General Motors Co was slapped on Friday with a $35 million U.S. fine for its delayed response to an ignition switch defect in millions of vehicles. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the fine, which is the maximum the agency can impose. Other investigations into the automaker's handling of the recall are being conducted by the federal government. "What we cannot tolerate, what we will never accept, is a person or a company who knows danger exists and says nothing," Foxx said. In a harshly worded statement leveled against the Detroit automaker, he added: "What GM did was break the law ... They failed to meet their public safety obligations." The ignition-switch defect, first noticed by the largest U.S. automaker more than a decade ago, has been linked to at least 13 fatalities. [ID:nL1N0MT25V] But the first recalls began only in February of this year, despite years of consumer complaints. Read more http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/16/us-generalmotors-recall-idUSBREA4F0CU20140516
