TABLE OF CONTENTS The San Diego Union Tribune Abstract:
Ford Motor Co. will pay state attorneys general $51 million to end claims that its advertising fails to disclose the rollover risk involved with driving sport utility vehicles, the Associated Press has learned. The money will be shared among the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, said four sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. (AP, 2002)
In May 2001, Ford Motor Company recalled and replaced 13 million Firestone tires equipped in its Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles (SUVs). This action was an attempt to end its dispute with Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. over who was to blame for deadly Explorer rollover crashes. The dispute had already generated bad publicity, launched congressional hearings, and spawned a new focus on tire safety. In part because of the $3 billion price tag for replacing the tires, Ford lost $5.45 billion in 2001 (Webster, 2003).
However, Firestone tires seem unlikely to have been the fundamental cause of Ford Explorer rollover crashes. During the 10-year period during which Ford-Firestone-related rollovers caused approximately 300 deaths, more than 12,000 people died in SUV rollover crashes (all models, not just the Explorer) unrelated to tire failure (Frontline, 2002a). In this chapter, we discuss issues connected to the design of the Ford Explorer SUV.
In response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo, which increased gasoline prices and fuel shortages, the...
