GENERAL Motors has been forced to recall nearly 500 000 Cadillacs and pay an $11 million fine because the cars emit too much carbon monoxide. It is the first time cars have been recalled in the US for polluting the environment.
In 1990 Cadillac buyers complained that their cars stalled at low speeds. The company installed a new computer chip that allowed a richer mixture of fuel and air in the engine. The mixture solved the stalling problem but tripled the amount of carbon monoxide the car pumped into the atmosphere.
鈥淚t is simply not fair to burden people鈥檚 health to improve the sales appeal of automobiles,鈥� says Attorney General Janet Reno. General Motors鈥� vice-president, Dennis Minano, says the company settled the suit without a trial 鈥渢o resolve the issue鈥�.
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In addition to the fine, altering the vehicles will cost General Motors $30 million. It has also agreed to spend $8 million on community environmental projects such as buying old, polluting cars and taking them off the roads.