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Ford drops Firestone in Venezuela
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October 6, 2000: 2:48 p.m. ET
Automaker to no longer use tire maker in Venezuela because of recall
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Bridgestone/Firestone defended its handling of a tire recall in Venezuela Friday following Ford Motor Co.'s decision to drop them as a supplier in that country.
Ford's decision, also announced Friday, further widens a growing rift between the once-close companies, both of which face a criminal investigation into at least 46 road deaths involving Ford vehicles with Firestone tires in the South American nation.
"We find it extremely unfortunate that Ford has decided to break its long-standing relationship with Bridgestone/Firestone in Venezuela," Bridgestone/Firestone said in a statement. "But we must continue to focus on what caused these accidents and what we can do to prevent them from happening again."
The company also said it was "deeply committed" to the families of victims in Venezuela and that it has fully cooperated with that country's consumer protection agency, INDECU.
Ford's decision to use Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. tires on its new Laser cars and F-350 trucks severs the links in Venezuela between the world's No. 2 automaker and Japan's Bridgestone/Firestone.
Ricardo Tinoco, a Ford spokesman in Venezuela, cited "concerns about the safety of the tires."
In the United States, a government investigation is trying to determine why the company recalled tires in Venezuela long before doing the same here. On Aug. 9 Bridgestone/Firestone recalled 6.5 million models of its ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires that came mostly as original equipment on Ford Explorers and have been linked to more than 100 U.S. deaths.
In other developments, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General is reviewing the way the government investigates motor vehicle defects, in the wake of numerous questions about its handling of the Firestone recall.
Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, requested the review of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration during a Sept. 13 hearing on the firestone recall and in a letter to Inspector General Kenneth Mead.
Specifically, McCain, R-Ariz., asked Mead to audit the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) - a division of NHTSA.
"Questions were raised on ODI's preparedness for handling information that may contain early warning signs of product defects in the field," McCain wrote. He asked for a report "no later than February," saying he intends to take action in the next Congress "in response to your analysis."
Meanwhile, Ford spokesman Mike Vaughn said as of Thursday, 3,708,617 recalled tires had been replaced -- 57.1 percent of all those recalled. A Bridgestone/Firestone spokeswoman offered a similar estimate of recalled tires, and said the companies were replacing more than 79,000 a day. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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