Ford agrees to review congressional data, perform tests

WASHINGTON (June 22)—Ford Motor Co. has agreed to a request from the House Energy and Commerce Committee to review tire claims data the panel collected and perform high-speed rig tests on all the tires Ford is using to replace 13 million Firestone Wilderness AT tires. At a congressional hearing June 19, the committee identified seven replacement tire models for the Wilderness which exceeded Ford's benchmark level of five tread separation claims per million tires. A few days later, it identified four more, bringing the total to 11. "We are proceeding with all possible speed to analyze the raw data," Sue Cischke, Ford vice president-Environmental and Safety Engineering, said in a prepared statement. The auto maker also is consulting with tire manufacturers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on the matter, Cischke said. Billy Tauzin, R-La., House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, called Ford's action "an important step toward resolving this controversy and safeguarding American consumers."