Word: defectively
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...December, for example, Chevrolet whistled back 6.7 million automobiles to treat motor-mount problems. Last week it was Ford Motor Co.'s turn. Ford announced that it was recalling 423,000 '72 Torinos and Montegos-the entire production of those two lines-to correct a rear axle defect. Unusual wearing of the bearings in the rear axle assembly, Ford explained, could cause the axle to separate or disengage from the wheel, or to jam, bringing the car to an abrupt halt. Thus far, 16 such failures have occurred, causing one injury. Ford, still uncertain about the cause...
...impulse to murder seems to be universal, but the reasons that men and women yield to it are as varied and mysterious as human history. To most psychiatrists, murder usually implies a defect in the killer's ego. Sometimes, of course, the motive appears to be nothing more complicated than the desire for material gain. In family murders, a frequent motive is the killer's conviction that no one, not even his wife, understands him. Says Psychiatrist Frederick Melges: "He may expect empathy without communicating his feelings. Paradoxically, attempts at communication may lead to the discovery that...
...defect is not in G.E.'s basic design, but in one of the pacemaker's parts. A subcontractor for one of the unit's circuits changed the cement used in its manufacture, unwittingly choosing one that can transmit electric current. This supplies more power from the built-in battery than is needed and affects the governor on the mechanism...
...example, could have saved millions of dollars if it had paid attention to the adverse reports of G.M. proving-grounds employees about its trouble-plagued Corvair. Says James Hillier, an RCA executive vice president for research and engineering: "Every manager knows that the direct cost of repairing a defect after a product is sold tends to be anywhere from 20 to 50 times greater than the cost of repairing it in the factory. The additional and indirect cost arising from loss of customer support is much higher...
...learn that it pays to listen. Edward A. Gregory, a General Motors body-shop inspector, went to Ralph Nader after managers had refused to acknowledge his warnings about a carbon monoxide leak in Chevrolet bodies and had transferred him to other tasks. When Nader and Gregory publicized the defect, G.M. in 1969 had to recall 3,000,000 cars. G.M. not only gave Gregory a $10,000 savings bond for the suggestion that helped repair the defect, but he was reinstated in his old job, and has since pointed out other defects that have led to the recall of about...