The Nation - News from March 9, 1988

Three federal appellate judges upheld a lower court’s finding that there was no evidence General Motors Corp. knowingly sold 1.1 million 1980 X-cars with alleged brake defects. The panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington affirmed U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson’s 1987 rejection of government claims that the cars had an inherent defect that caused rear brakes to lock up prematurely and spin out of control under certain circumstances. Jackson had ruled against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which had sought to fine GM $4 million and order a complete recall of 1980 models of Chevrolet Citation, Pontiac Phoenix, Buick Skylark and Oldsmobile Omega. The suit was filed in 1983 after the agency received more than 4,000 complaints.