---

Ralph Hoar & Associates: Don't Park in Your Garage, Ford Owners Warned

19 May 1999

Ralph Hoar & Associates: Don't Park in Your Garage, Ford Owners Warned

    WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Owners of 1992 and 1993 Lincoln Town
Cars, Mercury Marquis and Ford Crown Victorias should not park their cars in
their garages or near other structures, warns Ralph Hoar & Associates, an
Arlington, Virginia auto safety consulting firm.  "Ford and the government
know about more than 100 of these cars that have caught fire while they are
sitting with the motor off,  many of them have been parked in garages with
tragic results," Hoar said.
    Ford Motor Company has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration that it will recall those cars but has not warned owners to
keep their cars out of their garages or away from other structures until the
recall work can be accomplished.
    Some families who have lost their homes are suing Ford.  Norman and
Michael Jolly, two attorneys in Houston, Texas, represent three families who
lost their homes when their Lincoln Town Cars caught fire.  The cars were
parked in their garages.  The homes were severely damaged with substantial
loss of personal property and disruption of lives.  "These cars are rolling
fire bombs," said Norman Jolly.  "The problem is that they destroy houses and
disrupt lives when they burn.  It's only a matter of time before someone gets
trapped in a house fire," he said.
    Photographs of the burned cars and houses can be found on
http://www.safetyforum.com