David v. Longenecker v. General Motors Corporation, a Corporation, Sharon Longenecker v. General Motors Corporation

GOODWIN, Circuit Judge:

These consolidated appeals present common questions for review. A jury found General Motors liable, on the theory of a dangerous defect in the design and manufacture of a 1966 Chevrolet Impala passenger car, for injuries sustained by the plaintiff driver of a Volkswagen with which the Impala collided, and for plaintiff’s wife’s loss of consortium.

For reasons disputed by the parties, Lustre, the driver of the Impala, lost control of the car. The Impala traveled 145 feet across the grass median of the highway and struck a concrete abutment. The collision with the abutment…