A company that deserves HATE

[tw]

Originally posted by sycamore
But realistically, I can't help but point the finger at Ford to a degree. The balance of weight in an SUV is at a different center than that of a standard passenger car, which gives them more a chance of tipping over. (Remember the original SUV tipover? The Suzuki Samurai?) I believe the SUV to be a flawed vehicle to begin with (minus the old Chevy Blazers, Jeep Wagoneers, and Suburbans--they seem more sturdy IMO).

SUV turnover study, pioneered by a Villanova professor, listed Explorer, in particular, and Fords, in general, as a more stable S/UV. The complete list is 2 or 3 Aug 2000 in USA Today, I believe. Fords are the safer S/UVs - BTW along with a Honda - I don't think Toyota was tested.

Blazers have had a long reputation for instablity (not as bad as GM's partner Suzuki), and for higher failure rates (such as 4 wheel drives with axles not bolted down) and higher passenger fatality rates. Chevy Suburbans suffer higher driver loss of control so often that a safety study recommended special training for those larger vehicles. To blame Explorer, especially compared to the more dangerous GM and Suzuki vehicles, is just wrong.

Firestone's 1.5 failures per million makes Ford appear to be wrong - but that is based only on appearance; not fact. Faced with a trusted partner that was criminally negligent and that openly lied, Ford then did well beyond what any responsible company must do - $2.1+billion worth of honesty - a voluntary massive recall of all those tires. Firestone then responded (as noted by CNN) by a "screw America, we will not recall" response AND by blaming Ford - so that *you* might also blame Ford. Next Firestone will blame the victim for being inside a Firestone equipped vehicle? When does this 'blame everyone else' reasoning end? Only Firestone is playing that card game. Blame goes to the original source of every of 12 problems - Firestone management - both the old and new management - once one is educated in the fundamental concepts of quality.

Firestone is apparently 100% criminally negligent - regardless of what you think of anyone else - including the Federal government for permitting S/UVs on the road.

Even if at fault, Ford took responsibility despite a lying, MBA dominated, criminally negligence Firestone - who also has history of doing this exact same crime 25 years before. What did Firestone do this time?

Firestone even has a previous history of murdering American by this same method of poor design and corporate management coverup. But still one would partially blame Ford for designing safer what other companies also sell? Why not blame all auto deaths on all car manufacturers because all victims were in dangerous cars? Why not blame government for building highways that people died on? Why not just blame a power plant because they may have created CO2 polluted air that might have hindered the driver's mental abilities?

Ford 1) is not criminally negligent, 2) has demonstrated in engineering facts that they are the more responsible of S/UV manufacturers, and 3) responded well beyond what was required by a $2.1billion response to a Firestone created problem. Firestone is accused in *12* counts of killing Americans - including an outright refusal to recall their now 'documented' defective products. Who documented it? A responsible Ford Motor. And yet you would partially blame Ford? Where is the logic?

1) Firestone did this same thing - including a previous management coverup - in the late 1970s - and therefore should have learned from their mistakes. But nnooo...
2) They created a defective design, missing that ply between belt and tread, knowing full well what the tire was intended for and how it would be used.
3) They covered up failure rates on 15" tires - even when asked by news reporters AND their trusted partner, Ford, for further information.
4) They blamed unions for defective tires in one factory when they knew problems existed in all these 15" tire factories.
5) They blamed owners for not properly inflating tires even though they admitted that underinflated tires operation is common on all vehicles.
6) They blamed Ford for recommending a lower tire pressure when they knew this problem was only unique to their tires. Knowning full well what Ford recommended, Firestone stayed silent.
7) They continued to manufacture defective tires after learning of the problem.
8) They refused to participate in a 6.5 million tire recall until dragged into it by Ford.
9) Lied to Ford about the full extent of the problem in other 15", 16" and 17" tires.
10) Accused Ford of violating a 'trust' relationship (can you believe Firestone even had to balls to say this!) by performing a analysis without Firestone's knowledge - a study that discovered the second Firestone lie.
11) Cancelled all future Ford contracts only to avoid any future tire recalls - because Firestone's MBA mentality (that make Pinochet of Chile look lilly clean) are only interested in short term profits even at the expense of human life.
12) Now change their tune and ONLY blame the Explorer for all problems even though their tire failures also appears on other vehicles - including Ranger.

Firestone does point 12 so that Sycamore, et al will at least partially blame Ford.

Any Three Points are damning. Those are ***12*** damning points all blaming Firestone!!!

Sycamore. I was raised on this propagand shit. To place any blame on Ford is to say that Bosnia concentration camp victims were responsible for their own starvation - because they should not have been there. A few OJ Simpson lawyers may want you in their jury. There are 12 points against Firestone and not one action (cooperatively) by Firestone to correct the problem. Ford OTOH had to force Firestone, kicking and screaming, to be partially responsible.

Considering the facts posted above, where is there any blame on Ford? To have put any blame on Ford, you must then blame all other S/UV manufacturers, all highways, all people who sit in S/UVs, all vehicle operators .... where does the blame sharing end? Exactly the kind of thinking that a criminal Firestone wants you to use.

Welcome to the world of quality. There is no blame sharing. The problems are directly traceable at the source - a concept that makes me a hard ass, no excuses, superior conservative to any purchased Republican Congressional leader. Even if others are partially to blame, 100% blame goes directly to the company accused of all 12 points.

Those are 12 damning points - and Firestone did not do one single thing to compensate for *any* of those problems. Instead they used OJ Simpson lawyer tactics to lay blame elsewhere. Is the LAPD also responsible for those Firestone deaths? Maybe it was racism - after all those tires were black. I wonder how many Republican's Firestone will bribe this year. Maybe Firestone will also be running some Phillip Morris 'we are responsible' TV commericals?

How many times can a Firestone executive lie before Congress? Only depends on how quickly those Firestone tires kill Congressmen - S/UVs being the vehicle of choice to Republicans who say we don't need conservation.