Phil Ethier wrote:
>
> Firestone took a shot at killing radials in this country when the first ones
> they made wrecked some police cars. Does not look like they have come very
> far in the 40 years since.
The Firestone 500 debacle was actually less than 30 years ago (the tire
was introduced in 1972).
35 years ago, it was actually Michelin radials that failed suddenly and
without warning. But since everyone in the US was used to bias-ply
tires (which do much the same thing), it wasn't nearly as big a deal.
Back then a 'blowout' was a common occurence, and drivers were expected
to be able to deal with it.
BTW, the Firestone 500 debacle killed the company that Harvey Firestone
started in 1900. The current mess belongs to Bridgestone, a Japanese
company.
Randall
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