The first crash test results for 2012 model-year cars were released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) earlier this month, and the news isn’t great. Under the stricter guidelines in place for 2011 and forward, only three cars have earned five-star composite ratings so far. Those three cars are the 2012 Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Camaro, and Toyota Camry, and of those three cars, only the Camaro scored 5 stars in every category.

The composite scores are based on ratings (on a scale of five) for frontal, rollover, and combined side-pole and barrier crash tests. The side-pole test is new, and simulates a side-impact crash into a pole or tree that is ten inches in diameter, with a vehicle traveling at 20 mph, and impact occurring at a 75-degree angle just aft of the driver’s side A-pillar.

The chart above shows the results of the first 22 2012 models to have gone through the crash testing. NHTSA has plans to test a total of 74 models for this model year.

The lawsuit, which is also seeking class-action status, says that GM should make the same repair to Impalas sold to general consumers (rather than the police) because they have the same spindle rod issue. It also charges GM with “breech of warranty,” and demands that the automobile company be compelled to either repair or replace the rear spindle rods.

Specifically, the lawsuit points out that, “There are no relevant material differences between police vehicles and class members’ vehicles relating the defective spindle rods.”

GM, which built about 24,000 of the police versions of the Impala in the 2007 and 2008 model years, declined to comment, claiming it never discusses matters in litigation, but the company did confirm that dealers had been notified of the rear suspension defect. The lawsuit says this defect applies to the 423,000 Chevrolet Impalas that were sold in those two years.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Donna Trusky of Blakely, PA, bought her Impala in February, 2008, but according to the lawsuit the tread on her car’s back tires was so worn that safe use was “questionable” after only 6,000 miles. Her dealer supplied new tires and re-aligned the front end of her car, but never mentioned the rear spindle rods. In November, 2010, with only a bit over 24,000 miles on the car, Trusky had to replace the back tires again, at a cost of roughly $290.

Speaking about GM, the lawsuit said, “Defendant concealed the existence of the defect from class members, even those who presented their vehicles for repair of the defect.”

Ms. Trusky’s lawyers said that complaints about the Chevrolet Impala’s rear suspension issues have been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Here’s the CNET video all about it. Enjoy:

During the weeks between July 4th and July 17th, GM will be stopping production at the Flint Assembly plant in Michigan and the Fort Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana. The information came from GM spokesperson Tom Wickham and UAW Local 2209 president Orval Plumlee. Plumlee’s organization represents the hourly workers at the Indiana facility.

The two plants are responsible for producing the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. At the end of May, the company’s truck inventory included a supply for 110 days of sales, or 258,000 units, according to information provided by GM’s vice president of U.S. sales, Don Johnson. This number is significantly higher than the industry standard of a 60-day supply.

Despite this apparent overload, Mark Reuss, present of North American operations for GM, said that in the short term, the level of inventory was acceptable, and that inventory-clearing incentives weren’t likely.

A few weeks ago, on May 9th, representatives of those automakers sent a letter to the chair of California’s Senate Transportation and Housing committee, Mark DeSaulnier, which stated, in part, “It is… unfortunate that there is an effort underway yet again to extend the yellow sticker program, and that legislation to do so is being sought. We do not support any further extensions of the yellow sticker program.”

The point of the letter isn’t that Ford, Honda, et al, believe such incentives are bad, merely that the original class of hybrids are no longer in need of such an incentive. As the letter explains, “Continued extensions of the program do not serve to incentivize sales of hybrid vehicles as the cap on yellow stickers was reached approximately seven years ago, shortly after the program’s inception.” The letter also adds that, the extension of such privileges to July 1st was granted “…without any public airing of the issue during two years of debate over the future HOV program.”

Currently, Ford and Honda are tied as the second-biggest hybrid car sellers, behind the reigning Toyota. All three companies, along with GM, Nissan, and others, have plug-in and alternative-fuel cars in their present or future product lines, and those vehicles are eligible for white stickers (solo EV drivers) and/or green ones (solo plug-in hybrid drivers).

Leland Yee, the California Senator who authored the bill granting the HOV extension until July 1st, said at the time that the goal of doing so was to give hybrid owners in his state time to purchase the electric and plug-in vehicles coming to market, but now those cars have arrived. The all-electric Nissan LEAF and the plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius due in 2012 both qualify, and while the 2011 Chevrolet Volt does not, the 2012 Volt should.

The letter in questions was signed by officials from Ford and Honda, as well as representatives of the California Natural Gas Vehicle Association, Clean Energy Fuels, and Plug-In America.

The recall was prompted by an incident in Minnesota last month, where a white Cruze LT lost its steering wheel while traveling with prevailing traffic on a local highway. Fortunately, the driver was able to get the car off the road without hitting anything or anyone, and there were no injuries, but the wheel did become completely separated from the steering column.

A spokesperson for GM said that this is an isolated issue, but has issued the recall anyway. The cars in question will be examined to make sure the steering wheels are properly attached. While there have been no other reports of this issue, GM does warn that if the steering wheel feels loose on the column, it is a cause for concern.

This recall is limited to Chevy Cruzes that were produced in GM’s Lordstown, OH, plant, and meant for the North American market.

GM closed the plant, which specializes in small pickups like the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado, because of a “…parts shortage related to the crisis in Japan…” but it the parts that were affected has not been specified. Instead, GM spokesperson Kim Carpenter verified in an email, “We have the material we need to resume production.”

Analysts have theorized that GM idled the plant in order to redirect Japanese parts to better-selling vehicles, as it gauges the fiscal impact of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on March 11th.

In January and February, GM sold 4,810 Colorados, which is fifty-one percent more units sold than in the same two months last year. As of the first of March, 2011, the automaker had a 58-day inventory of the pickups. GM also sold 21 percent more Canyons in the first two months of 2011 than it did in the same months of 2010, making 1,459 vehicles sold, with a 60-day supply in inventory.

In a press release, GM said, “We are constantly assessing the situation and anticipating adjustments in our plants around the world as needed.”

The release continued, “These adjustments may include optimizing the usage of parts that are — or will be — in short supply, modifications to manufacturing schedules and temporary suspensions of production.”

Ms. Carpenter said that GM will be recalling 59 workers who were laid off from its plant in Tonawanda, N.Y., which makes the engines for the trucks produced in Shreveport.