To finalize the civil action with the multiple federal agencies connected with the faulty ignition switch recall, General Motors has one week to transfer $900 million into U.S. coffers.

The settlement announced on Thursday also detailed federal investigator findings of how the OEM “actively concealed the truth” about those faulty ignitions in six discontinued models that now are getting long in the tooth — if they’re even still in operation.

So what should dealers do if somewhere in their inventory there’s a Pontiac G5, a Saturn Ion or Chevrolet Cobalt that was originally equipped with an ignition that GM has acknowledged to have caused a total of 15 deaths, as well as a number of serious injuries?

“As for dealers, there is no reason to avoid these vehicles,” Kelley Blue Book residual value analyst Eric Ibara said in a message to Auto Remarketing on Thursday.

“Most people are unaware of the recall, so it is unlikely that they will shy away from these vehicles,” Ibara continued. “The important thing is for dealers to make sure that the recall fix has been made on the vehicle before they retail the car.  For GM, it is obviously a win as it puts this incident behind them, and they can focus on the major launches coming up.”

GM explained that the settlement resolves a shareholder class action filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

In addition, the company has reached a memorandum of understanding potentially covering approximately 1,380 individual death and personal injury claimants. They include more than half of the personal injury plaintiffs who have lawsuits pending in the Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

“The parties to these agreements have resolved difficult claims without the burden, expense and uncertainty of litigation,” GM executive vice president and general counsel Craig Glidden said.

As a result of these settlements, the company said it will record a charge of $575 million in the third quarter.

“Today’s settlement between General Motors and the federal government, highlighted by a $900 million fine, reflects the increased government scrutiny all automakers will face going forward,” said Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer.

“GM’s efforts to address the systemic elements surrounding the ignition switch failure, and its willingness to work with the government going forward, played a key role in resolving the issue,” Brauer continued.

“The terms of this agreement include tighter oversight between GM and federal regulators going forward, which is similar to the terms in the recent agreement reached between the government and FCA after that automaker’s failure to address recalls,” he went on to say.

Barra speaks again

Following the announcement by regulators at lunchtime, GM chief executive officer Mary Barra addressed employees in a town hall meeting later on Thursday afternoon at the GM Vehicle Engineering Center in Warren, Mich. Barra made multiple appearances on Capitol Hill last year where lawmakers lambasted her for how the automaker handled the situation, which stemmed from the ignition switching out of the run position while in motion — disabling the steering system, airbags and other critical components.

“Let’s pause for a moment and remember that people were hurt and people died in our cars. That’s why we’re here,” Barra said on Thursday.

“I have said many times how sorry I am for what happened. On behalf of all of us, I have apologized to the families who lost love ones and to those who were injured. I do so again today,” she continued.

“We let these customer down in this situation. We didn’t do our jobs. As part of our apology to the victims, we promised to take responsibility for our actions,” Barra went on to say.

Barra made a similar presentation to employees after GM hired former federal prosecutor Anton Valukas to investigate what happened, part of the process that led to the dismissal of more than a dozen higher-level executives who were a part of matter.

“I have said many times I wish I could turn back the clock. If I could, I would do so in a heartbeat. But I can’t,” Barra said. “What we can do is make sure we respond the right way. We have done that, and we will continue to do so.

“I concluded my remarks on the Valukas Report by saying I believe in GM and I believe in you. This past year has only strengthened my confidence in you and the company,” she went on to say.

Recap of federal investigation

GM eventually recalled more than 2.2 million vehicles during the matter that first surfaced early last year. The units involved included:

— 2005, 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt

— 2005, 2006 and 2007 Pontiac G5

— 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Saturn Ion

— 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet HHR

— 2007 Saturn Sky

— 2006 and 2007 Pontiac Solstice

“GM engineers knew before the defective switch even went into production in 2002 that it was prone to easy movement out of the run position,” federal officials from the Department of Justice and Department of Transportation said when announcing their settlement with the OEM on Thursday.

“Testing of a prototype showed that the torque return between the run and accessory positions fell below GM’s own internal specifications. But the engineer in charge of the defective switch approved its production anyway,” they continued.

Regulators determined that by the spring of 2012, GM knew that the defective switch presented a safety defect because it could cause airbag non-deployment in certain GM vehicles. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated that it did not receive a notice about the problem from GM until February of last year. NHTSA said GM “egregiously disregarded” the regulator’s five-day regulatory reporting requirement for safety defects.

“GM’s delay in disclosing the defect at issue was the product of actions by certain personnel responsible for shepherding safety defects through GM’s internal recall process, who delayed the recall until GM could fully package, present, explain, and handle the deadly problem,” officials said.

“Rather than move swiftly and efficiently toward recall of at least the population of cars known to be affected by the safety defect and thus certainly destined for recall, GM personnel took affirmative steps to keep the company’s internal investigation into airbag non-deployment caused by the defective switch ‘offline’ — outside of GM’s regular recall process,” they continued.

“On at least two occasions while the defective switch condition was well known by some within GM but not disclosed to the public or NHTSA, GM personnel made incomplete and therefore misleading presentations to NHTSA assuring the regulator that GM would and did act promptly, effectively, and in accordance with its formal recall policy to respond to safety problems — including airbag-related safety defects,” officials went on to say.

The settlement agreement imposes on GM an independent monitor to review and assess policies, practices, and procedures relating to the automakers safety-related public statements, sharing of engineering data and recall processes. 

And as far as criminal charges, officials said they are alleging one count of engaging in a scheme to conceal material facts from NHTSA and one count of wire fraud.  However if GM abides by all of the terms of the agreement, the federal officials will defer prosecution for three years and then seek to dismiss the charges.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “General Motors not only failed to disclose this deadly defect, but as the Department of Justice investigation shows, it actively concealed the truth from NHTSA and the public.

“Today’s announcement sends a message to manufacturers: Deception and delay are unacceptable, and the price for engaging in such behavior is high,” Foxx continued.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara added, “For nearly two years, GM failed to disclose a deadly safety defect to the public and its regulator. By doing so, GM put its customers and the driving public at serious risk. 

“Justice requires the filing of criminal charges, detailed admissions, a significant financial penalty and the appointment of a federal monitor,” Bharara went on to say. “These measures are designed to make sure that this never happens again.”