Is This Vehicle Safe?

It's amazing how a hundred deadly tire blowouts can clear a traffic jam on Capitol Hill. For more than a decade, the powerful auto industry has successfully fought any efforts in Washington to publish a ratings system for measuring a vehicle's propensity to roll over. Detroit wasn't going to let some meddling bureaucrats potentially gut its sacred cash cow, the wildly popular and profitable sport-utility vehicles (SUVS). But by last week, as the estimated death toll in the Firestone- tire recall debacle rose to 101, it became increasingly clear to Motown's allies in Washington that the battle had turned against them.

Nowhere is the siege worse than at Ford, where its top-selling Explorer is the target of increasing scrutiny. Now that Firestone has finally admitted that some of its recalled tires have a defect that causes their treads to separate, congressional investigators and personal-injury lawyers have switched to clamoring for answers about the safety record of the Explorer. Does its design increase the chances that a manageable tire blowout could turn into a fatal rollover?

There is mounting evidence that it may. According to an internal Ford memo in the hands of congressional investigators, the company concluded after looking into accidents in Venezuela that "the high incidence [of] vehicle rollover after a tire blowout or tread loss has not been detected for other vehicle brands," such as Toyota, GM or Chrysler. Last May, according to a confidential Firestone document obtained by TIME, Firestone officials suggested to their colleagues at Ford in Venezuela that the Explorer's suspension was a factor. Ford disagreed, as it still does.

During last Thursday's heated House subcommittee hearing, Republican Congressman Billy Tauzin of Louisiana chastised the carmaker for submitting an affidavit implying that the suspect tires had initially been tested at the lowest recommended pressure on the Explorer, when they had been run only on a pickup truck, or mule, configured to mimic the SUV. Mules are often used in auto-industry tests, but that didn't mollify Tauzin. As if that weren't bad enough, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began a preliminary investigation into the possible failure of one or both of the Explorer's sway bar links, part of the front suspension that helps stabilize the vehicle during high-speed turns. Ford points out that the problem hasn't been linked to any accidents.

Tauzin kept the heat on Firestone too. He took the firm to task for apparently ignoring its own 1996 high-speed tests, which showed that 1 out of 10 tires at its Decatur, Ill., plant experienced problems. Executive vice president John Lampe insisted that failures under severe conditions are a normal part of the development process--and then promptly turned on Ford. Echoing the sentiment of safety advocates, Lampe stressed that Ford had created a "low safety margin" by recommending a low pressure for tires on the Explorer--26 p.s.i. vs. Firestone's 30. Though Ford picked that level to improve the vehicle's handling, a low pressure can also increase chances of tread separation.

While not conceding any mistakes, Ford last Friday announced it was raising its recommended tire pressure to 30 p.s.i. The company also reiterated that there have been no major incidents among the 600,000 Explorers mounted with Goodyear tires inflated at 26 p.s.i. Most important, Ford says, the government's own data show that the Explorer is one of the safest SUVS on the road and is less likely than its rivals to suffer a fatal crash or rollover.

Rollover deaths account for roughly a quarter of the 40,000 annual car fatalities, and SUVS account for most of the recent increase. Critics think the whole category is flawed because of the vehicles' weight, narrow wheelbase and high center of gravity. Long aware of the SUV's shortcomings, the industry has been working on safety improvements. The 2002 Ford Explorer model will feature a slightly lower center of gravity and an optional computerized stability system. Both House and Senate committees are drafting bills that would give the government more authority to investigate defects and possibly to levy criminal penalties on auto manufacturers. If that doesn't solve the problem, drivers looking for a new SUV should at least be able to consult the rollover ratings by late this year. They can only hope Washington won't be grading on a curve.