 |
|
|||
|
Accident Reconstruction News Article Ford recalls nearly 260,000 trucks, SUVs, vans DETROIT, June 13 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is recalling nearly 260,000 vehicles, most of them large pickup trucks, to fix safety defects that include sudden stalling of diesel engines, U.S. federal safety regulators said on Monday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the stalling problem affected F-Series superduty pickups from the 2004-2005 model years as well as the 2004-2005 Ford Excursion full-size sport utility vehicle and E350 and E450 vans. All 180,104 of those vehicles are equipped with 6.0 liter diesel engines and the recall stems from a potentially faulty fuel injection control module, NHTSA said. Separately, it said Ford was recalling 78,675 superduty pickups and chassis cab vehicles from the 2005 model year because their fuel line may separate from the main fuel bundle. Fuel line separation can cause engine stalling or leakage, possibly resulting in a fire, NHTSA said. It identified the trucks affected by the recall as F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 superduty pickups and said they were equipped with 5.4 or 6.8 liter gasoline engines. The $10 million rollover facility follows an announced commitment in January to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to make StabiliTrak standard on all non-commercial GM vehicles by the end of the decade. The proven crashworthiness technology is now standard on most full-size GM SUVs and will be standard on midsize SUVs this fall. Stability control helps a driver maintain vehicle control during challenging or unexpected driving conditions, such as ice, snow, wet pavement and emergency lane changes or avoidance maneuvers. Based on ESC systems now in use, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported a 67 percent risk reduction in single-vehicle crashes for SUVs. In a separate study, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said as many as 800,000 of the 2 million single-vehicle crashes that occur each year could be avoided if stability control was standard on all vehicles sold in the United States. GM currently conducts rollover tests offsite at a Detroit-area automotive supplier. The new facility, which will open in late 2006, initially will conduct 120 to 150 tests a year with the capacity for more. Initially, five rollover scenarios will be conducted. Others will be added if needed. Being able to conduct rollover tests in house will lead to faster development of rollover-sensing technology, increase efficiency, and save money, said Albert Ware, director of the Vehicle Safety and Crash Worthiness Lab at the Milford Proving Ground. In addition to the rollover facility, GM announced Thursday:
About GM General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM - News), the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader since 1931. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 321,000 people around the world. It has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in 200 countries. In 2004, GM sold nearly 9 million cars and trucks globally, up 4 percent and the second-highest total in the company's history. GM's global headquarters are at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM can be found at http://www.gm.com. Source: General Motors Corp. ### |
|||
|
ARC NETWORK QUICK LINKS
|
||||
