Emails show GM ordered switches nearly two months before recall.

The AP (11/10) reports from Detroit that emails “showing that General Motors ordered a half-million replacement ignition switches nearly two months before telling the government of a safety recall will be heavily scrutinized by federal prosecutors, who are investigating GM’s conduct, according to legal experts.” The email chain, “released Monday by an attorney suing GM, again raises questions about how forthcoming GM has been with safety regulators and lawmakers, as well as a GM-funded investigation into the defective switches by former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas.” The email chain “from December through February shows that a contract employee for GM inquired about the parts on Dec. 18, 2013, and ordered them from Delphi the following day, in preparation to replace parts on 500,000 to over 700,000 vehicles,” but GM “did not report a safety defect to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration until 51 days later, on Feb. 7, 2014.”

        The Detroit Free Press (11/10, Gardner, 974K) reports that GM CEO Mary Barra “said she learned in late December when she headed the company’s global product development group that GM employees were reviewing safety issues related to the Chevrolet Cobalt,” but “she didn’t learn that there would be a recall until near the end of January.”