Ford Recalls SUV Models

Jay Stevens
May 2, 2006

The Ford Motor Company has recently recalled sport utility vehicles that it has manufactured. Ford, Mercury, and Mazda were three of the brands that the recalled sport utility vehicles held. In fact, there were about some 160,000 units of these that were called back to its mother ship. The reason for such an action? The padding on these vehicles needed further strengthening so as to be able to provide ample protection for drivers’ heads during cases of crashes and collisions.

Side air bags curtains and sunroofs were the features that the Ford Motor Company was not able to install on the recalled vehicles. These sport utility vehicles comprised of the 2005 Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, and Mazda Tribute. What the company would be doing is to add up to the padding of the vehicles. The padding would be modified near the left A pillar and roof rail so as to strengthen the vehicle as a whole.

The whole recall started when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) did a test on a Ford Escape and the vehicle failed the exam. It was a test on head protection. However, the company informed the department that they had conducted the same test several times previously and yet they did not find the vehicle to fail such a test.

James Vondale, the director of Ford’s automotive safety office, along with the Ford and Mazda North American Operations, decided to do the recall so as to avoid a protracted dispute with the US’ agency. At least, with this, there would also be lesser chances for the company to receive lawsuits from Ford customers and owners when the vehicles purchases were not providing the right amount of protection and safety.

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