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Ford Fearful for Explorer's Reputation

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm quite disappointed in the reaction that Ford has been getting over this recall nonsense. I realize that there were a few bad tires out there. That's terrible but the way this tragedy has been played out by the media and public is all about taking advantage of large corporations. Hmm, Ford has money so go after them. The problem is entirely the fault of the tires. I know enough about sport utes and tires to know that much. What I think is that some lawyers have realized that going after one of the biggest motor companies in the world could be profitable. As for the public, they are just being naive. Most of the Firestone tires out there are just as safe as any Goodyear or any other make. Now some dealers are having to change tires just to make a sale. Like my mechanic friend has been having to tell "scared" people - were you fearing for your life the last 60,000 miles you put on those tires? The Explorer is still one of the safest sport utes in its class!
 






Ford-Firestone Fiasco

I've got a set of Wilderness ATs on my Mountaineer. So far, no problems. I don't see any tread separation cracks at all, with about 45,000 miles on them. But then, I've always kept the pressure between 32 and 34 psi; I don't care for the mushy handling that comes with lower tire pressure. However, I *do* remember smelling an unusually strong "hot rubber" odor after a recent 100-mile drive. I'll have to examine them carefully. I'll bet the lower tire pressure recommendation from Ford came from outside the engineering department. The test group of soccer moms probably complained about that "truck-like" ride, so *presto*, it was fixed the easy way. Not the first time that stuff like marketing and politics have superceded engineering recommendations; see the Morton-Thiokol "o-ring" incident.

I think the efforts by Ford and Firestone are laudable, but it bugs me when I see Ford spokespersons waving their arms and telling us how concerned they are - why, they're even shutting down several plants, just to free up a supply of new tires.

Uh, this the time of year when Ford ordinarily does model-year changeover shutdowns at those plants *anyway*.
I may be wrong about this, but it sounds like Ford it milking that shutdown as a public relations stunt. Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining! ;-)
 






HERE is what to look for!!

I just created a page with photos of a Firestone tire in the size and type being recalled including a shot of the DOT code and where to find it.

http://www.grandillusion.org/Bad Firestone Tire.htm


BTW let me know if the email button on the bottom works, I can't seem to get it to work, yet everything looks correct. Thanks


[Edited by kilroy on 08-26-2000 at 06:14 PM]
 












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