Opinion: Investigate Ford-Firestone debacle

Ford Motor Co.'s recent pledge to replace more Firestone tires on its popular Explorer and other models is welcome, but it does not begin to answer all the questions laid bare by one of the nation's worst auto-safety debacles. Ford has been less tone-deaf than its now-former tire supplier, Bridgestone/Firestone, so it is not surprising that Ford would be orchestrating the latest recall campaign. But it will take far more than this belated gesture to satisfy all safety concerns and to focus accountability for what appears to be nothing less than a massive perpetration of corporate deceit.

Times writer Anita Kumar and researcher Kitty Bennett put real faces, and the most accurate accounting yet, on the extent to which Florida has suffered from that deception. Since 1997, at least 41 people have died in Florida from Firestone-related accidents -- the vast majority after Ford and Firestone began replacing the same model of tires in Saudi Arabia and should have known they were dangerous. From the start, Firestone in particular has been inexcusably reticent in acknowledging the danger, much less in rectifying it. Though it finally succumbed to pressure and replaced tires from one Illinois plant, Firestone has refused all later calls, including by the government, to expand its voluntary recall. The Times investigation found that almost a dozen Floridians have been killed while driving on Firestone tires not covered by last summer's recall.

Ford's unilateral announcement should have the effect of getting many of those dangerous tires off the road. But even then, the recall is expected to reach at most 13-million of the 33-million tires experts say are potentially unsafe and still in use. Ford's action does not carry the urgency or reach of an official recall.

Ford also has not acted out of pure altruism. Its focus on Firestone's tires is no doubt calculated in part to deflect attention from design defects that may have made its Explorer, now being revamped, more susceptible to rollover.

Federal authorities should not be deterred from pressing ahead on their regulatory investigation. What did Ford and Firestone executives know, and when did they know it? Despite receiving complaints from auto insurers as early as mid-1998, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -- an underfunded and lackluster agency -- launched its investigation only a year ago and has failed to issue any formal recall. Congress last fall mandated that companies report overseas recalls, but broader legislation to criminally punish company executives who knowingly market dangerously defective cars or tires has languished. In the meantime, Ford and Firestone are quietly settling private lawsuits and positioning to defend themselves against a possible joint civil action from the states' attorneys general.

The public deserves a fuller accounting -- and stronger governmental response -- than it has received thus far.

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