GM apologises to US House, public for faulty cars

American carmaker Gerneral Motors on Tuesday admitted before a Congress panel that company officials knew of their cars' potentially deadly ignition switches for years, but failed to correct the problem.

GM's chief executive Mary Barra apologised and said the automaker had a "civic responsibility" to make things right.

The manufacturer is under fire for not recalling Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other GM models over the past decade, despite its own evidence that the defects were posing a major hazard.

After 13 deaths were linked to the problems, GM eventually issued mass recalls this year.

Barra said GM has acknowledged the problem, launched an exhaustive review to determine what and who is responsible, and pledged top-to-bottom changes in shifting from a "cost culture" to a focus on safety and quality.

"Today's GM will do the right thing," she told a House investigations committee in Washington. That begins with my sincere apologies to everyone who has been affected by this recall. I am deeply sorry."

Lawmakers pointed to internal documents showing GM at first refused to change the faulty switches because it would have been too costly.

Barra joined the lawmakers in expressing astonishment that the company went ahead with using the parts even though they did not meet GM standards. "That is not something that I find acceptable," Barra said.

"Today... if we know there is a safety defect on our vehicles, we don't look at the cost but at the speed at which we can fix the problem."

Lawmakers argued tragedy could have been avoided if GM acted swiftly to fix a serious but inexpensive problem.

"Two dollars - that's how little this ignition switch could have cost to repair," said Senator Ed Markey. "But that was apparently $2 too much for General Motors."

Heaping pressure on the automaker, weeping relatives marched up Capitol Hill, clutching images of their loved ones, to demand accountability from GM and tell how their children died in vehicles they said the company knew were faulty.

Barra said she met privately on Tuesday with crash victim relatives, some of whom watched her testify.

The auto giant faces mounting legal troubles, including a Justice Department probe and lawsuits from people injured and families of those who died in crashes allegedly tied to the ignition issue.