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Risky Explorer Costs Ford
Now Playing: The Doobie Brothers
Topic: Safety
A jury in South Carolina awarded $18 million to plaintiffs who said a faulty cruise control system caused their 1995 Ford Explorer to rollover. One woman was killed and another is paralyzed as a result of the accident, in which the vehicle purportedly accelerated on its own and couldn't be slowed by braking. Plaintiffs' attorneys said the faulty cruise control was well documented and criticized Ford for not responding to the thousands of complaints.
The Explorer has received less than stellar ratings from safety organizations. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated the 1995-2001 Ford Explorer as poor for its passenger restraint system, and only average in preventing most types of injuries. (It rated good for the safety cage and neck injuries.) The first time NHTSA tested the Explorer for rollover safety (2001) it received just 2 of 5 stars; later models have garnered 3 stars.
Last week Ford recalled an additional 1.2 million vehicles including the 1998 Explorer because of a faulty cruise control switch that could cause a fire, bringing the total to 6.7 million vehicles.
I'm guessing the resale value of older Explorers ain't too high these days.
Posted by jggsf 6:37 AM PDT | Post Comment | Permalink
And to think that the government gives money to bail out these companies.
Now Playing: The Doobie Brothers
Topic: Safety
A jury in South Carolina awarded $18 million to plaintiffs who said a faulty cruise control system caused their 1995 Ford Explorer to rollover. One woman was killed and another is paralyzed as a result of the accident, in which the vehicle purportedly accelerated on its own and couldn't be slowed by braking. Plaintiffs' attorneys said the faulty cruise control was well documented and criticized Ford for not responding to the thousands of complaints.
The Explorer has received less than stellar ratings from safety organizations. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated the 1995-2001 Ford Explorer as poor for its passenger restraint system, and only average in preventing most types of injuries. (It rated good for the safety cage and neck injuries.) The first time NHTSA tested the Explorer for rollover safety (2001) it received just 2 of 5 stars; later models have garnered 3 stars.
Last week Ford recalled an additional 1.2 million vehicles including the 1998 Explorer because of a faulty cruise control switch that could cause a fire, bringing the total to 6.7 million vehicles.
I'm guessing the resale value of older Explorers ain't too high these days.
Posted by jggsf 6:37 AM PDT | Post Comment | Permalink
And to think that the government gives money to bail out these companies.
