GM Recalls 1.5 Million More Vehicles

General Motors announced today that it is recalling 1.5 million vehicles, more than doubling the number of recalls it has had to issue in the last month.

General Motors announced today that it is recalling 1.5 million vehicles, more than doubling the number of recalls it has had to issue in the last month.

It's been a very bad month for GM. In February, 1.6 million cars were recalled due to faulty ignition switches, which killed thirteen people. GM knew there were problems with those switches as early as 2004, but did nothing. It is currently being investigated by several government agencies for this, faces a class action lawsuit, and announced today it was setting $300 million aside this quarter to cover recall costs.

Just a few days ago, a consumer group found 303 deaths that it connected to faulty airbags in models that were part of the earlier recall -- though GM has called the report "pure speculation."

Now comes news that there are even more recalls on GM cars. These are not believed to be related to the ignition switches and GM said there were no injuries associated with the problems, which range from faulty wiring on seat-mounted side airbags to overheating brakes. But that's a lot of recalls in a very short amount of time.

GM's new CEO Mary Barra has tried to put the best possible spin on the situation by being upfront and open in a video posted to GM's site today. She acknowledged that "terrible things happened" as a result of how the ignition switch defect was handled but "we will be better because of this tragic situation if we seize the opportunity" to improve the recall process.