The Wayward Vega

Proud, confident but somewhat irritated, General Motors Chairman Richard Gerstenberg has been running his own campaign to counter the bad publicity tied to the company's recent rash of auto recalls. A few weeks ago he told members of the Pontiac, Mich., service clubs that G.M. is now conducting fewer recalls than in the past. Between 1960 and 1966 the company had 111 auto recalls, compared with 94 during the past six years. Savoring his point, Gerstenberg concluded: "We build them better--much better."

Perhaps Gerstenberg spoke too soon. The day after he gave his speech, Chevrolet dealers were notified to prepare for the biggest recall yet of the sub-compact Vega, one of the little cars that were introduced with much promise as America's answer to the import invasion. It is the third embarrassing time within three months that Chevy has had to issue Vega recall notices. First, drivers discovered a faulty fuel and exhaust system that could start a fire in the carburetor. Then a poorly designed bracket for holding an antipollution device caused some throttles to stick in an open position. Now some 500,000 Vegas, nearly all the models that Chevy has produced, are being recalled.

In 15 cases the rear axles and wheels had slipped out from their normal positions, causing minor accidents, and so far Chevy has found defective axles in another 44 cars. It is possible, G.M. dealers believe, that about another 140 Vegas still have defective rear axles. Because they are a fraction of an inch too short, wheels and axles can come loose from the cars. Says James McLernon, Chevy's manufacturing manager: "We made a terrible mistake, and the worst part of it is we just don't know how it could have happened."

Unlike the first two recalls, which were the result of foul-ups by G.M.'s corps of highly praised engineers, the latest error was caused by workers on the speedy production line. Just how, nobody really knows. G.M. has traced the problem to its plant in Buffalo, which has been making G.M. parts for no less than 50 years. It is believed that defective shafts were accidentally shipped to the Vega assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, instead of being placed in specially colored orange chutes reserved for faulty parts. At the Buffalo plant the machine operators work under a "pride of workmanship" program and inspect the axles themselves. Then other inspectors double-check. Since G.M. discovered the problem in early May, the axles have been inspected a third time at the Vega assembly plant.

The real trouble is that the frequent recalls have caused consumers to wonder about the efficiency of U.S. industry. If the world's largest and presumably most advanced manufacturing company cannot mass-produce a product without making a mistake that inconveniences half a million customers, who can? In a recent Harris Poll, only 30% of the people interviewed believed that the quality of American products had improved in the past year, down from 37% last year. Probably the time has come for the automen and other manufacturers to slow their production lines and spend more time and money on checking out quality instead of concentrating on quantity.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.