Goofs by the Great

Cadillac takes pride in living up to its advertising slogan--"A Tradition of Excellence." Rarely has the company been forced to publicly admit product goofs by issuing hefty recall orders. But recently the General Motors division has been in the news twice, and both times the headlines involved defects.

Last month Cadillac announced that it was recalling 3,900 of the 267,787 vehicles it made this model year. In seven known instances, a weak rear axle had caused the back wheels to separate from the chassis. The endangered vehicles included all Cadillac hearses made this year, as well as floral cars, ambulances and limousines. Presumably, the drivers and passengers in some funeral processions have been running some risk of hastening their own.

Then Washington's Center for Auto Safety, which was spawned by Ralph Nader, charged that Cadillac officials had purposely concealed a "life-and-death safety defect" on 1959-60 model cars for nearly 13 years. The problem was in a part called the Pitman arm, a crucial component of the steering system. Center spokesmen said that the metal used in the Pitman arms of more than 200,000 cars was not sufficiently strong and that three people have died in accidents that may have been caused by the faulty part. They also charged that Cadillac officials in 1968 discussed issuing a recall but concluded that it would cause too much trouble.

G.M. spokesmen insist that the company "has no record or recollection of any meeting concerning a possible recall campaign" on 1959-60 Cadillacs. Nevertheless, Cadillac officials "are conducting a thorough investigation." The center estimates that about 100,000 of the cars are still on the road--impressive testimony to Cadillac's durability. If they are now involved in a recall, their numbers would make a significant addition to an already embarrassing statistic: during the past nine months, Detroit's automakers have recalled more cars than they produced.

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