GM Shift on Engine Stalling May Prompt New Recalls

General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra says the company has decided to treat any engine stalling problem as a safety issue.

Until now, GM has classified engine stalls as a customer inconvenience. That policy has been blamed for GM's 11-year delay in recalling 2.6 million ignition switches linked to 13 fatalities.

The about-face prompted two new recalls earlier this month involving another 4 million vehicles with engine-stall problems. GM says it is now reviewing almost every model in its lineup for similar issues.

The result of the analysis could prompt yet another round of recalls. Even if it doesn't, Barra says GM's policy reversal will certainly expand the number of people eligible to receive compensation from the company.

"We want to capture every single person who suffered serious injury or lost a loved one" in a crash in which the ignition switch was "part of the issue," Barra told the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee last week, emphasizing the company wants to "get everybody who is affected."

GM is expected to reveal details of the compensation program next month and begin taking applications from victims on Aug. 1. The program will not address complaints by owners of recalled vehicles who say the campaigns have eroded the value of their cars.