Did GM Reject Safer Ignition Switch Design in 2001 Because of Cost?

GM Opted For Deadly Design Because It Was Cheaper: Report
FILE - In this Tuesday, April 1, 2014, file photo families of victims of a General Motors safety defects in small cars hold photos of their loved ones as they gather on the lawn on Capitol Hill in Washington. Families of those who died in General Motors cars with defective ignition switches want prosecutors to go after GM insiders responsible for letting the problems fester for more than decade, and perhaps for covering them up. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, April 1, 2014, file photo families of victims of a General Motors safety defects in small cars hold photos of their loved ones as they gather on the lawn on Capitol Hill in Washington. Families of those who died in General Motors cars with defective ignition switches want prosecutors to go after GM insiders responsible for letting the problems fester for more than decade, and perhaps for covering them up. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Newly released internal GM documents reveal that the company in 2001 considered -- and rejected – an ignition switch design that two prominent safety advocates say could have avoided the problem that led the automaker to recall millions of vehicles this year. The company’s decision to reject the safer switch was motivated by cost, the advocates say.

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