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Firestone seeks probe
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May 31, 2001: 5:53 p.m. ET
Tiremaker says analysis points to Ford design flaw; asks feds to investigate
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. executives released what they said was an independent analysis that blamed the design of the Ford Explorer rather than their tires for many of the fatal accidents involving both, as the troubled tiremaker asked federal safety officials to start their own investigation.
A spokesman for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration confirmed Thursday that John Lampe, the CEO of the U.S. operation of Japanese tiremaker Bridgestone Corp., met Thursday with Norman Mineta, the Secretary of Transportation. NHTSA is part of DOT.
The spokesman said the NHTSA will review the materials submitted by Bridgestone-Firestone and "consider their merit."
The tiremaker said the analysis shows that when a rear tire fails due to tread separation, certain models of the Explorer are likely to have an "oversteer" condition which can lead to a rollover. It quoted Dennis Guenther, professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State University, as saying this constituted a design flaw for the Explorer.
"An oversteer vehicle is not safe at highway speeds in the hands of an average driver," it quotes Guenther as saying. "This must be regarded as a highway safety defect within the meaning of NHTSA's charter."
In a statement, Ford Chief of Staff John Rintamaki said the "Explorer performs the same as competitive SUVs before, during and after a tread separation" and the problem does not exist with Goodyear tires.
"You can talk about testing data endlessly," Rintamaki said. "We are replacing Firestone Wilderness AT tires because they have elevated rates of tread separation in the real world. Real world data also show the Explorer is among the safest vehicles on the road."
The rift between the two companies split open earlier this month when Ford on its own recalled an estimated 13 million Firestone tires used on Ford, Mercury and Mazda vehicles, while Bridgestone/Firestone announced it would no longer sell tires to Ford after current sales contracts are completed. The split has been widening since an August, 2000, recall of 6.5 million Firestone-brand tires used primarily on Explorers and other vehicles.
NHTSA has tied 174 deaths to accidents involving the tires involved in the original recall, most involving the rollover accidents involving Explorers.
Shares of Ford (F: Research, Estimates) slipped 25 cents to close Thursday at $24.35. 
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