My DESIGN proposal, in light of the GM ignition switch recall...

In the days of digital tuners on everything including televisions, it time to redesign the ignition switch and the car starting system.

Thoss of us old enough to know about full voltage contacts, know how problematic the original mechanical tuners on TV sets used to be. The advent of micro voltages and digital tuners make them almost flawless and ultra-reliable, today.

First, the switch should "failsafe" to the ON position for the airbags and the steering. The OFF and locked position for the car should be horizontal.

The ON position should be 90 degrees VERTICAL. The SLOT for the key ring, then would keep the car in the ON position even when the key ring is heavily loaded, unless the car is to be in the LOCKED position allowing the key to be withdrawn.

The ENGINE START, ENGINE ON and ENGINE OFF and accessoriy functions should be a separate button switch on the DASH like on the Gen II plus Prius. No Smart Key system needed.

This would be much safer than the current system and totally AVOIDS turning the key switch off, disabling the air bags, steering and locking the steering colum IN PANIC MODE.