The infamous GM ignition switch assembly had one part from Delphi – the switch, not the lock or key.
Normally, suppliers are resentful over the credit original equipment automakers take for all the work they do. Not in the case of the deadly GM ignition switch, though, where Delphi – the supplier of the switch – was finally called upon to testify in front of the Senate last week. Rodney O’Neal, CEO and president of Delphi, the supplier of the GM ignition switch, got away untouched. (Dismissed GM Ignition Switch Employees have Gag Orders and Senate Hearing to Roast Mary Barra, Mike Millikin, Rodney O’Neal Tomorrow)
Delphi, in case you forgot, is a global auto parts supplier that was spun off from GM in a bit of US job-destroying financial engineering long before the bankruptcy. During Senate questioning, O’Neal had the demeanor of a man who was fully confident that Delphi was immune from the legal and public relations disasters that are now encompassing GM. He coolly asserted that the Delphi supplied switches were made to the customer specifications. True.
Leaving aside the larger issue about how the switch assembly and total ignition system performed, where Delphi was only one supplier, the fact remains the specifications were and are GM’s. That they were dreadfully inadequate is not in question because the switch easily, suddenly moves to the ‘accessory’ from the ‘run’ position, thereby disabling the front safety belt pre-tensioners and the front airbags during an accident. The problem – known since development work on the switch began in the last century – is affirmed today by the ongoing ‘stop sale’ of more than 550,000 Cadillac CTS and current SRX models that have the same problem.
O’Neal – not subtly – noted that Delphi had bankruptcy protection as well as GM.
“For convenience, throughout my statement and oral testimony I may not distinguish between the company I now head and the companies that made the ignition switch at issue,” he said early on during the hearing.
“Although these distinctions have important legal significance, I do not believe they are germane to the primary focus of this Subcommittee’s inquiries,” O’Neal said.
GM had several suppliers for the defective ignition system. All Delphi did was supply the switch. Delphi did not supply the key or the lock cylinder. Delphi did not supply the steering column or determine where the lock cylinder and key would be located.
“It is highly important that the Subcommittee understand that there is always a company, be it the system integrator or the vehicle manufacturer, that has responsibility for ensuring that complete systems work together properly,” said O’Neal. “In this case, that was not Delphi.”
Helping O’Neal here was GM CEO Mary Barra, who told the Senate committee that GM alone was responsible for the design of the defective ignition switch.
I thought the most interesting part of the O’Neal testimony came when he responded to a query about part numbers. Last year Delphi processed 120,000 requests for engineering changes. Only 40% of them involved a part number change.
O’Neal said that it was a common practice at all automakers. So the GM lack of a part number change for the revised ignition switch assembly is a red herring. It is nonetheless a serious recall issue since GM can’t track good versus defective switches, and will have to replace them all at the cost of billions.
