2005 Vehicle Safety Press Articles

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December 30, 2005

Star-Telegram [Fort Worth, TX], "Recent court cases raise questions about trucking safety"

In what one attorney says is an indication of a “disturbing pattern of dangerous activity” by the nation’s trucking industry, a Fort Worth waste-disposal company became the second local trucking firm this month to be hit with a multimillion-dollar payout after one of its vehicles was involved in a fatal crash.

IESITX agreed to pay the family of Jimmy D. Jordan of Fort Worth $2.25 million in an out-of-court settlement reached late Thursday. The waste-disposal company and the family were scheduled to go to trial in a Tarrant County civil court next week. Jordan was killed in a March 2004 accident on Interstate 30. More...

December 29, 2005

Associated Press Financial Wire , "Michelin Recalls Pilot Sport Tires"

Michelin North America Inc. said Thursday it is recalling about 6,500 tires in its Pilot Sport line in the United States and Canada, saying the tires don't meet the company's quality standards. More...

December 15, 2005

The Galveston County Daily News, "Ford hit with historic $16.6M Explorer verdict"

A 405th State District Court jury hit the Ford Motor Co. with a $16.6 million judgment in the case of a rollover crash that killed a boy, 13.

The April 2003 wreck involved a Ford Explorer purchased at McRee Ford in Dickinson. Dianne Reding rolled the vehicle after what she said was a series of swerves that started when she tried to avoid hitting a deer near Canyon Lake.

Defense attorneys for Ford said Reding’s reckless driving caused the resulting crash that killed Andrew Reding, the driver’s son. However, Galveston attorney Tony Buzbee, representing plaintiff Reding, said Ford had known for years that the Explorer’s tires were too narrow to be safe. More...

December 2, 2005

Detroit Free Press, "Group calls for Ford to unseal safety tests"

A Washington auto-safety group launched a new effort Thursday to unseal safety tests from Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo division, saying the tests highlight flaws in a new standard for vehicle roof strength backed by federal regulators and automakers.

While the contents of the documents are well known, safety advocates say making them publicly available would force the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to rethink its new rule for how well car and truck roofs should protect people in rollovers. More...

November 28, 2005

Automotive News, "Senators rebuke NHTSA on tougher roofs proposal"

Two key senators are warning federal regulators that their effort to use tougher roof-strength rules to block rollover lawsuits against automakers may not be legal.

The warning to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. They are the chairman and ranking minority member, respectively, of the Senate Judiciary Committee. More...

November 20, 2005

Detroit News, "[Ford] Explorer roof called too weak"

Many of Ford Motor Co.'s best-selling Explorer SUVs from the 1999 to 2001 model years likely do not meet a crucial safety requirement intended to protect passengers in rollover crashes, a safety engineering firm claimed in a petition filed with the federal government.

  Safety Analysis and Forensic Engineering, which performs research for plaintiffs suing automakers, says internal Ford documents show that a substantial number of 1999 to 2001 Explorers likely do not comply with the federal vehicle roof strength standard. More...

November 16, 2005

Reuters, "Ford recall: Gas tanks could snap off; Vehicles involved include flagship Ford Five Hundred sedan, Freestyle wagon, Mercury Montego"

Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it is recalling nearly 226,000 vehicles in the United States and Canada, including its flagship Ford Five Hundred sedan and Freestyle wagon, because of fire risks. Vehicles involved in the recall are from the 2005 model year and include the Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis and Montego sedans, Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said.

Ford is recalling 127,493 Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego sedans and Freestyle wagons because the straps that secure the fuel tank to the vehicle body may break, causing the fuel tank and fuel tank heat shield to drop onto the driveshaft or exhaust system, the automaker and U.S. safety regulators said. This could cause a fuel leak and result in a fire in these vehicles, according to the Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The automaker is recalling 98,444 Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis sedans because on certain vehicles the battery cable may scrape on an attaching bolt and could lead to a fire. No injuries or accidents have been linked to the recall, Kinley said.

November 10, 2005

St. Petersburg Times, "Small SUVs Can Be Big Problem"

The two-door Ford Explorer that rolled over on the Howard Frankland Bridge and sank in Tampa Bay is one of the most dangerous vehicles on the road, according to insurance industry data. More...

November 6, 2005

St. Petersburg Times, "Ford explorer Sport Crashes Into River"

Mujo Jakupovic and his wife, Amira, had been driving east from St. Petersburg on the Howard Frankland about 1 p.m. with their sons, 13-year-old Emrah and 7-year-old Amar. About 200 yards from the end of the bridge, the left rear tire of their green, 1998 Ford Explorer Sport blew out. More...

November 3, 2005

Waco Tribune-Herald (TX), "Bus crash passengers win $17.5 million in damages"

A McLennan County jury decided Thursday that the bus involved in a deadly 2003 Interstate 35 crash near Hewitt was defective because it didn't have seat belts and awarded $17.5 million in damages to bus passengers.

After 15 hours of deliberation, jurors in the four-week accident liability trial gave the plaintiffs everything they sought in their lawsuit against Motor Coach Industries, a Schaumburg, Ill.-based bus manufacturer.

"A person who sits on a bus ought to have the opportunity to be as safe as possible," said David Hinton, of Temple, whose mother Dolores Hinton was killed in the accident. "To not have a seat belt on a bus, knowing what buses can do in an accident, is unacceptable. Clearly we had to have a trial in order to prove that point."

Motor Coach spokeswoman Pat Plodzeen said the company would appeal the verdict.

October 28, 2005

Reuters, "GM recalls nearly 106,000 SUVs - Chevy Trailblazers, GMC Envoys may have faulty door latch"

General Motors said on Friday that it was recalling nearly 106,000 sport utility vehicles in the United States and Canada to fix a rear door latch that may not close properly due to corrosion.

Alan Adler, a spokesman for the world's largest automaker, said the 105,893 vehicles affected by the potential safety defect included Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL SUVs from the 2002-2003 model years.

He said one alleged injury had been caused by the faulty door latch.

A small number of 2003 model Isuzu Ascender SUVs are also affected, Adler said. GM builds the Ascender for Isuzu Motors Ltd.

A total of about 98,000 of the recalled vehicles were registered or sold in Northeast and Midwest U.S. states, where corrosion can occur due to winter road salt.

An estimated 7,893 vehicles sold in eastern Canada are also affected, Adler said.

October 26, 2005

The New York Times, "Safety Decoder: How to Make Sense of the Crash Ratings"

The Ford Escape is "a genius on anything from dirt to gravel to granite," at least according to a recent ad in Maxim magazine. Not only does it have "brains for rocks," whatever that means, it has a computer that checks for "wheel slippage 200 times a second."

Not that any of that helped on the government's rollover test. The Escape, a sport-utility vehicle, tipped up on two wheels during the test, a potentially deadly result. The ad does not mention that, of course. More...

October 13, 2005

Los Angeles Times, "Bridgestone, Ford Settle Tire Dispute"

Tire maker Bridgestone Corp. agreed to pay $240 million to Ford Motor Co. to settle a cost-sharing dispute over a massive tire recall five years ago. More...

October 11, 2005

Associated Press, "Ford Explorer Sport Accident"

Amanda Read Fomicheve was injured Monday afternoon when a driver lost control of her Ford Explorer Sport vehicle just before 1 p.m. and slammed into the car in front of her. More...

October 7, 2005

Associated Press, "Chrysler announces recalls affecting about 583,000 vehicles" ["Park-to-Reverse" transmission problems]

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said Friday that it would voluntarily recall about 300,000 vehicles with a potential defect that could prevent the driver from placing the transmission in "park."

The recall involves some 2005 model year Jeep Liberty, Jeep Wrangler, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum, Dodge Dakota/Mitsubishi Raider pickups and Dodge Durango vehicles equipped with some six-cylinder engines and automatic transmissions. More...

October 3, 2005

KGBT TV (Harlingen, Texas), "Jury Awards Family 30 Million Dollars"

Ford was recently in the news for a recall involving faulty cruise control switches. But this lawsuit alleges something else. The plaintiff's attorney claims the cab of the truck wasn't strong enough to prevent the fatality and a Cameron County jury agreed that Ford was negligent in the death of 16 year old Jessica Garcia. She died in March of 2004 near Sebastian, Texas when the 1993 Ford F-150 she was traveling in with her parents was clipped by another car and then rolled over.

While the jury agreed that the other driver was partly at fault for causing the accident, they also agreed that the cab wasn't strong enough to prevent her death. Some of the most compelling evidence in the trial was a demonstration of what happens to the same model truck after being dropped only nine inches. The plaintiff's attorney says the top of the Ford cab crushes to the seat's headrest.

September 27, 2005

The Salt Lake Tribune, "Rollover deaths stun USU; School's field trip to a Box Elder farm ends in a crash, killing nine"

A Utah State University field trip to a Box Elder County farm ended in tragedy Monday afternoon when a van carrying the students blew a tire on Interstate 84 and rolled four times down an embankment, throwing all 11 on board from the van and killing nine.

The driver [and five passengers] were pronounced dead by emergency crews when they arrived at the crash site about seven miles west of Tremonton. More...

September 14, 2005

Bloomberg, "Ford Loses $42 Million Texas Verdict in Rollover Suit"

A Texas jury today found that Ford Motor Co. should pay $42 million to the family of a 10-year-old boy who was killed when he was partly ejected from a Ford Expedition in a 2004 rollover accident. More...

September 7, 2005

CNN/Money, "Ford recalling 3.8 million vehicles; Trucks and SUVs recalled for cruise control switch that could cause fires"

Ford Motor Co. is recalling about 3.8 million trucks and SUVs to fix a cruise control switch that could overheat and burn even when the vehicles are not running.

The switches were the subject of a recent CNN investigation. More...

August 30, 2005

MSNBC.com, "GM recalls 800,000 pickups, SUVs; Automaker cites potential brake problems"

General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it was recalling about 800,000 sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks in 14 northern states because corrosion was affecting the antilock brake system, leading to more than 200 low-speed crashes. More...

August 29, 2005

Automotive News, "Ford loses appeal of $47 million verdict in LS seat-latch lawsuit"

The Georgia Court of Appeals has let stand a $47.7 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. stemming from the failure of the back-seat latch in a 2000 Lincoln LS. The award included almost $14 million in punitive damages. More...

August 15, 2005

WFMY News (Greensboro, NC), "Ford Trucks Catch Fire, Not Attention; Laura Voos saved the house but not the truck"

Owners of thousands of Ford light trucks have a bigger concern than high fuel prices, their vehicles could catch fire. Even though they've been warned and offered a repair, CBS News reports that some of the owners are not doing anything about it.

Laura Voos says her Ford pickup was parked and locked last week when it suddenly burst into flames in her Texas driveway. More...

July 23, 2005

The New York Times, "A Wider Inquiry on Fires in Ford Trucks"

As Ford Motor faces numerous lawsuits and tries to determine why hundreds of its trucks have burst into flames, federal authorities have widened their investigation into whether a faulty cruise control switch is causing the fires. More...

July 18, 2005

San Francisco Chronicle, "Semi crashes on I-80, killing 3"

Three people were killed and 10 others injured Monday when the driver of a tractor trailer lost control on Interstate 80 in Fairfield and plowed into seven vehicles, authorities said. The accident happened at 8:47 a.m. and closed the four westbound lanes of I-80 just east of Highway 12 for nearly 90 minutes as emergency workers tended to the injured and cleared the roadway. More...

July 17, 2005

The Detroit News, "Safety Agency Widens Investigation; NHTSA awaits Ford's internal report into the questionable part, which is in 16 million vehicles"

With reports of vehicle fires mounting, Ford Motor Co. is racing to meet a mid-August deadline to provide federal investigators with details of its analysis of faulty cruise-control deactivation switches. More...

July 17, 2005

The Detroit News, "Danger Under the Hood; A little girl dies; attention turns to a faulty Ford part; More than 500 fires reported in pickups, SUVs; probe centers on cruise-control switch"

The noise woke Tanika Washington just before dawn, a sound like heavy raindrops beating on the roof.

But when she sat up in bed, she realized it was the crackling of fire.

"I think something's burning," she said to her husband, Juan. "I think the house is on fire."

And when Juan opened their bedroom door, a wall of fire was on the other side, raging through the hallway of their split-level home. In the minutes that followed, the house in northern Georgia burned to the ground, and four members of the Washington family escaped with their lives. More...

July 12, 2005

Associated Press, "Government probes Ford SUVs, Mustangs; NHTSA looking into throttle problems with 2002 Explorers, Mountaineers"

The government has opened an investigation into the acceleration of some Ford Motor Co. sport utility vehicles and the company's Mustang sports car, officials said Tuesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a posting on its Web site that it was investigating reports that the engine throttle became stuck in the open position in Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers, causing unwanted vehicle acceleration. More...

July 7, 2005

St. Petersburg Times (Florida), "Tiremaker Settles Suit with Widow"

The widow of an Inverness man who was killed in a 2001 accident when his tire blew out and caused his Ford minivan to flip on Interstate 75 has settled with the tire manufacturer, despite the company's insistence that it was not liable in the crash. More...

July 7, 2005

Associated Press, "Volkswagens, Fords, Toyotas Recalled"

Volkswagen AG is recalling nearly 40,000 Jetta sedans in the United States because fuel could leak and start a fire, federal safety regulators said Thursday [July 7, 2005].

Jettas from the 2005 model year are involved in the recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a fuel supply line clamp may not be properly positioned, which could lead to a leak. More...

July 1, 2005

Click2Houston.com, "NHTSA Requests More Documents In Ford Fire Investigation"

The federal government is ordering the Ford Motor Co. to hand over more information in the ongoing probe into fires happening in certain trucks and sport utility vehicles. The development comes as the Local 2 Troubleshooter investigation into the fires prompts action from a member of Congress, the station reported Friday. More...

June 23, 2005

Los Angeles Times, "SUVs Improve in Rollover Ratings; Regulators credit the popularity of 'crossover' vehicles, which have lower centers of gravity"

Car manufacturers are doing a better job designing sport utility vehicles to resist rollover accidents, U.S. safety regulators said Wednesday.

Popular SUVs have earned increasingly high marks in government rollover tests over the last four years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. More...

June 21, 2005

Tampa Tribune, "Companies Settle In Fatal Crash"

DADE CITY — A Citrus County woman has reached a settlement in her lawsuit against Bridgestone/Firestone Co. and several other companies she said were responsible for a crash that killed her husband and injured their sons in July 2001. More...

June 21, 2005

Tennessean.com, "Judge slashes damages against carmaker"

A Davidson County judge has drastically reduced the punitive damages against DaimlerChrysler in connection with an infant's death after a June 2001 minivan accident.

Judge Hamilton Gayden yesterday cut from $98 million to $20 million the damages related to what a trial jury found to be faulty seat design on a 1998 Dodge Caravan that it said contributed to the death of 8-month-old Joshua Flax. More...

June 17, 2005

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Singer's mom sues SUV maker"

The mother of the late hip-hop music star Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes is suing an automaker alleging it ignored warnings that its SUV was prone to roll over.

Lopes, a rapper in the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta trio TLC, died in a one-car crash in 2002 while driving a red 2001 Mitsubishi Montero she rented while vacationing in Honduras. More...

June 16, 2005

BizJournals.com, "Lawsuit blames TI, Ford in woman's death"

A lawsuit filed by the family of an Iowa woman who died in a fire last month claims Ford Motor Co. and Texas Instruments Inc. are guilty of negligence.

The lawsuit claims that the death of Darletta Mohlis, who died from injuries from a fire in her home May 2, was the result of the failure of a cruise control deactivation switch inside her 1996 F-150 truck that was made by Texas Instruments. More...

June 9, 2005

Enterprise Records , "Skyway Crash Blamed Partly on Tire Wear"

The California Highway Patrol said bad weather, balding tires and a young driver's inexperience combined to result in a rollover crash on the Skyway Wednesday. More...

June 7, 2005

KPRC Click2Houston.com, "Flames From Ford Pickup Destroy Neighboring Homes: Investigators Not Sure If Recalled Speed Control Switch Sparked Fire"

A northeast Harris County homeowner scrambled to get his family and a neighboring family out of their homes early Tuesday morning after he discovered his pickup truck was on fire, Local 2 reported. More...

June 6, 2005

San Francisco Chronicle, "Nissan Maxima Gets Marginal Crash Rating"

The 2005 Nissan Maxima and Suzuki Verona received marginal ratings in crash tests released Sunday by the insurance industry. Researchers questioned how well the vehicles would protect occupants in side impact collisions.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the Chevrolet Malibu and Audi A4 its top score, good, in side impact tests of five 2005 model midsize sedans. The Volvo S60 rated the second-highest score of acceptable.

The tests reflect what happens when vehicles are hit in the side by a pickup or sport utility vehicle. The latest results "show that more and more manufacturers are improving their vehicles to better protect occupants in side impact crashes," said Adrian Lund, the institute's chief operating officer.

The institute gave the Maxima and Verona its second-lowest rating. Their side structures were unlikely to provide effective side protection, even with air bags that guard the head, the institute said.

May 26, 2005

Global Automotive Report, "Suzuki Verona gets lowest crash rating"

The Suzuki Verona received the lowest rating in driver-side frontal crash tests among passenger cars for the 2005 model year, the government reported today. In side-impact tests, the four-door Chevrolet Cobalt received two out of five stars in driver's side-impact tests while two other General Motors Corp. vehicles -- the four-door versions of the Buick LaCrosse and the Saturn Ion -- got three out of five stars. The Mitsubishi Galant, Toyota Avalon and Volvo V70, all equipped with side air bags, received top scores for all seating positions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The new batch of tests, which consider a vehicle's ability to protect the driver and passenger in a crash, revealed high marks for an assortment of passenger cars.

May 25, 2005

Associated Press, "Advocates Push to Make Cars Safer for Kids"

Child-safety advocates sought support for a bill that would require auto makers to install technology in vehicles to help prevent children from being accidentally strangled by power windows or backed over.

Safety advocates say many vehicles, including sport-utility vehicles and trucks, have blind spots that can extend as much as 50 feet, making it difficult for drivers to see children who might crawl behind the bumper or in the path of a vehicle. More...

May 17, 2005

Associated Press, "Toyota Recalling 750,000 Truck, SUVs"

Toyota Motor Corp., in one of its largest safety recalls ever, said Tuesday it is recalling more than 750,000 pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles because of problems with the front suspension that could hinder steering. More...

May 15, 2005

The Mountain Press, "Family remains hospitalized after Wyoming accident"

A Seymour couple and their oldest son remain hospitalized here more than a week after the family survived a single-vehicle accident just outside Buffalo, Wyoming.

At about 2 p.m. on May 5, on the way from Smithers, British Columbia, to Colorado Springs to host a conference for their New Heart Expressions ministry, Ron Browning swerved the family's 15-passenger van into the median when an antelope jumped into the road, causing the van to flip and throwing some family members from the car. More...

April 26, 2005

PR Newswire, "Tire Experts: Don't Leave it to Chance"

In an ongoing effort to emphasize the importance of proper tire care, safety, and new laws that affect new car buyers, The Tire Rack, the country's largest independent tire tester, is supporting National Tire Safety Week, which runs April 24-30, and encouraging all drivers to pay more attention to their tires -- the only things holding their vehicle to the road. More...

April 21, 2005

Tri-City Herald (WA), "Prosser Pastor, Son Killed in Arkansas Car Accident"

As a Prosser congregation struggled Wednesday night with the news one of their pastors had died in an Arkansas car accident, many found comfort in the message the man spent much of his life sharing. More...

April 20, 2005

San Francisco Chronicle, "Jury Awards Family Millions in Ford Suit"

A Madison County jury has awarded nearly $43.8 million to the family of a 74-year-old Missouri man who died when the gas tank in his Ford-produced Lincoln Town Car caught on fire after the car was struck from behind by another vehicle. More...

April 6, 2005

The Oregonian, "Carmaker, families settle suit over van wreck that killed 5 firefighters: Victims' attorneys call the vehicle that rolled in 2002 in Colorado unsafe; Ford Motor Co. officials defend it"

A lawsuit over a deadly 2002 rollover accident that killed five firefighters was settled Monday for an undisclosed sum.

The lawsuit was to go to trial next week in Multnomah County. The defendant, Ford Motor Co., manufactured the 15-passenger Econoline E-350 Super Duty van that rolled in Colorado in June 2002 on the way to a forest fire. More...

April 2005

Trial Magazine (ATLA), "Power Windows Can Kill"

Small children can easily trip the window switches in many vehicles sold today, getting caught and even killed by a swiftly closing window. Better options could and should be used. More...

March 31, 2005

The New York Times, "Lawsuit Documents and a Study Raise Questions on the Safety of Ford Explorer Roofs"

A new study and documents from a recent lawsuit against the Ford Motor Company raise fresh questions about the safety of roofs on Ford Explorers. The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen released a study on Wednesday that accuses Ford of ignoring evidence that stronger roofs would lead to fewer injuries. More...

March 31, 2005

Reuters, "Hyundai, Kia, recall 30,000 SUVs in U.S.; Problem with anti-rollover devices cited"

Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. and Kia Motors Corp. are recalling more than 38,000 sport utility vehicles on the U.S. market because of a problem with their electronic stability program, or anti-rollover devices, federal safety regulators said Thursday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said vehicles from the Korean automakers affected by the recalls included 30,558 Hyundai Tucson and 7,619 Kia Sportage SUVs. Both are from the 2005 model year.

The problem with the electronic stability program may cause the engine on the SUVs to reduce power automatically, and it could also cause a brake on one of the wheels to be applied without brake pedal activation by the driver, NHTSA said in an advisory on its Web site, the agency said.

"Brake application caused by inadvertent ESP activation may result in a crash," the agency said.

March 23, 2005

Associated Press, "U.S. Agency to Investigate More Than 3.7 Million Ford Motor Co. Pickups, SUVs for Defect"

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday it would investigate more than 3.7 million Ford Motor Co. pickups and sport utility vehicles for a defect in a cruise control switch that led to a January recall.

The agency said it would examine Ford F-150 pickups from the 1995-1999 and 2001-2002 model years, and Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators from the 1997-1999 and 2001-2002 model years.

NHTSA officials said they have received 218 complaints of engine fires from the cruise control switch in those models. No injuries or fatalities have been reported.

The new investigation does not include the 2000 model years of the vehicles, which was covered by the January recall of nearly 800,000 vehicles. Ford said the cruise control switch could short circuit and cause an engine compartment fire when the vehicle was parked or being driven, even if the cruise control was not being used.

March 21, 2005

KPRC Click2Houston.com, "1999 Ford SUV Suspected Of Sparking Deputy's House Fire"

A Harris County deputy's home in northwest Harris County caught fire Friday morning and investigators think his Ford sport utility vehicle, parked in the garage, may have sparked the blaze. More...

March 19, 2005

Times-Union (Jacksonville), "Defects in Explorer blamed for fatal crash; $10.2 million awarded"

A Jacksonville jury returned a $10.2 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. Friday, finding defects in its Explorer's roof and seat belt systems. After the four-week trial, the jury said the death of a Jacksonville woman could have been prevented if the roof had not collapsed. The plaintiff's attorneys are calling the verdict the first in the nation finding fault with the popular SUV's roof.

Clair S. Duncan was traveling on Interstate 95 in Virginia to watch her brother graduate from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., when the 2000 Explorer she was driving swerved to miss a Winnebago. The Explorer then tipped and rolled five times, with the roof collapsing, killing Duncan.

Her husband and sister had minor orthopedic injuries, the Duncan family's lawyer said. All were wearing their seat belts.

At trial, the jury was presented internal Ford documents showing Explorer had the weakest roof of any SUV and that the company's engineers had recommended that its roof be strengthened. Counsel for Duncan stated he hopes the verdict will push Ford to make stronger roofs for the Explorer and made a seat belt system that better holds passengers in place.

March 18, 2005

Associated Press, "Chevy Astro, GMC Safari get worst ratings in government crash tests of minivans"

Two General Motors Corp. vehicles, the Chevrolet Astro and the GMC Safari, fared the worst in government crash tests of minivans, according to results released Friday.

In rollover tests, the Ford E-150 van received the worst rating and was the only vehicle among 13 models tested to tip over.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the Astro and Safari three out of five stars for driver's frontal crash tests. Three stars means there is a 21 percent to 35 percent chance of serious injury in a similar real-world crash. NHTSA conducts the front-impact test at 35 mph.

GM spokesman Alan Adler said the Astro and Safari met federal safety standards and noted that the tests were conducted in 1999. NHTSA conducts tests only when vehicles are new or significantly upgraded.

The vehicles, which have not had any major structural changes since they were first introduced in 1983, are going out of production in May.

March 15, 2005

Reuters, "GM's Blazer Ranked Deadliest Car on U.S. Roadways"

The two-door Chevrolet Blazer from General Motors Corp. has the highest driver death rate of any passenger vehicle on U.S. roadways, a research group with links to the insurance industry said on Tuesday. More...

March 15, 2005

The New York Times, "Is the Car Unsafe, or the Driver?"

One way of reading the new report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is that the Mercedes E-Class sedan has the safest design of any car or truck and the two-door Chevrolet Blazer the worst. Another way to read the report, to be released Tuesday, is that E-Class drivers tend to drive more carefully than Blazer drivers. More...

March 9, 2005

San Francisco Chronicle, "Couple warns some Land Rover seats are dangerous"

A Danville couple plans to launch a foundation warning drivers of what they consider the danger of inward-facing "jump seats" in some Land Rover SUVs after settling a lawsuit with the company over the death of their 9-year- old son, who was partly ejected in a rollover crash. Joey Moore was wearing a lap belt in one of the two third-row, fold-down seats in his parents' 1995 Land Rover Discovery in the July 2001 crash on Highway 50 in El Dorado County. More...

March 2, 2005

San Antonio Express News, "Zavala jurors hit Ford for $28 million"

A Zavala County, Texas jury took less than six hours Tuesday to slap Ford Motor Co. with a $28 million verdict, finding the manufacturer 90 percent responsible for the deaths of two young people in a rollover wreck in May 2003. The jury ordered Ford to pay the families of the victims, and awarded another $3 million in damages against a second defendant, Saul Guerrero Jr., who was driving the 2000 Explorer and was deemed 10 percent responsible. The award, approved by 10 of the 11 jurors, came despite evidence indicating Guerrero had been drinking before the accident and was driving at an unsafe speed. In addition, none of the four occupants was wearing a seat belt.

Plaintiff's lawyers had asked for up to $100 million in damages, arguing most of the blame lay with the automaker for continuing to use tempered side glass despite learning more than 30 years ago that laminated glass reduced the risk of passengers being ejected in a wreck.

The entire panel agreed that Ford should have begun using a safer glass in its side windows years ago. Thrown from the vehicle and killed were Corina Garcia and Diana Alicia Alonzo, both 19. Passenger Arturo Guerrero, 18, and driver Saul Guerrero Jr., 19, were also ejected but not seriously hurt.

February 22, 2005

Crossvilee Chronicle, Tennessee, "$7 million awarded in Ford Motor Co. lawsuit"

A Cumberland County record $7 million judgment was returned by a jury in a product liability lawsuit against Ford Motor Company filed by a Morgan County woman who suffered permanent injury in a 2002 traffic accident. The lawsuit centered around a seat that Betty and Martin Potter claimed broke during a crash and resulted in Betty Potter suffering a broken back that has left her a paraplegic. More...

February 14, 2005

Tire Business, "Truck tires Recalled From GTY Plant"

AKRON-Continental Tire North America Inc., Yokohama Tire Corp. and Toyo Tire (U.S.A.) Corp. are recalling a batch of truck tires produced by GTY Tire Co., the companies' joint venture facility in Mount Vernon, Ill. More...

January 28, 2005

San Francisco Chronicle, "Ford recalls nearly 800,000 pickups and SUVs because of fire risk"

Ford Motor Co. is recalling nearly 800,000 pickups and sport utility vehicles because the cruise control switch could short circuit and cause a fire under the hood, the automaker said. In an interview Friday from Deltona, Fla., broadcast on NBC's "Today" show, F-150 owner Bob Garcia described how flames engulfed his truck at his home while the ignition was turned off. The intense fire also damaged his garage.

"It caught on fire inside the garage all by itself," Garcia said. "No key in it." During the interview, NBC showed a videotape dated last month that showed the damage from the blaze. Ford will notify owners of the recall in February, and dealers will deactivate the cruise control switch for free. Once the company has an adequate supply of replacement switches, it will send another letter notifying owners that they can get their switches replaced. Ford said cruise control will be disabled once the switch is deactivated.

January 19, 2005

Los Angeles Times, "Honda Accord Ignition Systems Investigated"

Federal regulators are investigating whether certain models of the Honda Accord have a faulty ignition system, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

NHTSA is investigating Accords from the 1999-2001 model years. There are about 1.2 million Accords on the road from those years.

Federal regulators have received complaints that the ignition system allows the driver to remove the key when the vehicle is in positions other than "park." If the vehicle is stopped but not in "park," it could roll and get into a crash, the agency said.

Honda spokeswoman Sara Pines said the company was cooperating with the investigation.

January 12, 2005

The Detroit News, "Automakers find safety means sales - As new technology becomes widespread, savvy consumers come to expect it"

Here's another sign that times have definitely changed for the auto industry: safety is selling.

A tour of the 2005 North American International Auto Show proves that safety features are now as much a part of the cutthroat competition in the U.S. auto market as horsepower and styling. More...