U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. today announced that it is recalling more than 575,000 Windstar minivans in snowy, northern states, due to problems with rear axle corrosion problems. The company said that 1 Windstars sold or registered during 1998-2003 in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia Wisconsin and Washington DC were involved in the recall, reported The Detroit News.
The newspaper added that the 21 states mentioned above define the nation's "Salt Belt," the newspaper said. Ford added that the recalled vehicles include 463,000 minivans in the U.S. and 113,000 in Canada. It is important to mention here that weakened rear axles have been the focus of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation, which started in May after receiving 234 complaints alleging rear- axle failures.
This is the first recall by Ford. Several other automobile companies including General Motors, Chrysler and especially Japanese carmaker Toyota had issued recalls in the past.
Ford’s share jumped 39 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $11.56 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading today. The Ford Motor Company is based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. Ford is currently the second largest automaker in the U.S. Ford fell from second to third in US annual vehicle in 2007, behind General Motors and Toyota. However, Ford briefly outsold Toyota during the summer months of last year.
