On HBO's Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver took apart General Motors for its internal document listing made public last week listing words employees were discouraged from using when discussing potential safety problems with their cars.
The leaked memo, containing 65-banned terms or words such as "deathtrap," "potentially disfiguring," "grenade-like," "rolling sarcophagus," "Kevorkianesque," and "unbelievable engineering screw-up," follows in the wake of a year when GM recalled a record 11 million vehicles with problems ranging from defective brakes to a ignition switch issue that resulted in several deaths.
Oliver suggested the list was compiled by GM executives using word association games, with the new Chevy Sonic inspiring "crippling and dangerous," before adding, "There are no bad ideas here, just bad cars."
Oliver then introduced a "honest" General Motors' ad incorporating many of the terms in a more positive manner before closing with a new corporate tagline: “Why walk through the valley of the shadow of death when you can drive?”
Watch the video below courtesy of HBO:
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