A pattern of incompetence and neglect, but not a cover-up, was at the heart of General Motors’ long delay in dealing with faulty ignition switches linked to at least 13 deaths, a report released Thursday by former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas and paid for by the Detroit automaker found.

Many in the company knew about the problems for more than a decade. But GM waited until February to launch a recall of 2.6 million cars to repair the switches — something the 315-page report described as a saga of failures that led to “tragic results” and “catastrophic failures.”

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