Engineering Ethics

Chapter 11

2002: Ford Explorer Rollover

133

THE REPORTED STORY

The San Diego Union Tribune Abstract:

Ford Motor Co. will pay state attorneys general $51 million to end claims

that its advertising fails to disclose the rollover risk involved with driving sport

utility vehicles, the Associated Press has learned. The money will be shared

among the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin

Islands, said four sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. (AP, 2002)

THE BACK STORY

FORD EXPLORERS AND FIRESTONE TIRES

In May 2001, Ford Motor Company recalled and replaced 13 million

Firestone tires equipped in its Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

This action was an attempt to end its dispute with Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.

over who was to blame for deadly Explorer rollover crashes. The dispute had

already generated bad publicity, launched congressional hearings, and

spawned a new focus on tire safety. In part because of the $3 billion price tag

for replacing the tires, Ford lost $5.45 billion in 2001 (Webster, 2003).

However, Firestone tires seem unlikely to have been the fundamental

cause of Ford Explorer rollover crashes. During the 10-year period during

which Ford–Firestone-related rollovers caused approximately 300 deaths,

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134 Engineering Ethics: An Industrial Perspective

more than 12,000 people died in SUV rollover crashes (all models, not just

the Explorer) unrelated to tire failure (Frontline, 2002a). In this chapter, we

discuss issues connected to the design of the Ford Explorer SUV.

CAFE STANDARDS AND

SPORT U

TILITY VEHICLES

In response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo, which increased gasoline prices

and fuel shortages, the U.S. Congress rushed to pass fuel efficiency legisla-

tion for cars and light trucks. This legislation was included in the Energy

Policy and Conservation Act, which passed in 1975. Per the act, automakers

were required to meet strict fuel efficiency standards known as corporate

average fuel economy (CAFE). CAFE standards were administered by the

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The near-term

goal was to double new passenger car fuel efficiency to 27.5 miles per gallon

(mpg) by model year 1985. Because light trucks were primarily used on

farms and ranches, light truck fuel efficiency was to be set at the maximum

feasible level for model year 1979 and each model year thereafter. Failure

to meet the CAFE standard would result in fines, based on the total number

of vehicles produced by an automaker in a given model year (NHTSA,

2005a).

With CAFE standards in place, fuel economy rose and helped turn

an oil shortage into a glut (Kennedy, 2004). CAFE standards were

decreased from model years 1986 to 1989 and fixed thereafter to 27.5 mpg

(NHTSA, 2005a). Had CAFE standards continued at their original rate

of increase through the end of calendar year 1986, it has been estimated

by economist Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute that

the United States would not have needed Persian Gulf oil after 1986

(Kennedy, 2004).

Automakers took advantage of the light truck “loophole” to manufacture

passenger cars that did not have to comply with CAFE standards. In 1975,

American Motors updated its Jeep CJ5 with modern 1970s styling. The

original Jeep was a military truck built for World War II usage. As the Jeep

CJ5 became popular and gas prices decreased in the early 1980s, American

Motors and other manufacturers debuted more sports utility vehicles.

New SUVs such as the Jeep Cherokee, Ford Bronco II, and Ford Explorer

provided large profits to ailing 1980s Detroit automakers because they were

essentially pickup truck parts sold for a luxury car price. Different passenger

compartments were bolted onto the steel underbodies of pickup trucks,

enabling pickups and SUVs to be built on the same assembly line (Frontline,

2002d).

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