The Fords and Firestones were inseparable partners in business, and their children were bonded in marriage. Ford Motor Co. is expected to announce a major campaign today to replace millions of potentially defective Firestone tires on older vehicles, after the embattled tire company Monday ended its 100-year relationship with its largest and oldest customer. Ford Motor Co. has taken a momentum-jarring jolt in its public spat with Firestone over defective tires and its latest recall of new Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport utility vehicles. Ford Motor Co. 's plan to recommend a broader recall of Firestone tires raises new questions about the future viability of one of America's most popular brands. The economy is sputtering.
Consumers are jittery.
Yet auto sales still are rolling along at a surprisingly strong clip. Ford Motor Co. has asked federal regulators to broaden last year's recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires because of safety concerns its experts have raised about millions of other Firestones, industry and government sources said Friday. Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. , the biggest auto-parts maker, will idle about 765 workers for a week starting Monday because automakers are reducing production as U.S. sales of new cars and trucks slow.