2010 was a record year for voluntary automobile recalls. Over 20.3 million cars were recalled last year. The recall statistics were obtained from a recent report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and, as explained in this New York Times blog post, 2010 was a banner year for auto recalls:

It was the fourth-largest number of vehicles recalled since the safety agency began keeping track in 1966. The nadir was 2004, when 30.8 million vehicles were recalled. In contrast, about 16.6 million vehicles were recalled in 2009.

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