Tire Blame Game Grows

As they continue replacing 6.5 million recalled tires, the blame game Firestone and Ford have been playing has deteriorated into a high stakes version of every-man-for-himself.

Japan-based Bridgestone Corporation's president said Monday that tires made at the company's U.S. subsidiary were not defective, though he acknowledged Bridgestone should have exercised greater quality control.

"There was a problem that our control over overseas operations was insufficient," Yoichiro Kaizaki said in his first news conference since the company announced the U.S. recall.

Kaizaki also said he was struck that there was a high accident rate only for Ford Explorers fitted with Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.'s tires and not for other carmakers' vehicles that used the same products, though he stopped short of blaming the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker.

But CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr reviewed safety data that does not support the suggestion that Ford's SUV's are more prone to rollovers than other sport utility vehicles.

It is true that two-door Ford Explorers have a high rollover fatality rate— "more than twice" that of comparable mid-size cars. But, the larger four-door Explorers have "one of the lowest rollover fatality rates" among all SUV's.

"This is a Firestone tire issue, not a vehicle issue," Ford's CEO Jacques Nasser has said repeatedly. He told Congress that almost three million Goodyear tires are on Explorers that have experienced no tread separation problems, as far as he knows.

Kaizaki said Bridgestone let Firestone operate according to its own standards when it purchased the U.S. tire maker in 1988 because Firestone already had an established headquarters and technical center.

While stressing that the differing standards in Japan and the United States in no way led to any tire problems, Kaizaki said his company should have brought the U.S. operations "up to Bridgestone's standards." He did not provide any specifics.

He said he first learned in May that the tires were linked to an unusually high number of accidents, and admitted that the company's headquarters in Tokyo was slow to respond to reports of accidents involving Firestones.

"It is true that it is unacceptable that I didn't know. If you want to call me stupid, then I am stupid. I am terribly sorry but I didn't know," Kaizaki said.

"Of course I feel I bear some responsibility."

Confidential Firestone documents obtained by CBS News reveal that Firestone knew about the problem well before May. It knew last year that its tire problem was getting much worse. The records show tread separations involving the Wilderness AT model jumped 194 percent between 1998 and 1999.

More damaging documents could surface Tuesday as Ford and Firestone leaders return to Capitol Hill for a second round of hearings.

The recalled tires are suspected of shedding their tread at high speeds and of causing at last 88 traffic deaths.

Many of the tires were made at the Bridgestone/Firestone factory in Decatur, Ill., and are standard equipment on some Ford models, including the popular Explorer sport utility vehicle.

Kaizaki has been criticized for disclosing little information about alleged defects in the company's P235/75R15-size ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires.

His silence has allowed Nasser to try to pin blame for the problem on Firestone tires rather than on possible Ford design flaws.

Kaizaki said, however, that the cause of the accidents has not yet been determined and pointed out that other automakers have had fewer problems with the same tires.

"We didn't recall the tires because we found a defect that caused the accidents," Kaizaki said. "We decided to conscientiously recall the tires having put a top priority on consumer safety."

Kaisaki also questioned the number of accidents involving Fords. "The accident rate for other cars is dramatically lower," he said.

He said that under-inflation of tires and poor maintenance are known to be potential causes of the tread belt separations and punctures suspected in the accidents, and that no structural flaws have been found in the tires themselves.

When asked if he thought Ford might be responsible, he replied: "I can't answer that."

Ford did not immediately return calls seeking comment. The company has said that most of the reported accidents have involved Explorers because most of the recalled tires still in use were sold on Explorers.

Kaizaki said he did not speak out earlier because he felt it would be inappropriate to do so before the Sept. 6 congressional testimony of Bridgestone/Firestone chief Masatoshi Ono in Washington.

While Kaizaki's coming out was positive, analysts said the company must be much more forthcoming with information to assure consumers its tires are safe.

"The perception is that the situation has gotten beyond Bridgestone/Firestone's control," said Steve Usher, auto analyst at Jardine Fleming Securities (Asia) in Tokyo. "What people are expecting from Bridgestone now is some strong direction and leadership" as the firm attempts to move past its difficulties.

Those difficulties include the possibility of further recalls, damages from lawsuits and loss of supply contracts with Ford and other automakers.