Ford CEO Jacques Nasser is a one-man industry wrecking crew, hurting both Ford and Firestone with his CYA (cover your posterior) tactics. I am a satisfied Ford Ranger owner with Firestones. I have no quarrel with happy Explorer owners, although I think some are poor drivers who don’t check their tire pressure regularly. I had full faith and confidence in my Firestones and it troubled me to see them replaced and destroyed at 16,000 miles. I took the replacement tires partly to punish Ford and would have been silly to refuse a new set of tires out of disgust for Jack Nasser.

Even if you overlook the Explorer design flaw debate and credit that they are OK vehicles, Ford specifying a 26 psi tire pressure to lower the center of gravity is idiotic and deadly. Ask anyone dealing with tires and they will tell you that 26 psi on an Explorer on hot pavement is a high probability case for tire failure. How many ordinary drivers regularly check their tire pressure? In addition to avoiding tire failure, a significant imbalance of tire pressure between drive wheels can lead to excessive wear-and-tear on the differential.

Orin Lowe

Holden