GM Total Recall: 29 million

Nope, that number is not a misnomer. It is however, a unmigitated disaster, seemingly growing worse when it's supposed to stop. 

It started innocently enough in this March, when GM recalled 1.6 million cars due to faulty ignition switches led to 12 deaths and 34 crashes in the recalled cars. A proposed class action lawsuit was expected, and naturally came into play. Yet compared to Toyota's 2009 10 million car recall, this seemed meek in comparison. But then GM announced another round of recalls. Then another. Then another. The story of the once proud American icon turned laughingstock reborn into success had hit yet another speed bump. Yet this one doesn't seem to be abating anytime soon.

Just today, GM recalled another 8.23 million cars, making a total amount of 29 million for this year alone. That's not good for the consumer mindset, and because of that, definitely not good for GM itself. To it's credit, GM has acknowledged it's wrongdoing, and has gone all out to control the situation. The company has an ongoing private investigation onto how such issues could have occurred. And they are aggressively recalling to ensure safety. But regardless, a blunder this big can't really be mitigated.

First the obvious: Who want's to buy a car that could kill them by disabling it's airbags while they're on the highway? That's the most pressing issue at the moment. While other manufacturers have continued to show growth in sales (Despite the dreaded cyclical nature of the car industry), GM has faltered. 

Now all auto manufacturers (and companies) have some degree of uncertainty. But in GM's case, their haphazard sales growth is being combined with civil and personal lawsuits. They'll be able to settle many personal lawsuits out of court for various amounts. But they key here is the class action lawsuits against the company. It's very likely many of them won't win outright. But they do have a strong case. Some cars recalled are 2004 models; over a decade old. As such, theses cases will continue to drag on, not just in the court rooms, but on GM's balance sheets as increased legal expenses.

The end result is this: Oddly enough though, GM's stock has actually risen from when the first recalls were announced. Perhaps investors have come to expect a flawed company, and are taking these issues with a grain of salt. Perhaps they feel secure in the knowledge that CEO Mary Barra is aggressively sorting  these issues out. But regardless, GM's stock is climbing on what seems more and more to be the empty momentum of investor sentiment. And that will eventually lead to a stock price recall in and of itself