GM Under Criminal Investigation

All eyes are on General Motors. The Detroit-based automaker’s recall of 1.6 million vehicles last month has prompted federal prosecutors to investigate whether GM broke the law by failing to disclose vehicle flaws—such as the Chevrolet Cobalt’s defective ignition switches, which have been linked to 31 accidents and 13 deaths—in a timely matter. Additionally, a Senate panel overseeing consumer-product safety plans to hold hearings for GM in the coming weeks, and a separate House committee plans to conduct its own investigation into the company’s widespread vehicle recalls. GM isn’t the first car company to come under federal scrutiny. The Justice Department is discussing a settlement to a four-year investigation into Toyota’s multimillion-vehicle recalls in 2009 and 2010.