A class-action suit is currently being levied in Pennsylvania against auto manufacturer Kia, representing more than 10,000 consumers over faulty brake systems in the Kia Sephia model. The suit contends that Kia breached its express warranty stating that Sephia would be free of manufacturing defects during the warranty period. Similar suits over the same defect have previously been won in other states with awards to consumers.

According to leading California lemon law attorney and consumer advocate Norman Taylor, lemon laws and attorneys representing them will be needed as long as automakers focus on the wrong priorities in their manufacturing process. “It is estimated that California car dealers sell 1.5 million new motor vehicles per year,” Taylor said. “Various studies have found that an alarming percentage turn out to be lemons. If you take a look at corporate practices for many manufacturers, especially American manufacturers, the focus boils down to not quality, but quantity. Every management decision, good or bad, is based on its effect on the quarterly report, which drives the value of the company’s stock. So, what affects that quarterly report? Total sales and the bottom line. The more units that can be produced cheaply, the better the stock performs.”

Taylor has had occasion to research such factors thoroughly. He has been a lemon law specialist since 1987, and he and his firm, Norman Taylor and Associates, have handled over 8,000 cases for consumers with a 98 percent success rate.

Of course, this lack of focus on quality will come back to haunt a company in the end. For many years, sales of Japanese vehicles have heavily impacted the American market because overall Japan produces higher quality vehicles. “Over the years, Japan has paid excellent attention to quality,” Taylor said. “We live with the results of how well they have. In every quality survey, Japanese automobiles appear at the top. Meanwhile, General Motors is begging the government for another bailout.”

As long as manufacturers continue to produce such a high volume of defective vehicles, lemon laws and their enforcement will be vital to consumers. If you think you have purchased a lemon, contact a qualified lemon law attorney for your state right away.