Anyone see this? It looks like it's not only Dodge having problems with
Goodyear but 4duh with Firestone. This is from the cnn website:
http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/08/04/tire.deaths.02.ap/index.html
Ford looks into safety of Firestone tires
August 4, 2000
Web posted at: 10:23 a.m. EDT (1423 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Almost 100
years ago, Henry Ford chose Harvey
Firestone to supply tires for America's
first mass-produced automobiles. It
was the beginning of an enduring
friendship and fortunes that would
outlive them both.
The companies that grew out of the relationship are
trying to maintain their
solidarity in the face of a government investigation
into whether Firestone
tires used on Ford Motor Co.'s popular Explorer have
caused people to die.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has
193 complaints,
including reports of 21 deaths, that Firestone tires
peel off their casings,
sometimes as the car they are on is barreling down the
road at speed.
Many of the Firestone ATX, ATX II and
Wilderness tires are original equipment on Ford,
General Motors, Toyota, Nissan and Subaru
SUVs and pickups, but most accidents reported to the
traffic safety agency
have involved the Ford Explorer, the industry's
top-selling sport utility
vehicle.
Concern about the tires prompted Sears Roebuck & Co. to
pull them from
its store shelves starting Friday.
"There's no recall, but until we have more information
from Firestone, the
responsible thing to do is to discontinue sales," Sears
spokesman Tom
Nicholson said Thursday.
Firestone's ATX, ATX II and Wilderness tires will no
longer be sold at 780
Sears Auto Centers or the 350 National Tire & Battery
shops.
NHTSA's investigation is in its preliminary stages, but
sometimes such
investigations lead to a recall by the manufacturer,
which in this case is
Firestone's parent company, Nashville, Tennessee-based
Bridgestone/Firestone.
Ford is looking into the case on its own. Company
officials say it's too soon
to say how they might respond, but spokesman Ken Zino
said Ford's
decision probably would not involve dropping its
longtime tire supplier.
"I can envision no response to a problem, if there is
one, that doesn't involve
working closely with Bridgestone/Firestone," Zino said.
"I think it's extremely
unlikely that this long-standing supplier would not
work closely with us."
Bridgestone/Firestone has involved Ford in its crisis
communications plan
since the investigation began in May, said Christine
Karbowiak,
spokeswoman for the tire company.
"We have a relationship with Ford. We've cherished it
since 1906," she said
in an interview from Akron, Ohio, where the company was
celebrating the
100th anniversary of Firestone tires.
"We want to make sure our customer is happy, whether
it's Ford or it's
somebody coming in to buy five tires."
Karbowiak said consumers had been "unduly concerned" by
media reports
of the investigation, but the company is using the
coverage as an opportunity
to educate people about tire safety.
The company is encouraging owners to go to a Firestone
Tire and Service
Center for free inspections of their tires.
"These things aren't indestructible," Karbowiak said.
"They are made out of
rubber. Every passenger car sold in the United States
is sold with a spare
tire, and they're sold with a spare tire for a reason."
Two Florida families sued Ford and
Bridgestone/Firestone on July 24,
alleging tire treads on their Ford Explorers separated
and caused fatal
accidents. Similar suits concerning the tires have been
filed since 1996.
The Washington-based Public Citizen advocacy group
alleges that as many
as 30 deaths have been caused by tire separation.
Strategic Safety, an
Arlington, Virginia-based group that does research for
plaintiffs' attorneys, is
recommending to Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone that
they recall tires on
1991 through 2000 models.
According to NHTSA, 28 of the reports of tread
separation noted that the
tire remained inflated, sometimes even after a crash.
In two cases, the tire
tread wrapped around the rear axle and locked up the
wheels.
Tread failure was reported at a speed of 20 mph, but 55
mph to 75 mph
was typical. Some tires that failed had been used fewer
than 2,000 miles,
agency records show.
Most of the complaints came from Texas and southern and
southwestern
states with warmer climates. Heat can affect tire tread
bonding and may be
associated with an increased rate of tread separation.
Ford has replaced Firestone tires for free on vehicles
sold in Venezuela,
Ecuador, Thailand, Malaysia, Colombia and Saudi Arabia
after tires failed in
those countries. It did not accept blame, but Ford said
it swapped tires "as a
customer satisfaction issue." It has not made a
decision on replacing tires for
U.S. customers.
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