I paid a premium for "Genuine GM" parts. The box even has the holographic sticker.

 

Yep, unfortunately GM has been getting their parts from China(and other out soured countries) for decades. I remember buying spark plugs from Auto Zone about 2 decades ago. The counter person set down a package that said made in China. I asked him when this change happened. He said "Hang on". When back to the shelf, and brought out 8 AC's, Made in America. He said the Made in America stuff was running out, everything coming in was made in China. I bought 2 sets.

 

A Class Action lawsuit was filed in March (2021) against General Motors for this type of misinformation labeling.

General Motors Falsely Claims ACDelco Parts are Made in the U.S.A., Class Action Alleges
https://www.classaction.org/media/hu...motors-llc.pdf

 

Sorta like the time they got sued for selling Oldsmobiles with Chevy engines

 

The only people who get anything out of class action lawsuits are the lawyers. After the Chevy truck side saddle gas tank fiasco, I got a coupon because I had owned an 86 squarebody (I had not even signed up to be part of the class). The lawyers got several million dollars, the class members got a coupon good on the purchase of a new GM truck. Even worse, I had just ordered my 99 Crewcab Dually, so I couldn't even use it.

 

Every time I have been notified I may be part of a class action suit, I go out of my way to exclude myself from the class just for that reason - the lawyers are the ones who get the benefits.

 

Over the last month, I've been catching up on maintenance with my 2008 Saturn (made in Belgium).

The Genuine GM parts were made in Italy, Spain, and Poland. I think that's the legacy of GM Europe.

GM USA marches differently. Sometimes, they don't seem to consider quality as an attribute.

 

What would happen if in a class action suit if more than 50% of the people opted out of the suit? Or say even higher at 90%?

 

I got one of those too. OR you could use the gas tank coupon toward purchase of any new GM vehicle if your truck hadn't blown up yet. I used it to knock another $1000 off the price of a new 2002 Camaro SS. This was on top of any other discount, such as GM employee discount, and the $1000 Camaro coupon I got at the GM Camaro display kiosk at GM sponsored car events. Ironically, I don't have the car anymore, but still have the truck. (Lawyers involved in that settlement got over $10 million, btw)

Although GM's own documents from 1984 admitted that about $23 per vehicle they could have probably fixed the issue by putting shields around the tanks. But GM brass only wanted to spend up to $2.20 per vehicle for any fixes. Ain't that some ****? People's lives in one of their 73-87 saddle tank trucks was only worth "up to $2.20" to GM. All because they wanted to market extended driving range.

You're right to be disappointed spending coin for GM parts only to get Chinesium. Unfortunately, GM's been putting Chinesium on North American-built cars on the assembly line for at LEAST a decade or more. When the first 5th gen Camaros were available in 2009, they had this weird wheel paint on RS-equipped models called "midnight silver". People who scratched their wheels couldn't get the paint ingredients let alone the paint, initially. Because it was Chinesium paint. Why? Because the wheels were manufactured in...wait for it...China.

 

The trucks complied with the government side impact regulations in place when they were made. NBC famously had to manually ignite the tanks to get the spectacular flaming footage for their "expose" because they were unable to actually get them to catch fire in a re-enactment of the accident. And the accident that led to the lawsuit was caused by a legally drunk driver who ran a stop sign at 80 MPH and t-boned the truck that caught fire. Yeah, that was GM's fault... the fault that only GM had deep enough pockets to be sued and make it worthwhile for the lawyers.

 

As a practical matter, this does not happen to the degree you state. But, in general, the higher the opt out numbers, the more likely the presiding judge may entertain a motion to decertify the class. In a weird twist even the defense really does not want a lot of opt outs because they want to dispose of all claims at one time.

In cases where there are opt outs, those putative class members can retain their own legal counsel and file private causes of action. The problem is generally a single action claim does not have enough at stake to justify pressing a case. The cost of maintaining the individual cause of action is too great relative to the recovery. (There are some exceptions.) This is the very reason Rule 23 class certifications exist.

I have seen some sad situations where putative class members opted out, could never get their private claims launched and thereafter were desperate to opt back in when a class recovery was landed. Sorry, the shipped sailed and they were not on board. I have also seen situations in which class members eligible for huge individual recoveries declined their share.

The general statement that the attorneys get all of recovery is simply mistaken. I would say that 15-25% of the value of the recovery to the class is a typical load star driven result. Think that is too much; talk to me after having been in the litigation 10-20 years with six figures of your own out of pocket costs at stake. Having said this, I fully appreciate how recoveries involving coupons have disillusioned many. A coupon may be worth nothing to some class members. But, I can tell you that many class members in many cases have benefited greatly from recoveries that otherwise they would never have seen. So, do not give up on completing the information necessary to perfect your recovery should receive notice that you are in a class action.

 

I am very sympathetic with your concern over the side saddle gas tanks controversy. But, government certification is not, and should not be, the last word. For example, the Boeing 737 Max was initially certified for passenger service early in 2017.

 

Fair point.

 

Wow, the NBC video of that rigged “test@ just recently popped up on my YouTube recommended list. I remember when all that happened, and had to watched the videos again. It still amazes me the effort that went into making sure they fit the dramatic result they hoped for, all in the hopes for good ratings.


Here is the video if anyone is interested


I cant help wondering if GM had insisted on much stiffer penalties and fines for the deformation they suffered, if we wouldn’t have nearly the frivolous lawsuits we have today.

Here is the lame “we are sorry we got caught” **** poor apology




I regularly drive a square body truck, I feel perfectly safe driving it. Especially knowing the fuel cap fits correctly, the tank isn’t overfilled, and I don’t had an ignition source taped under the truck ready to ignite the fuel. 🙄

 

For the case supporting the GM saddle bag TANK litigation, including GM internal documents see: https://www.autosafety.org/history-g...s-tank-defect/

 

About 15 years ago, I got sued (as well as apparently many, many others) by one of those dirt bag companies, that waste their time , and ours...
It was a royal pain in the tushy to get rid of them, and , it had a 5 year tail attached to it....

Out of the blue, last month, I got a legal letter about them, from the legal firm that had filed a class action law suit and to put that dirt bag firm out of business.... With the letter, I received a check
for $ 17.13, my portion of the settlement... Woo Hoo.

I laughed, and I did deposit it...