The Recall of Firestone Tires Essay -- Firestone Tires Retail Automobi

The Recall of Firestone Tires Mission Statement: The Firestone Company is committed to being a good corporate citizen nationally, regionally and especially in the communities where we have manufacturing plants, sales facilities or offices. Our corporate philosophy is to build not just better products, but better communities. Firestone traces their roots to the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1900. Harvey S. Firestone started tire production with twelve employees in Akron, Ohio. In Japan during 1931, Shojiro Ishibashi created the Bridgestone Tire Company. Bridgestone is proud to carry on the blending of Japanese and American methods to provide quality products. Their philosophy is to serve society with superior quality and best today but still better tomorrow. In August 2000, there was a recall of Bridgestone/Firestone tires. The company recalled its 15 inch ATX and ATX II tires, plus 15 inch Wilderness AT tires. The recall involved more than six million tires. A federal investigation found at least 88 deaths and more than 300 accidents involving Bridgestone/Firestone tires that had shredded on the highway. The majority of the accidents held the same situation of the driver maintaining a speed of 65 miles per hour, the tires shredded and the rubber peeled away from the rim. Most of the tire failures involved Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles. These accidents occurred after tire treads peeled off, causing tires to burst and malfunction then drivers lost control of their vehicles which resulted in crashes and turnovers. The tires involved are made up of many different materials layered around an inner shell. The outermost layer is the tread, which covers two layers of steel cords. This tire recall was the second largest in history; i t also raised a significant social responsibility and ethical issues for both Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone companies. Firestone's last major tire recall nearly bankrupted the company in 1978, and led to its acquisition by Japanese-based Bridgestone. As with the recall announced, it involved abnormally high tread separation, resulting in accidents and deaths. Most of the tires involved in the recall were produced at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois plant. Poor quality was named as one of the main causes of the failures, and many proposals were advanced to strengthen and update regulatory procedures. ... ...dgestone/Firestone executive says complaints didn't reach him. from the World Wide Web: http://www.cnn.com/ Public Citizen. (2001, Jan. 4). Ford, Firestone officials took narrow view when recalling tires, ignoring key data while admitting tires lacked strength. from the World Wide Web: http://www.citizen.org/fireweb/firereport.htm Public Citizen & Safetyforum.com. (2001, Jan. 4). Spinning their wheels: How Ford and Firestone fail to justify the limited tire recall. from the World Wide Web: http://www.citizen.org/Press/pr-auto25.htm Ross, S. (2000, Nov. 1). Tire-safety law signed. from the World Wide Web: http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/dailynews/clinton-tires001101.htm. Schaefer, G. (2000, December 20). Wheeling and dealing: Bridgestone admits some blame for deadly tire failures. from the World Wide Web: http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/dailynews/tires001220.htm. Sears stops selling Bridgestone/Firestone tires under probe in crashes. (2000, Aug. 4). from the World Wide Web: http://www.cnn.com/ Valenti, C. (2000, September 5). What cost recalls? from the World Wide Web: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/TheStreet/firestonetire_recall000905.htm.