Oops.

Concerns that Chevrolet Cruzes could catch fire have caused General Motors (GM) to recall more than 475,000 of the popular compact sedans, the automaker said Friday…

All (Cruze) cars manufactured from September 2010 to May of this year are subject to the recall.

Already getting Chevy Volt flashbacks?  Of course you are.

In January, GM “called back” every single Volt ever sold in the U.S., to fix the (fire problem on the) allegedly already “fixed” battery….

It’s important for a company to create a branding identity–something all its products possess as an underlying, unifying theme. 

GM has successfully identified and implemented theirs: combustibility.

And this is not the first Cruze recall.

First, 2,100 Cruzes were recalled when steering wheels started spontaneously falling off.

But that was just the tip of the Titanic.

Government Motors is now forced to recall ALL 154,112 2011 Cruzes – for multiple problems. There was, again, the steering. And an automatic transmission with a phantom Park – it looks like it’s out of gear, but (Surprise!) it’s not.

Not a very “fuel-efficient vehicle” if you can’t disengage the transmission.

You’ll notice GM readily refers to the Cruze moves as “recalls.”  But on the Volt, they’re called “call backs.”  Why?

“The (Volt) cars are covered by a ‘customer satisfaction program’ run by GM, which is similar to a safety recall but allows the carmaker to avoid the bad publicity and federal monitoring that come with a recall.”

How ingenuous and straightforward of GM. 

At once propping up the uber-failed “success” of the Barack Obama Administration’s amped-up auto bailout – and its non-green non-energy crusade.

We have been told by GM that people come in to look at the $41,000 Volt, but leave with the $17,000 Cruze. 

“The Volt is leading to a lot of Cruze sales,” said Mark Reuss, GM’s CEO for North America. Customers are coming in to see the Volt, but “not everyone can buy a Volt,” Reuss said. The Volt has a starting price that’s nearly two and half times greater than the Cruze’s price.

It’s good to know they aren’t missing out on any of the excitement.