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...important because of the circumstances--a dry road, nobody in the car had been drinking, Bailey was wearing her seat belt, and the vehicle's Firestone tires were not involved in the original recall. Bailey, whose annual medical costs will reach $600,000, is seeking millions in damages from Ford, Firestone and the car dealer for gross negligence and malice. Ford has already settled 25 tire-related injury and death claims. But a flurry of last-minute negotiations last week failed to produce a settlement in the Bailey case. A Ford spokesman says they will go to trial...
Remarkably, all the bad headlines have yet to do real damage to Explorer sales. Ford sold a record 445,157 Explorers last year, up 3.8% from 1999. And while the sagging economy and dim outlook for auto sales will force the company to trim production of many vehicles, the Explorer isn't one of them...
...Explorer, which automotive critics acclaim, is Ford's bid to compete against the barrage of new SUV entries hitting the market this year. But as regards the rollover issue, the new model also represents a paradoxical gamble. The company is touting the 2002's safety and environmental enhancements, such as an elaborate air-bag system, wider base and lower center of gravity. Yet the question remains: Why weren't these changes made earlier...
That is certainly a focal point of Tab Turner's case. The Little Rock, Ark., lawyer has spent a decade investigating SUV rollovers, and has beaten Ford three times in court. He won a $25 million verdict in 1995 that involved the Bronco II, forerunner of the 1990s Explorers. Over the past eight years, he has taken more than 30 depositions from Ford and Firestone employees on the engineering and development history of the Explorer and the tires that were designed for it. A top Ford official, on videotape, admitted to Turner that Wilderness AT tires were susceptible to failure...
...Ford officials continue to deny vehemently any safety problems with the Explorer. "The Explorer has a phenomenal safety record and the lowest fatality rate in rollovers," says spokesman Jason Vines. The question now is whether that record will be enough to keep Ford above the assault of allegations that are likely to come as Donna Bailey's case goes public...