Comments on: Ford Settles Rollover Suit with Gift Vouchers

By: Martin Albright

Martin Albright — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:34:44 +0000

EEGeek beat me to it. The lawyers won. More proof (as if we needed it) that class action suits are nothing but extortion on the part of class action attorneys and that the plaintiffs (on whose behalf the whole action supposedly exists) typically get little or nothing from the deal.

Think about it: How often do you get one of those little cards in the mail telling you you are part of a class action settlement involving some product you purchased in the past? Invariably the only “settlement” you will get is a voucher giving you a few bucks off the purchase of another product by the same company, meanwhile the lawyers walk away with millions.

I probably get one of those cards/letters every couple of months. They usually go straight into the trash.

By: starlightmica (Richard Chen)

starlightmica (Richard Chen) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:30:16 +0000

Sajeev:

Let’s say, $10/tire x 4 tires, x 400,000+ vehicles x 5 years (2nd gen Explorer until problem publicized) = at least $80 million. This was, of course, completely wiped out after the turn of events that followed.

By: Redbarchetta

Redbarchetta — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:29:19 +0000

class action lawsuit (circa 1993) on the top-heavier Bronco II.

I kid in my high school was killed in one of those things in 1992 when he rolled it half a dozen times, seriously injuring 2 other passengers in the car too. He wasn’t wearing his seat belt thou and I think the 2 that survived were wearing them.

The lawyers always make out like bandits on both sides, just the winner gets more of the treasure.

By: Cavendel

Cavendel — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:14:32 +0000

50merc :

It’s a safe bet that the lawyers who brought the suits will get more than $300 vouchers.

Ha ha, nice.

They get a cut don’t they? 20% of every voucher handed out?

By: Sajeev Mehta

Sajeev Mehta — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:48:42 +0000

+1 for quasimondo. So how much money did Ford save with those Traction “B” Temperature “C” tires?

IIRC, Ford did the same voucher thing (or a gift like a cell phone) for the class action lawsuit (circa 1993) on the top-heavier Bronco II.

By: EEGeek

EEGeek — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:28:26 +0000

To Redbarchetta: The lawyers won. They are almost invariably the only winners in class action lawsuits.

By: sk8inkid

sk8inkid — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:52:39 +0000

I can’t believe in this day in age stability control isn’t standard.
I’m sure the people who are worried about their Ford tipping over are very comforted about the voucher towards new vehicle purchase. Seriously, WTF Ford. Perhaps it would have been a better PR move to upgrade everyone’s existing vehicle to stability control. But bottom line means bottom line when you’re struggling I guess. Can’t say that ain’t a catch 22 though!!!!!

By: zenith

zenith — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:43:59 +0000

Tires in the 1970s were crap.

I drove a ‘72 F100 and a ‘77 F150 during that era and had more flats in a given 6 month period back then than I’ve had in the past 10 years.

Several of these tire incidents involved tires that self-destructed while I travelled at 70mph with full loads in the back.

Keep a cool head, get off the gas, coast to a stop like you don’t even have brakes, and its a piece of cake to handle even a tall, tippy vehicle on OEM-quality bias-ply tires with 20K miles on them. The greatest danger is changing the tire on an Interstate shoulder.

These Explorer rollovers, in vehicles with “bad” tires that were nonetheless far better than the “premium” tires of 30 years ago, were primarily their drivers’ fault.

By: 50merc

50merc — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:29:38 +0000

It’s a safe bet that the lawyers who brought the suits will get more than $300 vouchers.

By: dean

dean — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:23:54 +0000

Helluva victory. Chump change, conditional on spending tens of thousands on a new vehicle.

By: 210delray

210delray — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:08:32 +0000

What’s learned in “proper” driving lessons goes out the window when the cell phone rings!

By: radimus

radimus — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:02:55 +0000

Vouchers for proper driving lessons would have been more appropriate.

By: Redbarchetta

Redbarchetta — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:02:45 +0000

I’m confused who won this lawsuit Ford or the customers, because it looks like Ford got the better end of the deal.

By: David Holzman

David Holzman — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:56:33 +0000

That is some victory for consumer rights. I’m going to do a snoopy dance right away!

By: Hippo

Hippo — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:44:14 +0000

They could have given a tire pressure gauge and a driver ed voucher to each one of the nimrods and saved on legal fees.

By: quasimondo

quasimondo — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:53:41 +0000

See, I would’ve though the vouchers would go toward the purchase of better tires.

But I guess that would be a moot point if you’ve already rolled your Explorer.