Ford on trial in $3 bln fraud suit
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A huge fraud suit against Ford Motor Co. went to
trial Tuesday over allegations that the automaker hid a potentially
dangerous stalling problem from government regulators and 3 million
California customers. Ford decided in 1982 to save $4 per vehicle by
mounting an ignition device, the thick film ignition module or TFI, over the
engine despite warnings from an engineer that high temperatures would cause
the device to fail and stall the engine, attorney Paul D. Nelson told a
Superior Court jury. He said the warning was quickly borne out by a flood of
complaints from customers and dealers, replacement of the devices in 15
million vehicles over 17 years, and high-level company studies confirming
the problem - studies the company withheld from federal safety officials and
the public.
Greg
95 DSCC v6 5spd
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