General Motors Faces Trial over Recalled Ignition Switch.docVIP

General Motors Faces Trial over Recalled Ignition Switch 　　Engineers at America’s biggest automaker， which got a $50 billion government bailout in the financial crisis， knew of a flawed ignition switch but rejected a fix that would have cost 90 cents apiece， according to evidence provided to lawmakers. 　　Zachary Stevens was a teenager headed to bible study when his Saturn Sky shot across a Texas high- way into a pickup and killed the driver. Ruben Vazquez， 20， died after a drunk slammed into his stalled Chevy Cobalt on a California freeway. James Yingling III couldn’t brake or steer his Saturn Ion away from a culvert in Pennsylvania. He lingered for 17 days before dying at 35. 　　These are among the claims facing General Motors this year， the first of hundreds demanding that GM pay for the deaths of loved ones or injuries ranging from broken bones to paralysis. The raft of trials， scattered across the country， begins in Jan in federal court in Manhattan. 　　Engineers at America’s biggest automaker， which got a $50 billion government bailout in the financial crisis， knew of a flawed ignition switch but rejected a fix that would have cost 90 cents apiece， according to evidence provided to lawmakers. 　　The switch could be jarred into the“accessory” position， shutting off the engine， disabling power steering and brakes and preventing air bags from deploying. The faulty switches are linked to the deaths of at least 124 people， many of them in entry-level cars marketed to young drivers -- a graduation gift from proud parents， a starter car for college -- least prepared to react to a sudden loss of power on the road. 　　GM spent 2014 under a harsh congressional spotlight， recalling millions of Ions， Cobalts and other vehicles. It spent 2015 scrambling for deals with prosecutors and plaintiffs. This is its year of reckoning， in which the Detroit company， having already paid more than$2 billion for settlements alone， learns how much more it will have to pay for break