| Aug-99 |
Ford offers customers in Saudi Arabia free replacements for tires
in question. |
| Feb-00 |
Ford offers free replacement tires for vehicles in Malaysia and
Thailand. |
| May |
Ford offers to replace tires for customers in Colombia, Ecuador
and Venezuela. |
| May 2 2000 |
After receiving numerous inquiries and complaints from consumers
in the U.S., NHTSA opens a preliminary probe of the alleged failure of ATX,
ATX II and Wilderness tires made by Firestone. |
| May 8 2000 |
NHTSA asks Bridgestone/Firestone for information about the tires
in question as part of its preliminary evaluation. |
| May 10 2000 |
NHTSA asks Ford for information about the tires and the use of the
tires in the carmaker's product lines. |
| August 1 2000 |
Two safety groups, Public Citizen and Strategic Safety, appeal to
Ford to recall millions of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks
made over last decade, claiming the tire tread can peel off. |
| August 3 2000 |
NHTSA says it is probing 21 deaths in crashes of pickup trucks and
SUVs in which tire failure may have played a role. |
| August 4 2000 |
Sears, Roebuck & Co., the No. 1 U.S. tire retailer, stops selling
certain Firestone tires. |
| August 7 2000 |
NHTSA says it is probing at least 46 deaths potentially related to
failures of Firestone tires. Discount Tire Co. and Montgomery Ward also say
they will suspend sale of Firestone tires until more information is made
available. |
| August 9 2000 |
Bridgestone announces the recall of 6.5 million ATX, ATX II and
Wilderness tires of certain sizes produced by its Firestone unit and offers
to replace them. |
| August 15 2000 |
NHTSA raises to 62 from 46 the number of traffic deaths linked to
Firestone tires and says it is looking into reports of 100 injuries, with
almost all of those involving Ford Explorer SUVs. |
| August 21 2000 |
Ford announces it will idle three truck assembly plants to free up
tires for recall replacements. The automaker also begins prime-time
television advertising featuring Chief Executive Jacques Nasser in an effort
to repair its image, battered by the recall. |
| August 22 2000 |
Bridgestone says it will fly tires from Japan to the U.S. to
provide replacements for recalled tires. |
| August 23 2000 |
Bridgestone says it will boost production to 450,000 tires
annually at three Japanese plants to provide replacement tires for the
recall. |
| August 25 2000 |
Venezuelan consumer protection agency says it has evidence of
deception by Ford and Bridgestone that cost lives in traffic accidents. |
| August 28 2000 |
Bridgestone says it will boost production in Japan to 650,000
tires from 450,000 earlier for replacements. |
| August 31 2000 |
NHTSA raises the number of deaths linked to Firestone tires to 88
from 62, and the number of injuries to 250 from 100. Venezuela's consumer
protection agency recommends Bridgestone and Ford be prosecuted over tires
linked to 46 deaths in Venezuela. |
| September 1 2000 |
NHTSA warns motorists about an additional 1.4 million Firestone
tires that may have even greater problems than the 6.5 million recalled.
Firestone says it disagrees with the analysis and refuses to recall the
tires. |
| September 4 2000 |
Bridgestone/Firestone reaches agreement with union to settle labor
dispute and avert a strike at nine U.S. plants. Bridgestone agrees to recall
all 62,000 Wilderness AT Firestone tires in Venezuela. |
| September 6 2000 |
Lawmakers criticize Ford and Firestone at separate House and
Senate hearings. Firestone's chief executive apologies, while Ford says it
will not rest until every faulty tire is replaced. |
| September 19 2000 |
Bridgestone says spiraling costs of tire recall to reach $400-500
million in the business year to next March, $50-$150 million more than
originally projected. |
| September 19 2000 |
NHTSA raises the number of deaths linked to Firestone tires to 103
from 88, and the number of injuries to more than 400 from 250. |
| September 29 2000 |
U.S. highway safety investigators expand probe of Firestone tires
to include the company's Steeltex line of light truck tires following 169
complaints related to Steeltex radials since the beginning of 1998,
including two deaths. |
| October 5 2000 |
House Commerce Committee unanimously backs legislation aimed at
strengthening highway safety in the wake of Firestone recall. |
| October 10 2000 |
Bridgestone/Firestone replaces Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Masatoshi Ono with John Lampe, who becomes first American to lead
Bridgestone/Firestone since it was bought by Bridgestone in 1988. |
| October 17 2000 |
NHTSA raises number of deaths linked to Firestone tires to 119 and
number of injuries to more than 500. |
| October 17 2000 |
Bridgestone/Firestone announces production cut at three U.S.
plants and lays off 450 people at its Decatur, Illinois, facility.
Firestone's total North American output to fall by 20 percent. |
| October 18 2000 |
Ford third-quarter operating earnings fall 16.3 percent to $994
million, hit by $500 million in costs related to Firestone recall. |
| |
Bridgestone stock plunges 12.25 percent to year-low of 938 yen,
down 60 percent since early August. |
| October 20 2000 |
|
| October 23 2000 |
Bridgestone says in Tokyo it found no major development or
production problems at its U.S. Firestone unit, and that there was no one
specific cause behind the tire problems. |
| November 17 2000 |
Bridgestone/Firestone says to cut tire production at two U.S.
plants in January, resulting in temporary layoff of about 1,100 workers. |
| December 5 2000 |
Bridgestone President and Chief Executive Officer Yoichiro Kaizaki
denies the U.S. unit was in danger of failing, and says tire maker would set
aside $450 million this year to settle claims. |
| December 6 2000 |
NHTSA raises number of deaths linked to Firestone tires to 148. |
| December 14 2000 |
Bridgestone slashes profit estimate for this year by 80 percent
and says to take a $750 million special loss this year to cover recall costs
and potential damage claims. |
| December 27 2000 |
Ford settles at least eight lawsuits and says plans to settle many
more cases stemming from accidents involving Ford Explorer vehicles and
Firestone tires. |
| January 2 2001 |
Bridgestone/Firestone recalls another 8,000 tires with adhesion
problems that were made in Mexico and equipped on General Motors Corp. SUVs. |
| January 4 2001 |
U.S. consumer group Public Citizen urges Bridgestone/Firestone to
almost double its recall of 6.5 million tires, saying it was narrowly
focused and hastily imposed. |
| January 11 2001 |
Bridgestone announces Kaizaki to resign to salvage the company's
image. |
| February 6 2001 |
NHTSA raises to 174 the number of deaths connected to Firestone
tires. |
| May 16 2001 |
New York Times reports Ford has concluded that there are problems
with a number of Firestone tire models beyond those recalled, and is leaning
toward demanding a wider recall. Firestone says its analysis of data does
not support the allegations made by Ford. |
| May 20 2001 |
Ford says it is recalling 50,000 of its new 2002 Explorer sport
utility vehicles because an assembly line problem may have cut tire treads.
Ford says the problem is unrelated to the Firestone recall. |
| May 21 2001 |
Firestone says it is severing nearly a century of business ties
with Ford and charges that the automaker is trying to deflect attention away
from problems with the Explorer. |
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