That's in large part because, as the above tendentious timeline omits, a key engineer at GM was lying to everyone about the switch, which he initially approved

That's in large part because, as the above tendentious timeline omits, a key engineer at GM was lying to everyone about the switch, which he initially approved knowing it didn't pass the required specifications. Some fault GM's systems and procedures, but it's hard to imagine successful ones that can deal with engineers lying.