Friday June 8
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - House Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin told government safety officials he is concerned their investigation into Firestone tires is too limited to find the cause of failures that have been blamed in at least 174 U.S. deaths.
In a letter dated June 6, Tauzin told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration he is concerned that they are focusing only on two tire models.
According to the letter, NHTSA officials told congressional investigators they are focusing on the Wilderness AT P255/70R16 and the Wilderness AT P235/75R15. Some of the later model - those made at Bridgestone/Firestone's plant in Decatur, Ill. - were included in last summer's tire recall.
Ford Motor Co. announced last month that it will replace all Firestone Wilderness AT tires on its vehicles because they tend to fail more often than tires from other manufacturers.
The announcement ``may make NHTSA's analysis far too limited and of little current utility,'' wrote Tauzin, R-La.
``In addition, the scope of your investigation appears to have always avoided one of the key questions posed by last year's controversy - whether the problem with the Firestone tires is solely a tire issue, or whether it is a tire-vehicle application issue,'' the letter said.
Most of the 6.5 million tires recalled by Bridgestone/Firestone and the 13 million being replaced by Ford were sold as original equipment on the Explorer. Bridgestone/Firestone claims the Explorer has a defective design that caused the sport utility vehicles to roll over when the tires lost their treads.
Last week, Bridgestone/Firestone chief executive officer John Lampe met with Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta and asked that NHTSA investigate the safety of the Explorer.
The company paid for a report that claimed the world's best-selling SUV has a steering problem that contributed to the rollovers.
``Both companies have clearly raised some serious allegations and we would like to see NHTSA take a broader look at the controversy,'' said House Commerce Committee spokesman Ken Johnson. ``It's time to put an end to the 'he said, she said.'''
Johnson emphasized that the letter did not ask NHTSA for a formal defect investigation into the Ford Explorer. Tauzin said NHTSA should compare Firestone tire performance on the Explorer with its performance on other vehicles made by Ford and other manufacturers.
Tauzin led investigations into Firestone tires last September. He has promised that his committee will hold further hearings this year to determine if all the dangerous tires are off the road.
NHTSA officials would not comment on the letter or whether they would open an investigation into the Explorer.
Bridgestone/Firestone spokeswoman Jill Bratina said the company would not comment on the letter, but ``we continue to feel that our data is compelling and we look forward to discussing these issues at the upcoming hearing.''
Ford officials said the company opposes a separate investigation into the Explorer.
``For more than 10 years, Explorer has been and continues to be one of the safest vehicles on the road according to real-world government safety data,'' Ford spokesman Jason Vines said. ``Ford will continue to work closely with NHTSA and Congress to put this issue to rest once and for all.''