NHTSA Complaint #10066112 — 1997 CHEVROLET LUMINA

I HAVE BEEN THE OWNER OF A 1997 CHEVROLET LUMINA SINCE JULY OF 2002. IT WAS WELL MAINTAINED BY MY UNCLE, WHOM I BOUGHT IT FROM. IT HAD 57K MILES WHEN BOUGHT. SHORTLY AFTER BUYING IT, I NOTICED COOLANT LOSS IN THE OVERFLOW BOTTLE. TO MAKE A LONG AND EXPENSIVE STORY SHORT, I HAD TO REPLACE THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET AT A COST OF NEARLY $600. THIS IS A COMMON REPAIR ON GM V6 ENGINES I LATER FOUND OUT AFTER TALKING TO MECHANICS AND READING ON VARIOUS WEB SITES SUCH AS GM-V6LEMONS.COM. THIS IS A FLAWED ENGINE DESIGN THAT GM DENIES HAS ANY PROBLEMS. I ATTEMPTED TO GET GM TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS BY ASKING FOR RENUMERATION AND WAS TOLD THAT THE ENGINE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND I WASN'T THE ORIGINAL OWNER. THIS RESPONSE WAS IN REPLY TO A LETTER WRITTEN TO KURT RITTER, CEO OF CHEVROLET.