But Republican Slade Gorton of Washington said consumers may be confused. Ford said that the proper pressure was 26 pounds per square inch before the recall, now it's given a range of 26 to 30. Bridgestone-Firestone continues to say that it ought to be 30 pounds per square inch. We called a Ford dealer, Coons College Park Ford in College Park, Maryland, who said it should be 26 on the front tires and 35 pounds per square inch on the rear tires. Now, that's a range from 26 to 35 with three different answers from three different groups.
Consumers deserve better than that.
Today's hearing came just as news reports revealed Ford officials recalled the same type of Firestone tires on Ford Explorers in Saudi Arabia last year but chose not to tell U.S. regulators about the recall. Helen Pertrauskus is Ford's Vice President for Safety. Yes, or no. The reason they had sent us the letter is because we asked for it. Ultimately Ford unilaterally paid for replacement tires.