Wheel Problems of Buick Lucerne - part 2

The left-front chrome plated wheel on my 2006 Buick Lucerne had a stress crack develop over time. At some point in the past there must have been some impact because there was a slight flattening of the rim, but the day the rim failed I had no impact with any road hazard whatsoever; the low tire pressure indicator came on and I was losing air fast. Once I could get in to have the wheel checked the hairline crack, inside the rim, was discovered. I purchased a new wheel through my Buick dealer, and filed a claim with Buick for some amount of compensation. In my opinion a wheel of this expense should not fail in this manner. My previous vehicle, another Buick, was driven for 14 years and 427,000 miles, and I never had to replace a wheel. The wheels on my Lucerne were produced in china ("china" is stamped inside the rim) and are of obvious poor material and quality - are they tested to meet d. O. T. Standards? Buick has denied my claim, based on the "age" of the wheel. I am not just concerned with the cost of the wheel, but also with the safety of these wheels. I drive 400-500 miles a week for work Monday through Thursday; I am concerned of losing a wheel at 65-70 m. P. H. Have there been any other problems reported like this? I strongly feel this need to be checked into, especially now, with taxpayer-based loan money having gone to gm and with more on the way, gm needs to make sure they will stand by their products and more importantly, their loyal customers.

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While entering a curve on the east -west connector in frankfort, ky, my wife lost control of our 2006 Buick Lucerne. The speed limit was 45 and she was going no more than 35-40. She was unable to steer the car and bring it under control. The right front part of our car hit a guardrail, she thought that she was able to bring it under control momentarily, then lost control again. The car spun around and hit the cement barrier, where the car stopped. Damage was done to the right rear and the right rear wheel was completely severed from the vehicle. We had never had problems with the car before, although several days earlier, when I drove the car, I noticed several times that the car did not seem to respond immediately to my controls. The car has been serviced regularly and had approximately 18,000 miles. Fortunately, my wife was not injured and no other vehicles were involved. We have approximately $10,000 in damages to the car. Our primary concern is that the wheel was completely severed from the car. The tire is not flat, but the wheel separated at the hub (I think that is the correct term). Since this is a new car (2006 was the first model), we wonder whether there may be some type of defect? we can't believe that the wheel would have been completely removed from the vehicle (intact) when she was never going more than 35-40 and, most likely, slower than that when she hit the cement barrier. If necessary, we can provide a copy of the accident report, a list of repairs to be made on the vehicle, and pictures that we took of the vehicle. Please let us know if you need additional information. Thank you for your consideration.