General Motors Q1 Profits Down Big on the Heels of Ignition-Switch Recall

Description: Were it not for the ignition-switch recall with all those annoying investigations and people clamoring for rental cars, General Motors would have paid out at least 48 cents more per share by the end of the first quarter. That amount, roughly speaking, is what GM decided its customers weren’t worth when engineers proposed a redesigned ignition switch in 2005. GM was still profitable during the first three months of this year, but only by the ink on a dollar bill. Its $125 million profit was