General Motors and Ralph Nader
General Motors (GM), as a reaction to Nader’s attempted crusade on their safety protocols and the Corvair’s design through his publication of Unsafe at Any Speed, hired a private investigator to obtain "lurid details" about Nader that could discredit him in the eyes of the public, with "detective reports indicat[ing that] the investigators asked about Mr. Nader's sex habits, political beliefs and attitudes toward Jews" (Rugaber, New York Times).
Portrait of James Roche, head of General Motors in 1966
GM General Counsel Aloysius Power, who allegedly ordered the investigation of Ralph Nader
The investigation was a blatant infringement of Nader's privacy. According to the New York Times, " detectives tailed and shadowed him, accosted him with girls who were sex lures, made threatening and obnoxious telephone calls to him, and interrogated his acquaintances." (G.M. Settles, New York Times)
James M. Roche, the head of General Motors at the time, gave the following statement in front of Congress: "I did not know of the investigation when it was initiated and I did not approve it." (United States, Congress)
Nader settled a suit with GM out of court for $425,000, even though according to GM, the payout "was
not conceding that it had
invaded his privacy in the investigation" (G.M. Settles, New York Times). Since Nader was actively participating in congressional motor vehicle safety hearings hearings during the scandal, the publicity that surrounded the controversy between GM and Nader pushed the hearings into the public eye and led to reform in the form of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act passed that very same year.