????因可能的點(diǎn)火開關(guān)缺陷，通用汽車公司(General Motors)正在大規(guī)模召回汽車。這家汽車制造商已經(jīng)聘請肯尼斯?范伯格擔(dān)任顧問，希望這位備受矚目的律師能夠就如何應(yīng)對(duì)汽車事故受害者家庭等問題提供專業(yè)建議。范伯格曾經(jīng)處理過911恐怖襲擊事件和英國石油公司(BP)墨西哥灣漏油事故的賠償問題。

????General Motors (GM) has hired Kenneth Feinberg, the high-profile attorney who handled compensation issues related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as a consultant to advise the automaker how to respond to families of accident victims whose vehicles are being recalled for possible ignition switch defects.

????4月1日接受眾議院監(jiān)督與調(diào)查小組委員會(huì)(House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations)聽證會(huì)質(zhì)詢時(shí)，通用汽車公司首席執(zhí)行官瑪麗?芭拉宣布該公司已經(jīng)聘請范伯格擔(dān)任顧問。聽證會(huì)的重點(diǎn)是審查這起因點(diǎn)火開關(guān)故障而啟動(dòng)的汽車召回事件，以及為什么通用汽車拖延了將近10年的時(shí)間才披露這樣一個(gè)至少跟13起死亡事故有關(guān)的安全隱患。

????范伯格擁有“豐富的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，他將評(píng)估接下來應(yīng)該采取什么步驟，”芭拉在聽證會(huì)上說。

????范伯格計(jì)劃在周五會(huì)見通用汽車高管。芭拉告訴議員，范伯格作出初步評(píng)估估計(jì)需要30至60天。

????伊利諾斯州民主黨眾議員簡?夏科夫斯基敦促芭拉回答，通用汽車是否會(huì)對(duì)那些在駕駛因點(diǎn)火開關(guān)故障而被召回的汽車時(shí)受傷或死亡的人負(fù)責(zé)。

????雖然芭拉并沒有說通用汽車對(duì)這些死亡事故負(fù)有全部責(zé)任，但她表示，通用汽車公司承認(rèn)“我們有法律和道義責(zé)任。”

????范伯格最近幫助處理過波士頓馬拉松爆炸案的賠償問題。他已經(jīng)獲得通用汽車的授權(quán)，負(fù)責(zé)審議與點(diǎn)火開關(guān)故障相關(guān)的各項(xiàng)問題的應(yīng)對(duì)之策。

????此外，這家汽車制造商還聘請了前聯(lián)邦檢察官安東?沃盧卡斯調(diào)查通用汽車的行為。沃盧卡斯領(lǐng)銜的調(diào)查行動(dòng)目前正在進(jìn)行中，芭拉說。2009年，沃盧卡斯曾經(jīng)被任命為雷曼兄弟公司(Lehman Brothers)破產(chǎn)案的審查官。

????芭拉說她正在接收沃盧卡斯提供的實(shí)時(shí)更新資料，但她在聽證會(huì)上并沒有透露關(guān)于初步調(diào)查結(jié)果的任何信息。

????本周早些時(shí)候，出于對(duì)電動(dòng)助力轉(zhuǎn)向系統(tǒng)有可能突然失靈的關(guān)切，通用汽車宣布召回在美國售出的130萬輛汽車。上周五，通用汽車再次因點(diǎn)火開關(guān)故障額外召回美國市場的82.4萬輛汽車，涵蓋雪佛蘭科寶Cobalt和HHR，龐蒂亞克G5和Solstice，以及土星Ion和Sky等品牌所有年份的車型，原因是有故障的開關(guān)可能被使用過。截至目前，因點(diǎn)火開關(guān)故障啟動(dòng)的召回計(jì)劃已經(jīng)涉及美國市場的219萬輛汽車。

????通用汽車周一還宣布，它已經(jīng)將第一季度用以支付召回汽車維修費(fèi)用的撥備增加了一倍以上，增至7.5億美元。這個(gè)數(shù)額包括此前披露的3億美元撥備，這3億美元是為了應(yīng)對(duì)3月17日宣布的3起安全行動(dòng)和2月25日宣布的點(diǎn)火開關(guān)故障召回計(jì)劃。

????截至目前，由于電動(dòng)助力轉(zhuǎn)向系統(tǒng)、點(diǎn)火開關(guān)和其他3項(xiàng)安全問題，通用汽車在美國召回的汽車總數(shù)已經(jīng)超過500萬輛。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：葉寒

????GM CEO Mary Barra announced that the company had retained Feinberg during her testimony before the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing today. The point of the hearing is to review the ignition switch recall and why it took GM nearly 10 years to reveal an ignition switch problem that has been linked to at least 13 deaths.

????Feinberg has "extensive experience and he will assess what the next step should be," Barra said during the hearing.

????Feinberg is scheduled to meet with GM executives Friday. Barra told legislators it will take 30 to 60 days for Feinberg to make his initial assessment.

????Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) pressed Barra on whether it would take responsibility for those injured or killed while driving vehicles being recalled for ignition switch failure.

????While Barra would not say GM took full responsibility for the deaths, she said the automaker recognizes "we have legal and moral responsibilities."

????Feinberg, who most recently advised on compensation issues related to the Boston Marathon bombing, has been mandated to consider the options for dealing with issues surrounding the ignition switch matter.

????GM has also hired former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas to investigate its actions. The investigation by Valukas, who was appointed examiner in the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2009, is currently underway, Barra said.

????While Barra said she is receiving updates from Valukas, she did not share any information on any initial findings during the hearing.

????Earlier this week, GM announced a separate recall of 1.3 million vehicles in the U.S. over concerns they may experience a sudden loss of electric power steering. On Friday, GM extended its ignition switch recall by another 824,000 vehicles to cover all model years of the Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR, Pontiac G5 and Solstice, and the Saturn Ion and Sky in the U.S. because faulty switches may have been used. In all, the ignition switch recall affects 2.19 million vehicles in the United States.

????GM also announced Monday that it has more than doubled its first-quarter charge to $750 million to cover the cost of recall-related repairs. This amount includes a previously disclosed $300 million charge for three safety actions announced March 17 and the ignition switch recall announced Feb. 25.

????GM's total number of recalled vehicles in the U.S., including the power steering issue, ignition switch, and three other safety issues, has now surpassed 5 million.