Report: Ford, Firestone Meet

DETROIT--Reuters is reporting that a court deposition reveals that newly appointed Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. Chief Executive Officer John Lampe met with top Ford Motor Co. officials for the first time last week, with Ford saying it wants to continue its business relationship with Firestone.

The 45-minute meeting between Lampe and Ford Chief Executive Officer Jac Nasser, along withCarlos Mazzorin, Ford’s top purchasing executive, was initiated by Lampe, who took over on Oct. 10 following Firestone’s recall, according to Reuters.

Reuters said that Lampe said he told Nasser that Bridgestone/Firestone wanted to continue its Ford relationship.

“He (Nasser) also indicated a desire to continue a relationship with our company,” Lampe said, according to the wire service.

Acording to Reuters, when asked about the nature of the meeting, Lampe said: “I don’t know that we want to characterize it as a cordial get-together. It was instigated by me. I called and asked if I could come introduce myself.”

“Relations between Ford, the No. 2 automaker, and Nashville, Tenn.-based Bridgestone/Firestone, its largest tire supplier, have been severely strained since Firestone announced the recall of 6.5 million tires because of fears they can shred and cause deadly highway accidents,” said Reuters. Most of the tires are on Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles.

“Ford officials have blamed more than 100 fatal Explorer accidents reported to federal investigators solely on tire problems. Bridgestone/Firestone, however, has said the Explorer played a role in the accidents,” said Reuters.

Lampe’s comments came in a deposition with plaintiff lawyers in Nashville. Bridgestone/Firestone, part of Japan’s Bridgestone Corp., is being sued for making allegedly defective tires. The plaintiffs also want the recall expanded to include other suspect Firestone tires.

Ford officials have said they will let consumers decide if they want Firestone tires on future Explorers, adding that it is evaluating its relationship with Firestone “on a daily basis.”

In other testimony, according to Reuters, Lampe acknowledged the tiremaker believes there are “safety issues” with the recalled tires, but he stopped short of saying they are defective. Lampe said Bridgestone/Firestone has not yet found out why the tires are failing.

According to Reuters, Lampe also said it was former Bridgestone/Firestone CEO Masatoshi Ono alone who decided to launch the tire recall. Ono made the decision acting on a recommendation in favor of the recall that followed a meeting of company officials in Washington.