Congress on Tuesday will grill General Motors’ new CEO Mary Barra about a defective ignition switch in the company's cars that's responsible for more than a dozen deaths over the past decade. GM has so far recalled 2.6 million cars as a result of the defect.

While much of Tuesday's hearing will focus on problems of the past, it has the potential to change GM's future. Here are five reasons why you should care.

1. It could have been you — in your first car.

At least 13 people have died in GM vehicles that have been linked to the defect, and some say that number could reach 25 — or more. The majority of the victims killed in the crashes were young, and many of them were women, all of whom were driving small, entry-level cars like the Chevrolet Cobalt and the Saturn Ion. For some of them, these were their first cars.

The defect is a result of a faulty ignition switch that causes cars to suddenly switch off. This then stiffens the brakes, causes a loss of power steering and disables the air bags — a cruel chain of events that may have sent inexperienced drivers careening off the road and to their deaths.

"With an entry-level car where you have a newly licensed driver, the freak-out will win the day," Robert Hilliard, a Texas personal injury lawyer with lawsuits against GM, told the Associated Press. "All that those young drivers are going to do is respond to the panic."

2. Both GM and federal regulators knew about the problem for years.

GM knew about the problem for years, and yet people continued to die, according to lawsuit depositions, federal attorneys and a Congressional subcommittee's report.

"More than a decade ago, GM embarked on a small-car program," GM CEO Mary Barra will say at Tuesday's testimony, according to prepared remarks. "Sitting here today, I cannot tell you why it took years for a safety defect to be announced in that program, but I can tell you that we will find out." It took until February of this year for GM to issue the recall.

3. GM could have fixed the problem by spending a few more dollars.

GM could have replaced the defective part for only $2 to $5. “We know that the difference between this switch and one that would have worked properly was life or death,” Senator Ed Markey said on Tuesday outside the Capitol. “Do you know the other difference? Two dollars.”

“Corporate executives made a decision that fighting the problem was cheaper and easier than fixing the problem,” added Laura Christian, a mother of one of the victims.

Image: J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

GM reportedly rejected a proposed fix for the problem in 2005 "because it would have taken too long and cost too much," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ray DeGiorgio, chief switch engineer on the Cobalt, said in a sworn deposition that he couldn't explain why the original switch was changed and that he did not sign off on it. However, his story his contradicts a document that House investigators released. In that document, which has DeGiorgio's signature, he approved the switch redesign.

4. A government agency failed to fix the problem, too.

Federal officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided not to open an inquiry into the defective ignition switches despite a number of reports between 2007 and 2010 that warned of accidents caused by the defect. The agency's own investigators warned of at least four fatal crashes and 29 complaints showing the problem of the disabled air bags, The New York Times reports, citing a memo a House subcommittee released.

According to prepared testimony, NHTSA acting Administrator David Friedman will standby his agency’s handling of the complaints. “We are not aware of any information to suggest that NHTSA failed to properly carry out its safety mission based on the data available to it and the process it followed,” he is expected to say.

5. This is a big test for the first female CEO of a major U.S. automaker.

GM CEO Mary Barra has been on the job for just three months — and has spent the majority of the time apologizing for her predecessors failures in publicly identifying and fixing the problem.

"As soon as l learned about the problem, we acted without hesitation," she is expected to say on Tuesday, according to prepared remarks. "We told the world we had a problem that needed to be fixed. We did so because whatever mistakes were made in the past, we will not shirk from our responsibilities now and in the future. Today’s GM will do the right thing."

We're working hard to resolve the @GM ignition switch recall. I answer some of your questions in these videos: http://t.co/hDKu5OE3lT

— Mary Barra (@mtbarra) March 26, 2014

 

She has asked former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas to "conduct a thorough and unimpeded investigation of the actions of General Motors," she is expected to say, and appointed a new vice president for Global Vehicle Safety to seek out and identify all product safety issues in the future.