About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

B-166506 1 (1972-06-12)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaagjw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 





                    COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF TR-M Ut4TED STATES

IWt                            WASHINGTON. D.C. 20548(76j       f
    B- 166506
                                                           JUN 1 2 1972



                                                      LM096536
    Dear Mr. Chairman:

         In response to your request of May 25, 1972 (enc. 11), we are
    submitting a report (enc. I) on our review of (1) the adequacy of the
    motorlvehicle certificatinproced uj s of the Environmental Protection
  I Agency (EPA), (2) the capacity of EPA to oversee the auto companies' -2
  / preparation of certification data, and (3) the procedures of the auto
    companies for developing the certification data.

         Following is a summary of the information we obtained relating to
    the points of interest specified in your letter. These matters are
    discussed in more detail in the enclosed report.

         On May 16, 1972, the Ford Motor Company withdrew the four appli-
    cations it had made to EPA for certification of its 1973 vehicles.
    Ford officials withdrew their applications because they had discovered
    that Ford test personnel had performed unauthorized maintenance on pro-
    totype vehicles being tested for certification. The unauthorized main-
    tenance had not been reported to EPA as performed, or included in the
    final applications.

         Ford officials have attributed the cause of the problem to a lack
    of proper management control over certification testing. Within Ford,
    the Engine and Foundry Division had the responsibility for building the
    certification vehicles, conducting the tests, and compiling the certi-
    fication data.

         On May 23, 1972, Ford reorganized and transferred responsibility
    for prototype certification testing from its Engine and Foundry Division
    to the Environmental and Safety Engineering Staff. Ford officials told
    us that Ford would take a number of additional steps to improve manage-
    ment control over certification vehicles,

         Our discussions with officials of the General Motors Corporation,
    the Chrysler Corporation, and the American Motors Corporation disclosed
    that these companies do not have formal written certification test pro-
    cedures. But officials from each of the companies stated that iz was
    unlikely that unauthorized maintenance would be performed on th:eir test
    fleet vehicles without the knowledge of upper management personnel. The
    officials told us that EPA personnel did not visit their plants to moni-
    tor their testing or to inspect their records.



                       C)

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most