FORD'S ACTIONS TO SPEED REPLACEMENT OF TIRES
Ford also announced that it was suspending production of certain vehicle lines in order to make more tires available for the Wilderness AT replacement project. Specifically, Ford will take two down weeks at the Twin Cities, MN and Edison, NJ Ranger assembly plants. The company will also take one down week of Explorer Sport, Explorer Sport Trac and 2002 Explorer production at the Louisville, KY assembly plant.
FORD TIRE SAFETY INITIATIVES
Ford previously has announced several initiatives to safeguard its customers and to work closely with the tire industry and government safety authorities to ensure tire safety. These initiatives include extending the warranty on Ford vehicles to include tires and offering built-in tire pressure monitoring systems on some Ford vehicles. Ford also has worked with the tire industry to develop and implement an "early warning system" to detect the first signs of tire defects on vehicles already on the road.
DATA DEMONSTRATES EXPLORER SAFETY, TIRE ROLE IN TREAD SEPARATION
U.S. Department of Transportation data demonstrates that for more than ten years, Explorer consistently has ranked at or near the top in safety among the SUVs in its class. In addition, 2.9 million Goodyear tires on Explorers have performed with industry leading safety for more than 500,000 customers and their families, traveling an estimated 25 billion miles.