Firestone takes more heat
The Ford company is beginning to take a lot of heat and loss in the recall of Firestone tires.
The Ford SUV has been one of America's most popular vehicles for almost 10 years, and is just now coming under the microscope to find out how well it's manufacturers have tested the SUV for weight distribution and safety characteristics during it's finally stages of development and assembly.
Over 100 deaths have been blamed on the tires which have not stood up to inflated tire pressure of 26 psi. Firestone recommended to Ford a 30 psi inflation level, because tires are more prone to shred from heat at lower pressures. The decision to send out the tires at 26 psi came from Ford itself.
The Ford Explorer had to pass a Consumers Union rollover test. In this test, the handling of the vehicle is one of the factors examined. The Consumers Union "J" turn test wasn't the strong point of the SUV, and the only way Ford could pass the vehicle through the test was to adjust the suspension and recommend a 26 psi for the tires.
Firestone who has been taking the blame for most of the problems has finally begun to shunt some of the tension Ford's way, saying that the Explorer has a design problem. Albeit a small one, claiming the tires factor in only a "very very small portion" of the 16,000 SUV rollovers.
Spokesperson says that passengers are 20 percent less likely to be killed by a rollover accident when in an Explorer SUV. Consumers do not appear to be alarmed at all of this. Sales have not significantly dropped, although Ford did loose one of it's plants. This loss combined with the changeover to the new 2002 model will take a bit out of production later this year.
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