P.M. BRIEFING : Safety Board Opens Ford Inquiry
From Times wire services
DETROIT —
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said today that it has opened investigations into nearly 2 million sport utility vehicles, vans and cars built by Ford Motor Co. to look for separate possible defects concerning roll-overs, steering lockup and exhaust leaks.
The government also said in its Monthly Defect Investigation Report that it has opened preliminary evaluations into possible under-the-hood fires in 1983-87 Ford-based ambulances and buses built by 35 conversion firms.
The agency stressed that this inquiry is not aimed at Ford, which already announced two recalls related to the problem, but at the converter firms.
