John Lampe, the tiremaker's chief executive officer, gave Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta a lengthy report Thursday in which the company contends that the world's best-selling sport utility vehicle is harder to handle than some of its competitors when a tire fails. Lampe acknowledged past problems with the company's now-recalled tires, but said investigators must consider whether the Explorer played a role in the rollover accidents triggered by a tire failure.
Tires can loose tread.
It is a foreseeable problem,'' Lampe told reporters after meeting with Mineta. The government's auto safety agency has the information under review, said Rae Tyson, spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ford's John Rintamaki reaffirmed the automaker's position that the accidents are the result of faulty tires. Ford announced last week that it was replacing all 13 million Firestone Wilderness AT tires on its vehicles because they fail more often than other tires. The tire maker claims its products are safe and Ford's replacements are unnecessary.