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CNN Live Sunday

Ford, Firestone Split Over Explorer Rollover Issue

Aired May 27, 2001 - 17:44   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: The bitter and very public split between Firestone and Ford has attracted a lot of attention. The latest issue of "TIME" magazine examines Ford's responsibility for rollovers of its Explorer SUVs -- rollovers that Ford, until lately, blamed on Firestone tires.

The story from CNNFN's Tim O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was one of the most enduring relationships in corporate America, going back almost 100 years when Harvey Firestone first agreed to provide tires to Henry Ford. But it disintegrated last week with finger-pointing on a grand scale, Firestone saying Ford shares in the blame for hundred of deadly rollover accidents involving the Ford Explorer, and Ford deciding to replace all 13 million factory-installed Firestone Wilderness AT tires.

From its first public comments, Ford has blamed Firestone for many Explorer rollovers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, SEPTEMBER 2000)

JACQUES NASSER, FORD PRESIDENT & CEO: We know that this is a Firestone tire issue, not a vehicle issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: This week's issue of "TIME" magazine takes a critical look at Ford's role. After reviewing hundreds of thousands of documents, "TIME" concludes Ford knew years ago it had a stability problem with its Explorer, and did little about it.

JOHN GREENWALD, "TIME" MAGAZINE: What we found when we looked in these boxes of data was that Ford knew for many years that it was dealing with a vehicle that had a tendency to lose stability during emergency handing conditions.

O'BRIEN: The Center for Auto Safety goes even further.

CLARENCE DITLOW, CENTER FOR AUTO SAFETY: When Ford was designing the Explorer, it new that it had a rollover-prone vehicle, and Ford should have specified a better tire rather than a cheaper tire. And what Ford went for was to protect their profits, and consumers lost their lives as a result.

O'BRIEN: Another play in the blame game: Ford uses Firestone's own statistics that show much higher tire failure rates in warmer climates, like the Southern U.S.

(on camera): Yet Ford recommended only 26 pounds of tire pressure for its Explorer. Experts say that while lower tire pressure reduces the likelihood of a rollover, it also puts more stress on a tire Firestone admits had problems in design and manufacture.

(voice-over): Finally, last August Ford went along with new Firestone recommendations and told Explorer owners it was OK to inflate tires to as high as 30 pounds.

That underinflation may have contributed to what many call a deadly combination.

VICTOR DIAZ, PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: From the beginning we have been saying that this both a bad tire and a bad vehicle.

O'BRIEN: A study by the Department of Transportation shows that the Ford Explorer has an overall better safety record than most other SUVs sold in the United States. But that says little about the general safety of the Explorer or the SUVs as a class, which the government says are more than twice as likely to roll over than most passenger cars.

Tim O'Brien, CNN Financial News, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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