Documents raise doubts about GM’s forthrightness regarding ignition switch problem.

The New York Times (7/16, A1, Ruiz, Ivory, Subscription Publication, 9.65M) reports that GM’s response to Federal authorities investigating a fatal crash of a Saturn Ion, along with “its replies to queries in other crashes obtained by The New York Times from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, casts doubt on how forthright the automaker was with regulators over a defective ignition switch that G.M. has linked to at least 13 deaths over the last decade.” The documents show that GM “repeatedly found a way not to answer the simple question from regulators of what led to a crash.” In at least three cases, the company “said that it had not assessed the cause.” In another, it said that “attorney-client privilege may have prevented it from answering.” In others, it simply said, “G.M. opts not to respond.”