It is a fundamental engineering principal that GM knew about and rejected in 1972. As a result, we have people continuing to be burned in survivable crashes.

We have had grade inflation. NHTSA should make the tests more stringent.

This is a relatively new issue because electronic keys just came on to the market in the late 1990s. Back then, I think a maximum of 10 percent of the cars on the road had these kinds of keys; now I think it's more like 60 percent, and of course it takes time for people to start losing their keys, so we are just starting to see these sorts of problems and I think it's the tip of the iceberg.

There's been a difference in Congress. I expect to see a much more favorable Congress next year, no matter who wins. People are not going to forget Firestone/Explorer quickly.

We're delighted to see criminal penalties included in the House bill, ... The question is, what's the crime? In other words, is it as they say, a broad definition that would include situations such as Firestone, Ford Explorer, or is it very, very narrow that it is unlikely to have much impact?

I think that they were calculating on this never becoming public, that the government wouldn't find out about it.