker among the most exposed in a push by U.S. auto-safety regulators to recall 52 million air-bag inflators designed by Tennessee-based auto supplier ARC Automotive, according to people familiar with the matter.

These inflators have been known to explode with too much force during a vehicle crash, sending metal shrapnel flying and hitting occupants in the face and neck with shards. At least two people have been killed, and several others injured in such incidents.

Aside from GM, there are 11 other automakers that have the ARC air-bag inflators covered by NHTSA’s action, including Ford Motor, Volkswagen, Toyota Motor and Hyundai Motor.

NHTSA began investigating these inflators more than eight years ago, after one person was injured and another one killed by metal pieces flung into the cabin by air-bag explosions.

Any Mechanics Tuning In?

I’ll take a wild stab that it would be a 2-hour repair to fix two bags per car.

20 million vehicles multiplied by 2 hours per car is 40 million hours of labor. That’s 1 million work-weeks or about 19,000 work years.

If the repair can be done in an hour, that’s only 9,600 or so man-years.

Factor in the cost of parts and labor. This seems like a big deal.

Given the UAW strike, the timing of this recall could not be worse.

CNN reports UAW strike cost GM $200 million in its first two weeks

Shawn Fain to Give Update Friday Afternoon

Fox News reports Union President Shawn Fain to Give Update Friday Afternoon.

The UAW announced a 2 p.m. “stand-up announcement” from Fain for Friday, Oct. 6.

Earlier this week, Ford made delivered its seventh offer to the union, which included record pay and benefits. Workers would get a pay raise of more than 20%, along with cost-of-living allowances for inflation.

Additionally, all tiers would be eliminated while wage progression would be reduced by more than half the time it takes to earn top wages. Average new hires will earn six figures by the fourth year.

Average new workers will make $100,000 after for years. Wow.

UAW Strike Has the Big 3 Automakers Scrambling for Parts

The strike is now gong on three week.

Parts were an issue from the start as noted in UAW Strike Has the Big 3 Automakers Scrambling for Parts

Total UAW Unit Labor Costs vs Tesla (TSLA)

• Big Three: Analysts estimate $66 an hour
• Tesla: Roughly $45 at Tesla
• UAW Demands: Meeting Fain’s initial demands would boost costs to $136 according to Wells Fargo analysts.

Tesla does not pay more in hourly wages, but via stock options, Musk has made millionaires out of many workers. Stock options are not a company expense. Stock options come out out of shareholders pockets.

For further comparison details of Tesla vs the UAW costs, please see Elon Musk Taunts the UAW, “Tesla Pays Workers More and We Have Fun”

Whatever the UAW Strike Outcome, Elon Musk Has Already Won

“Any wage increase further advances Tesla’s already tremendous cost advantage in EVs over its older U.S. peers, which are contending with generations of legacy expenses while trying to steer a costly transition to electric from gas-powered vehicles,” says a WSJ report.

Meanwhile, the UAW is allegedly holding out for pensions. It would bankrupt GM again and Chrysler again.

An Epic Battle: Ford to Use China’s Battery Technology, GM Wants it Blocked

Finally, please note An Epic Battle: Ford to Use China’s Battery Technology, GM Wants it Blocked

Wage and pension demands are inflationary and cannot compete with Tesla. And there is an epic battle between Ford (F) and GM on battery technology.

Biden is guaranteed to upset someone. That’s what happens when you interfere in the free markets, taking sides.

The industry and Biden’s forced direction are both sick.

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