Well that's exactly the problem. If they did redesign it and said, "oh yeah, they used to jam so we fixed it so it wouldn't" that would open them up to liability. So they're damned if they fix it, damned if they don't, but it probably costs less if they don't. It's the Formula right? Probability of occurrence x Cost of each lawsuit x Number of cars with defect < Cost of doing recall or fixing the problem. Besides, each dollar you spend on something that doesn't actually sell the car is taken away from things that do, like styling, features, lower price, advertising etc. And unfortunately, this principle applies to all industries, baby carriages, food, medicine...

I'm not trying to defend the auto industry or their practices because they suck. I think the lesson here is not to expect that anyone, except yourself, is looking out for your interests. Thus, everyone should have a belt cutter or knife and basic survival tools. If you really want to increase survivability in car wrecks, put in a roll cage, 5 point harness and wear a nomex suit and helmet. Flinging your body around the land in a metal box at 70mph powered by flammable liquid is rather dangerous but we do it everyday so we think it's safe.