Chevy Impala's Missing Airbags Video

Chevy Impala's Missing Airbags Video Transcript

THINKING ABOUT BUYING A USED CAR ...AAN EARLY SHOW INVESTIGATION YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS SUGGESTED LEDE: IMAGINE BUYING A CAR ONLY TO FIND OUT ONE OF IT SAFETY FEATURES IS MISSING. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT'S HAPPENED TO THOUSANDS OF UNSUSPECTING CONSUMERS WHO HAVE PURCHASED THE POPULAR CHEVY IMPALA. CONSUMER CORRESPONDENT SUSAN KOEPPEN IS HERE WITH THE STORY. GOOD MORNING, SUSAN. SUSAN: THE IMPALAS IN QUESTION ARE USED CARS -- WHICH AT ONE TIME WERE PART OF A CAR RENTAL FLEET. THE SAFETY EQUIPMENT THAT'S MISSING ARE THE SIDE AIRBAGS. BUT AS WE FOUND OUT -- MANY OF THESE CARS ARE SITTING ON USED CAR LOTS -- UP FOR SALE -- WITH WINDOW STICKERS THAT CLAIM THEY HAVE THOSE SIDE AIRBAGS. SCRIPT: [Open with crash test video with airbags-Institute for Highway Safety Tape] AS THIS CRASH TEST VIDEO SHOWS, SIDE AIRBAGS PROTECT YOUR HEAD AND they CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE. [Nats…crash test] SIDE AIRBAGS ARE STANDARD EQUIPMENT ON THE CHEVROLET IMPALA -- BUT THOUSANDS ARE BEING SOLD WITHOUT THIS IMPORTANT SAFETY FEATURE. ON USED CAR LOTS IN THREE STATES--OUR HIDDEN CAMERAS FOUND IMPALAS ADVERTISED WITH SIDE AIRBAGS--- but in reality those airbags were missing.. SOT CONNIE WITTKOPP: How could they have a clean or clear conscience knowing that they're going to sell that car to someone who could go out here and get killed? Tape 1 021049 WHEN CONNIE WITTKOPP PURCHASED THIS USED IMPALA FROM ENTERPRISE IN KANSAS CITY, THE PAPERWORK SAID SIDE AIRBAGS WERE INCLUDED. SHE HAD NO IDEA her car was part of a deal...where GENERAL MOTORS ALLOWED RENTAL CAR COMPANIES AND FLEET BUYERS TO DELETE SIDE AIRBAGS AT THE FACTORY to save money. Now more than 100- thousand impalas without side airbags are making their way into the used car market. SOT SEAN KANE: In all the years of our work in motor vehicle safety, we have never seen a standard feature deleted from a car in this kind of way. Tape 3 170557 SAFETY CONSULTANT SEAN KANE SAYS HE WAS SHOCKED TO DISCOVER SIDE AIRBAGS DELETED AND REPLACED WITH PLASTIC. HOW MUCH DID THAT SAVE FLEET BUYERS? $145 PER VEHICLE. SOT SEAN KANE: This was a concerted effort by General Motors to give fleet customers an option of saving $145 at the expense of safety. Tape 3 172334 Wearing a hidden camera, we went to several used car lots across the country which advertised the Impalas in question as having side airbags. We wanted to see what consumers were being told on the lot. SOT PRODUCER: Does it have side curtain airbags? SOT SALESPERSON: Yes it does. Tape 6 001529 IN HOUSTON, TEXAS, THIS SALESPERSON didn't realize the airbags had been deleted. But we knew they had been-- when we found the deleted option code "AK5 " on the vehicle identification plate in the trunk. The door trim was also missing the word airbag....which the salesperson eventually noticed. SOT SALESPERSON: This one actually does not have it, doesn't have the side impacts on it. PRODUCER: It doesn't? SALESPERSON: It doesn't. Tape 6 001540 IN OKLAHOMA CITY, WE found ANOTHER IMPALA WITH DELETED AIRBAGS--BUT LISTEN TO WHAT THIS SALESPERSON told US. SOT PRODUCER: It does have side airbags? SOT SALESPERSON: Mmm hmm.//Passengers front airbag and side airbags. Tape 9 002620/002715 and IN PROVIDENCE RHODE ISLAND, OUR cbs AFFILIATE WENT UNDERCOVER with the same result.. SOT WPRI CLIP: They said that there's airbags in there. SOT SEAN KANE: To see them being sold in dealers in many cases unknowingly is a really a problem that goes back to General Motors. Tape 1 171520 AS FOR ENTERPRISE, THE COMPANY OFFERED TO BUY BACK their vehicles for 750 dollars over the blue book value OR PAY $200 FOR THE CUSTOMER'S INCONVENIENCE. Enterprise told us it would give CONNIE WITTKOPP full value for her car, but she's still angry. SOT CONNIE WITTCOPP: People's lives they're worth a whole lot more than just saving money by//you know leaving stuff off the vehicle. No you don't do that. Tape 1 023258 SUGGESTED TAG: ENTERPRISE-- WHICH ADMITS IT INCORRECTLY LISTED SOME OF THESE CARS ON ITS WEBSITE FOR SALE WITH SIDE AIRBAGS --SAYS "WE HAVE APOLOGIZED FOR THE ERROR WE MADE, AND WE HAVE DONE, AND CONTINUE TO DO, WHAT WE CAN TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION WITH OUR CUSTOMERS". GM SAYS--THESE VEHICLES "MEET OR EXCEED FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS". THE COMPANY NO LONGER ALLOWS AIRBAGS TO BE DELETED. Q: YOU DID THIS INVESTIGATION--ARE USED CAR DEALERS BEING NOTIFIED THEIR WINDOW STICKERS MAY HAVE WRONG INFORMATION? A: GM TOLD US THEY'VE ADVISED DEALERS TO UPDATE WINDOW STICKERS AND ADVERTISING. WE NOTIFIED ALL THE USED CAR LOTS WHERE WE WENT UNDERCOVER.