The Nation - News from Jan. 5, 1987

A consumer group called upon the government to order a recall of 324,000 Ford vans--including 3,200 used as ambulances--because of a fuel tank defect that has led to 21 fires and injuries to five people. The Center for Auto Safety petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall the Ford E-150, E-250 and E-350 Econoline vans with dual gas tanks. The group said the 1984-86 model year vans have a defect that “involves fuel boiling in the gas tanks and spurting out of the filler neck, often after the gas cap is removed, and causes stalling and fires.” Ford officials contend the problem results from changes made by middlemen when the vans are converted for ambulance use.