Published Wednesday
December 22, 2004
Ford recalls all $140,000 GTs to fix defect
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, has recalled all 448 of
its $140,000 GT sports cars built to date to fix a suspension part that can
crack.
Ford discovered the problem while inspecting a GT earlier this month and
decided to do the voluntary recall, spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said. The
company hasn't received reports of accidents or complaints related to the
problem, she said.
If the part, known as a control arm, "were to crack at high speed, it could
affect handling," she said. The problem occurred at a supplier, Kinley said,
declining to identify the company. Ford began selling the GT this year.
"It's an issue Ford doesn't need from an image perspective," said Erich
Merkle, an auto analyst for consulting firm IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker based the 550-horsepower GT on a 1960s
Ford racecar and developed it to help improve the company's image with
consumers. Chief Executive William Clay Ford Jr. ordered three GTs to be
ready in time for the automaker's centennial in June 2003.
Of the GTs, 111 are in the hands of customers and the rest are at dealers or
in the company's own fleet, Kinley said. The control arm will be replaced at
no cost to customers, Ford said in a Dec. 20 letter to U.S. regulators.
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