June 3, 2002
Ford's attempt to focus on safety and reliability isn't getting much help from its recall-plagued subcompact, the Focus. With nine safety recalls and five defect investigations so far, the Focus is turning into a major black eye for Ford.
The latest investigation announced by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) has to do with wheels falling off the 2000 models, the right and left rear wheels to be precise. There's already been a recall for a similar problem involving only the left rear wheels in some 203,000 2000 models.
Some 350,000 2000 models were recalled because their roof pillars could cause head injuries in crashes. Other problems include airbags that deploy inadvertently, engine compartment fires and engine stalling.
It's the most recalls for a single manufacturer since General Motors' notorious X-cars (the Buick Skylark, Chevrolet Citation, Oldsmobile Omage and Pontiac Phoenix) racked up 13 recalls in the their first two years, according to the Center for Auto Safety.
The non-profit Center for Auto Safety wrote Ford's then-chairman, William Clay Ford, in November 1999, warning up about the damage being done to Ford's reputation by quality problems and the cover-ups that often accompanied them.
Ford is now the company's CEO and the problems continue. "The Focus fiasco shows Mr. Ford has a long road to hoe before he can restore some of the luster to his great grandfather's company," the center's executive director, Clarence M. Ditlow, said.
