Issues
Formula Predicts Rollover Risk
Advocates want roll-ratings; automakers say process is faulty
By Gary Stoller, USA TODAY
July 17, 2000
Rollover crashes kill one of every four people who die in auto accidents, the federal government says. Yet while consumers can find out how vehicles perform in government crash tests, they cannot tell which vehicles are most prone to rolling over in an accident.
Tort Liability of Dealers Selling 1973-1987 GM Pickups
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
Washington DC
October 18, 1993
Dear General Motors Truck Dealer:
We are writing to notify you, that in our view, you face enormous potential liability losses should you sell a used General Motors pickup with side saddle gas tanks without remedying the hazard. The clear basis for your liability is explained in the attached legal memorandum from the Center for Auto Safety. General Motors itself lost a $105 million verdict in one lawsuit on these pickups.
Burned cop brings message on patrol car safety
Albany– Phoenix officer who was disfigured by fire to speak before state Senate committee
By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, March 11, 2003
A Phoenix police officer who was severely burned when his Ford Crown Victoria cruiser burst into flames will tell a state Senate committee today what can happen if the automaker isn't pressured into making patrol vehicles safer.
Ford Sandbags Crown Victoria Safety
Failure Analysis Test Report Cover Letter and Description, .PDF
Ford says safety kits for Crown Vic cruisers unproven
By Joel Stashenko, Associated Press, 3/11/2003 15:43
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Two fuel system safety devices being considered by the New York State Police for the 1,100 Crown Victoria Interceptors in its fleet have not been proven to work, a Ford Motor Co. executive said at a state Senate hearing Tuesday.
Neither a fuel tank bladder nor a fire suppression device have conclusively been shown as effective or feasible in testing Ford is conducting, said Susan Cischke, Ford vice president for environmental and safety engineering.
Ford Misleading on Safety of Police Cars, City Says
Automaker says fuel shields weren’t meant to prevent leakage
03/01/2003
By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
Dallas City Attorney Madeleine Johnson accused Ford Motor Co. on Friday of misleading the public into believing that installing protective shields around the Crown Victoria police car’s fuel tank would make it safer.
The Dallas Police Department has retrofitted more than 700 cars with the shields.
In the Debate on S.U.V.’s, There’s a New Casualty Count
March 2, 2003
By DANNY HAKIM
New York Times
DETROIT — What makes one automobile safer than another? This used to be a simple question. Regulators looked at collision data. If more people tended to die while riding in Vehicle X than in Vehicle Y, then Vehicle Y was safer. In the 1970’s, the government added crash testing to study how cars did in different kinds of collisions.
Sport Utility Vehicles Pose a Danger to All
Yes: Regulators must address rollovers, SUV mismatch in crashes with cars
The Detroit News
Sunday, March 2, 2003
By Ben Kelley
In the world of compassionate conservatism as defined by President George W. Bush, is there room for a regulator who is willing to attack the auto industry for deliberately making and selling unsafe cars?
Other safety measures in the works for Crown Victorias
Posted on Sat, Mar. 01, 2003
JOEL STASHENKO
Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. – State Police officials are retrofitting safety devices on an allegedly fire-prone model of the Ford Crown Victoria, while Sen.
Ford Admits Crown Vic Failed Crash Test
Dallas Official Questions Why Ford Can Provides Safer Technology to Civilian‘Protection’ Car, but Not to Police
DALLAS, TX — Ford Motor Company officials have admitted in sworn testimony that a Crown Victoria police car equipped with new fuel tank safety shields actually flunked its own crash test.