Editorial: Titans’ spat bewilders consumers

Thursday, June 21, 2001 | 8:41 a.m.

Owners of Ford Explorers felt a sense of relief last year. After all, a recall finally was ordered of 6.5 million Firestone tires on the Ford sport utility vehicle after reports that the tires were responsible for accidents that led to more than 200 deaths. Ford recently decided to take this one step further, agreeing to replace an additional 13 million Firestone tires currently on the Explorer model, the top-selling SUV in the world. But Explorer drivers have a new bout of anxiety: Congressional investigators say they have uncovered evidence that some of the tires selected by Ford to replace the 13 million tires may have worse safety records than the Firestone tires.

Testifying Tuesday before Congress, Firestone CEO John Lampe dismissed Ford's recent decision to replace his company's tires, saying they weren't to blame. Lampe charged that Ford was trying to make Firestone a "scapegoat" by hiding safety problems inherent to its SUVs, design problems that Lampe says were responsible for the accidents. Ford CEO Jacques Nasser was unmoved. "This is a tire issue and only a tire issue," Nasser said. So much for clarity. Even congressmen, who often pass themselves off as know-it-alls, were flummoxed by the night-and-day responses from these corporate leviathans engaged in a bitter public relations battle.

The sense of urgency to assess which product is at fault couldn't be any greater now that summer is here and, with it, higher temperatures that contribute to tire separations. In light of the impasse between Ford and Firestone, this is a situation where the most reliable source of information will come from government regulators, acting as impartial observers. It is imperative that congressional investigators share with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration what information they have regarding the replacement tires' safety performance. The NHTSA also should accelerate its probe, so that it can with finality determine whether it's the tire, the vehicle, or a combination of both, that causes these deadly accidents. The nagging uncertainty has dragged on for far too long -- the public deserves an answer quickly.