The U.S. government reported that automaker recalls in 2007 were up by
about 30 percent compared to 2006. Ford had the most recalled vehicles,
at more than 5.5 million. DaimlerChrysler had the second-highest number
with 1.47 million, although that was down by about 38 percent against
the nearly 2.4 million recalled vehicles the prior year. However,
Chrysler LLC had a December recall covering 576,418 vehicles.
VW conducted six recalls involving 1.46 million cars and trucks
last year, more than in any other year during this decade.
The good news is that GM and Toyota both had fewer vehicles
recalled. GM recalled only 537,992 vehicles in 2007, which was its
lowest total during the current decade. Since the year 2000, GM has
averaged 4.7 million recalled vehicles per year. Toyota also has
experienced fewer recalls for the second year in a row, down to about
583,000, although it had a company record of 2.3 million recalls back in
2005.
