Attorneys of Record for
Tires

Taras Kick
The Kick Law Firm
660 South Figeroa Street
Suite 1800
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-624-1588
217-624-1589 fax
taras@kicklawfirm.com
kicklawfirm.com

C. Tab Turner
Turner & Associates, PA
4705 Somers Avenue, Suite 100
North Little Rock, AR 72116
501-791-2277
501-791-1251 fax
tab@tturner.com
tturner.com

SAFETYFORUM.COM CALLS ON FORD, FIRESTONE
TO EXPAND RECALL TO LARGER TIRES, AND
PROVIDE REPLACEMENTS BY OTHER TIRE MAKERS

AUG 11 -- Safetyforum.com is urging Ford and Firestone to enlarge its recall to include larger versions of the ATX, ATX II and Wilderness A/T tires, as it did overseas last September. Documents that Ford has now provided NHTSA, reveal that Ford recalled Firestone's larger 16" tires--as well as their 15" tires--on Explorers and Lincoln Mountaineers in North Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South America.

This morning on ABC's Good Morning America, Firestone's Executive Vice President, Gary Crigger, said "Really we're only talking about one size, one 15-inch size, the P235/75/R-15 tire." However, documents that Ford has provided NHTSA, indicate that Firestone worked closely with Ford to recall the larger tires in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.

At no time during their Tuesday press conference did representatives of Ford or Firestone mention failures, recalls or replacements of their larger tires. However, Safetyforum.com and Tab Turner, its "Attorney of Record" for tires, are receiving reports from consumers around the U.S.--including residents of non-southern states--who have experienced tread separation on Firestone P255/70R16 tires, the larger version of the 15 inch tires that Firestone recalled Tuesday.

Ironically, the sample recall letter that Ford sent to its overseas dealers was addressed to "Mr. John Sample, 123 Main Street, Anywhere, USA". The letter was never sent to Explorer owners in the U.S. A recent Associate Press story said that Ford reports replacing tires for free on 46,912 Explorers overseas. Safetyforum.com calculates, based on sales figures published in Automotive News, that Ford sold about 3 million Explorers in the U.S. from 1991 to the end of 1999. All of those vehicles were equipped with Firestone tires, specially designed to Ford's specifications, for the Explorer.

"Ford and Firestone should remove all ATX, ATX II and Wilderness A/T tires from public use immediately. Consumers should insist that Ford and Firestone replace these defective tires--of all sizes-- immediately with tires made by other manufacturers that they've recommended as suitable replacements overseas. Ford's own documents and the independent reports we have received confirm that this is a problem of tire design. The problem has nothing to do with where these tires were made, the workers who made them or the people who bought them," Turner said. "It is a design problem, pure and simple."

Contacts:
C. Tab Turner, Turner & Associates, P.A.
501-791-2277
4702 West Commercial Drive, Suite B3, Little Rock, AR 72116

Ralph Hoar, Safetyforum.com
703-469-3700
P.O. Box 470, Arlington, VA 22210-0470

(08/11/00)