GM Files Lawsuit to Block Recall of 6 Million Pickups

General Motors Corp. filed a lawsuit Thursday to block U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena from ordering a recall of pickup trucks that have sidesaddle gasoline tanks that are allegedly unsafe.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court here, comes a month after Pena made an initial ruling that there was an “unreasonable risk” of fatal injury in side-impact crashes involving the 1973-87 Chevrolet and GMC pickups.

The suit seeks to short-circuit further regulatory action in the case and take it directly to the federal courts for resolution. GM also is likely to seek an injunction to stop a Dec. 6 public hearing on the matter.

Thomas Gottschalk, GM general counsel, said the pickup trucks meet side-impact safety standards established by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and are as safe as most other vehicles.

Because Pena has agreed that GM’s pickups met the safety standards of fuel system integrity, he said, “there is no basis for any further proceeding against these trucks.”

Richard Mintz, spokesman for the Department of Transportation, said the GM lawsuit is premature. “We haven’t made a final determination (on a recall) and haven’t closed the door on any option at this point,” he said.

But GM said Pena has already made up his mind. The company notes that Pena overruled the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s technical staff, which recommended that the safety investigation be closed without a recall.

The government began its investigation two years ago after consumer groups raised questions of safety about the vehicles’ design with twin gas tanks located outside the steel frame of the chassis. Pena said the design was a factor in 150 deaths and that 32 more could be expected from collisions involving the 6 million pickups still on the road.