General Motors said it would recall 1.3 million small Chevrolet and Pontiac models sold in North America because of a power steering problem. The defect has been linked to more than a dozen accidents so far.

The carmaker is recalling the Chevy Cobalt, along with Pontiac 4, G5, and Pursuit models.

Though it's a GM recall, its also another headache for beleaguered Toyota, since the U.S. carmaker is blaming the problem on a parts supplier that is owned by the Japanese firm. GM vice-chairman Robert Lutz told the BBC that the supplier had not met all requirements for reliability, leaving open the question of whether GM would seek to make the supplier financially responsible.