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September 29, 2006
NHTSA REJECTS REQUEST FOR PROBE OF FORD ‘UNSAFE ROOF’
NHTSA has refused to investigate charges brought by a California research group that some Ford Explorers were manufactured with substandard roofs that failed to meet federal crush resistance requirements. A Detroit News article reported that the agency denied a petition by Safety Analysis and Forensic Research that sought the investigation.
“The group, which does work for lawyers suing automakers, based its findings on two roof strength tests Ford conducted in 1999, which the company said were to test a prototype windshield design that was never put into production,” the newspaper reported. “SAFE Research contends that the tests -- on a minor proposed design change -- showed that many Explorers built during that time period may have failed. Ford redesigned the Explorer and the Mountaineer in 2002.” But, it said, NHTSA concluded that “the windshield modifications that Ford was considering when it modified and then tested these vehicles in 1999 never became part of production vehicles.”
Posted by MVHAP at September 29, 2006 12:44 PM