Firestone Recall Press Conference
National Press Club
Washington DC

CARS Mobilizes to Strengthen Auto Safety Legislation

At least 103 people have been killed in crashes linked to faulty Firestone tires currently under recall, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Evidence is mounting that millions more tires have similar fatal flaws, including other brands.

CARS President Rosemary Shahan calls on candidates and political parties to forgo campaign contributions from Ford and Firestone, which face possible criminal charges for withholding evidence that would have saved lives and prevented devastating injuries.

Unsafe Tire Updates

In a belated response to public pressure, Firestone is recalling millions of Wilderness ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires installed on models including the Ford Explorer, Mercuery Mountaineer, Ford Ranger pickup truck, Mazda Navajo, and B-series trucks, such as the Bronco. Faulty Firestones have also been installed on a wide range of other vehicles, sometimes as after-market equipement. Is your vehicle part of the recall? What about other tires that have similar problems? For updates, check out the websites listed on the next page.

Political Corruption Kills

CARS is working to reform the system that allows auto interests to corrupt politicians, and block the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's efforts to improve safety, such as upgrading the badly antiquated roof crush standard, and providing the public with meaningful rollover comparison data.

On October 2, CARS organized a news conference in Washington, D.C. to call on the major candidates and political parties to forgo campaign cash from Ford and Firestone. Both corporations face possible criminal penalties in the U.S. and abroad. Ford-Firestone victims from California, Texas, and Maryland joined CARS in challenging candidates to return campaign cash from Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone.

According to Public Campaign, citing data from the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, the automotive industry has given more than $55 million to candidates and parties since 1990, 74% to Republicans. At last count, Governor Bush has collected $1.2 million from the auto industry, while Vice President Al Gore has received less than 1/10th that amount, or $93,000.