In doing research for our group project on brand crises, I exchanged emails with Jon Harmon, the former Director of Communications for Ford during the 2000-2001 Ford/Firestone tire recall fiasco. He also has a great blog where he talks about the event, and also offers his expert advice about public relations and crisis management:
http://jon8332.typepad.com/force_for_good/2007/02/crisis_communic.html
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on how you think Ford really handled the crisis, and Jon's blog comments that state their efforts to defend Ford’s reputation and the Explorer brand paid off...
http://jon8332.typepad.com/force_for_good/2007/02/crisis_communic.html
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on how you think Ford really handled the crisis, and Jon's blog comments that state their efforts to defend Ford’s reputation and the Explorer brand paid off...
As many have already heard, after much finger pointing about who was at fault, Firestone ended the co-branded relationship in May 2001, blaming Ford Explorer vehicles and the weight as the cause of the tire ruptures. Ford in turn declared it would voluntarily replace 13 mil questionable Firestone tires outside those recalled the previous summer. So how did things end up after the dust cleared?
Jon points out a few interesting facts:
-Later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded that the tires were indeed defective and ordered Firestone to recall any tires that Ford hadn't got to yet. Ford later sued Firestone to pay for this massive recall which should have been Firestone's responsibility to pay, and eventually Ford and F/S settled on F/S paying Ford a few hundred million dollars, far less than the tiremaker had cost the auto maker.
-At the same time (Aug 2001) that NHTSA found those tires defective, it found no reason to move forward with an investigation in F/S's claims that the Explorer itself was unsafe, effectively exonerating the Explorer. Explorer sales indeed continued to recover and eventually (Aug 2002) sent an all-time sales record of more than 51,000 for the month and would finish the year with about 450,000 sales, breaking its own records for best-selling SUV ever. This after many "experts" had urged Ford to drop the Explorer brand as fatally wounded.
-Amazingly however, Firestone has still survived all of this and their overall parent company (Bridgestone) stock price is up higher than it was pre-crisis.
-It's not all rosy for Ford either, as in recent years, sales of Explorers and other SUVs have waned because of changing customer tastes and high gas prices. Ford stock has plummeted and never recovered. Firestone tires are no longer sourced on new Ford vehicles.
Jon points out a few interesting facts:
-Later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded that the tires were indeed defective and ordered Firestone to recall any tires that Ford hadn't got to yet. Ford later sued Firestone to pay for this massive recall which should have been Firestone's responsibility to pay, and eventually Ford and F/S settled on F/S paying Ford a few hundred million dollars, far less than the tiremaker had cost the auto maker.
-At the same time (Aug 2001) that NHTSA found those tires defective, it found no reason to move forward with an investigation in F/S's claims that the Explorer itself was unsafe, effectively exonerating the Explorer. Explorer sales indeed continued to recover and eventually (Aug 2002) sent an all-time sales record of more than 51,000 for the month and would finish the year with about 450,000 sales, breaking its own records for best-selling SUV ever. This after many "experts" had urged Ford to drop the Explorer brand as fatally wounded.
-Amazingly however, Firestone has still survived all of this and their overall parent company (Bridgestone) stock price is up higher than it was pre-crisis.
-It's not all rosy for Ford either, as in recent years, sales of Explorers and other SUVs have waned because of changing customer tastes and high gas prices. Ford stock has plummeted and never recovered. Firestone tires are no longer sourced on new Ford vehicles.
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