Nasser’s nightmare
Ford’s tyre problems continue to distract it from other big challenges
HENRY FORD and Harvey Firestone must be turning in their graves. On June 19th, the chief executives of the two companies they founded will appear at yet another congressional hearing into why Ford Explorer SUVs fitted with Firestone tyres roll over. More than 170 people have been killed in such accidents in America alone. John Lampe, the boss of Firestone, and Ford's chief executive, Jacques Nasser, are loth to sit side by side, perhaps lest they start hitting each other. But they have been brawling in public by other means since last month, when Ford announced the recall of 13m Firestone tyres, saying data showed they were suspect. This followed a compulsory recall last summer, when the tyres were first linked to roll-over accidents.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Nasser’s nightmare”
From the June 16th 2001 edition
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