Not much to say about it- just wanted to see what y'all thought! Maybe this is the begining of the end for the huge SUV market- but why does it take people getting killed before something gets done?
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10:33 PM
PFF
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Raydar Member
Posts: 40686 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
I think Ford is gonna sting for a while. I think Firestone is gonna take it in the neck. I think that after the smoke clears this will, unfortunately, not discourage the SUV market one little bit.
------------------ Raydar 88 Formula T-Top 88 Coupe (ISO big V-6)
Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
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11:06 PM
Sep 14th, 2000
Oreif Member
Posts: 16460 From: Schaumburg, IL Registered: Jan 2000
All I keep seeing is the CEO of Ford saying "We didn't ask the right questions" So the question they should have asked should have been "If we underinflate the tires will the tires fail and people die?" !?! I think that Firestone is partially at fault but so is Ford. In the end Firestone will get the brunt of the bad press/lawsuits.
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02:54 AM
Monkeyman Member
Posts: 15809 From: N. Wilkesboro, NC, USA Registered: Nov 1999
I doubt Ford's too worried about sales of thier SUVs. They're just about to debut (or maybe just did) an all new Explorer. I heard that Ford knew about this almost a year ago and they still went ahead with the R&D and tooling, etc. I wonder if Bridgestone (owns Firestone) will feel any fallout?
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05:31 AM
hugh Member
Posts: 5563 From: Clementon,NJ,USA Registered: Jun 2000
I think the English language is about to pick up another phrase,like "where's the beef?"Something like "you've been Firestoned",or something similar whenever something comes apart or doesn't live up to expectations.
You would be seeing this with a lot of other cars, because how many people actually check their tire pressure? And there has to be a lot of people on the road running low on air.
Also, a lot of semi trucks, monkeyman, probably knows more. But semis use rethreaded tire? to save tire costs? And those fly off once in a while when your driving behind them.
I was talking with a guy at one of the FOCOA shows, and while he was driving to the event, a semi lost the tread off a tire, and it smacked the front of his beautifull Fiero. It didn't break anything, but really damaged his paint BAD.
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07:42 PM
Monkeyman Member
Posts: 15809 From: N. Wilkesboro, NC, USA Registered: Nov 1999
There's nothing wrong with a retreaded tire on a big truck. I've bought many new retreads, mostly from a company called Bandag. If the retread is from a good company and you check the pressure once in a while, most retreads will outlast virgin rubber. The best mileage I can remember getting out of a set of brand new virgin rubber (on the drives) was around 150,000 miles. I once got almost 225,000 miles out of a set of Bandags. (For about 1/2 the price.)
A little off the subject, sorry, but about a year ago, friends of mine where coming back from a long trip out to Montana. They were hauling a fifth wheel behind their 3/4 ton chevy truck. Well, one of those semi re-treads was laying on the road and the car ahead of them kicked it up. It didn't hit their bumper or grille, but it but sure ripped out transmission lines real good. Good thing they were only a few miles from home. Took a week or so for a dealer to get the truck back on the road.
This whole Ford/Firestone ordeal is going to get very interesting in the coming months...
I think Firestone is going down for this one! People have been killed! I think it was something like 41 people dead. No matter how big Bridgestone/Firestone is, I bet they'll be out of business till this is all over. And I'm sure it will take a while. Would you buy Firestones after this? I'll bet most people won't.
I got a letter from Ford informing me that according to their records, my '92 F150 is not equipped with the tires involved in the recall. It also went on to tell me how to check my tires if they are Firestones. My brother got the same letter pertaining to his '92 Ranger.
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08:35 PM
Monkeyman Member
Posts: 15809 From: N. Wilkesboro, NC, USA Registered: Nov 1999
I don't think that Firestone will go out of business. There were only 2 full lines and one partial line affected by the recall. None of the passenger car tires were affected. Firestone will pay some folks, and move on. People will forget in time. Look at the "flaming Pinto" thing. Most people don't even remember that people got killed (17, I think) when they got rear ended.
No doubt Monkeyman. A good friend that I used to work with had one of those when he was in high school in the heyday. He told me of a story when he was driving three of his buddies to school and got rear ended at a stop sign. He said they were all immediately well aware of the possibilities and all were trying to jump out of the thing before it came to rest again. Fortunately, it didn't catch on fire, but sure scared them pretty good.
[This message has been edited by HugGRRRFiero (edited 09-14-2000).]
Ford is going to end up walking away from this relativly unscathed. Even tho the trucks are obviously screwed up.
Bridgestone/Firestone is going to loose huge amounts of money. Could end up near broke over this.
I see low tires all the time. so low many are running on the side walls. The usual mode of failure for such tires is to shatter the side wall. It's rare for a passenger car or LT tire to delaminate even in these extremely abused conditions.
The ammount of damage to the vechiles is also usually minimal Unlike the ford trucks that are rolling over and look like a bulldozer dropped on them. Have you seen these. Nearly all of them are flattened. Tells you how weak they are. Do the same thing to a Volvo or Mercedes and see what happens.
If every car in America were running on properly inflated tires, gasoline usage would probably drop 5-10%. That would go a long way toward easing supply-related price increases.
But most folks look at tires as maintenance free items.
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02:10 PM
frontal lobe Member
Posts: 9042 From: brookfield,wisconsin Registered: Dec 1999
Not much excuse anymore. Can buy one of those 250psi yappy little plug in the old cig lighter slot air compressors for less than 10 dollars at Target, Wal-mart, etc. Sure, they take a few minutes, but you don't even have to leave the garage to keep the tires the right pressure. (Although I HATE when my fingers get all messy from taking the caps off. Eeewwww.)
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02:38 PM
whamel Member
Posts: 194 From: Ft. Mitchell, KY Registered: Mar 2000
If I'm still running the same cheap Firestones that came on my truck in a couple years, I think I deserve to have problems like this. From what I've seen so far and from my recall letter from Ford - most of these tires aren't on the new models. In fact, I think some of the models effected were from more than a couple years ago if I'm not mistaken. I have the HT model on my truck and although they suck in even damp weather they aren't effected by the recall. I'm sure I'll burn them up before I get a chance to trade them in. I have to replace my tires about once a year anyway. Of course, IMHO - they SHOULD be covered under the 'these tires are worthless' recall I propose Ford starts.