Shakeup At Bridgestone/Firestone

The top executive of the embattled U.S. division of Bridgestone Corp. will no longer manage its operations, the president of the Tokyo-based company said.

Masatoshi Ono, CEO and chairman of the U.S. operations and executive vice president of Bridgestone Corp., may remain with the company but his role has not been determined.

Bridgestone president Yoichiro Kaizaki told Nikkei Business magazine during an interview for an article published Monday that he would discuss plans to restructure the U.S. subsidiary with "the person who will become the top management of Bridgestone/Firestone in the future."

The magazine quoted Kaizaki as saying: "To start with, we will renew Bridgestone/Firestone's top management and the company's organizational structure." The magazine also said that Kaizaki added: "We will let Mr. Ono go."

Bridgestone spokesman Ken Kitawaki insisted Monday that the company has not decided what will happen with Ono.

He cited a transcript of the magazine interview in which Kaizaki didn't mention Ono by name. Kitawaki declined to provide The Associated Press with a copy of the transcript.

Ono, 63, was named Bridgestone/Firestone CEO in 1993, replacing Kaizaki, who was promoted to Bridgestone Corp. president. In 1996, Ono also was named chairman of the Nashville-based U.S. subsidiary.

Rumors of Ono's demotion, firing or resignation have circulated since August when the company recalled 6.5 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness tires that have been linked to more than 150 fatal crashes worldwide.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration later issued a consumer advisory on 1.4 million more tires considered potentially unsafe. Last week, NHTSA opened an investigation into another Firestone brand linked to rollover and tread separation crashes.

Bridgestone/Firestone agreed Monday to hand over testing data on its recalled ATX tires for a lawsuit filed by a Texas woman injured in the crash of a Firestone-equipped Ford Explorer.

Such cases are civil suits in the U.S. But as CBS News Correspondent Byron Pitts reports, in Venezuela, Ford and Firestone executives could soon face criminal charges.

In Caracas customers call the deadly problem with Firestone tires and the Ford Explorer a "cancer" they want removed as quickly as possible.

The scandal launched a government investigation and is now turning a growing number of Venezuelans against two of the most recognized and respected symbols of prosperity in the country.

Rafael Romero foresees a two-step process in his case. The Caracas optometrist has replaced the Firestone tires on his Ford Explorer. Soon, he says, he will get rid of the Explorer.

Romero says he knows of a father, mother and son who died in the crash of their Firestone-equipped Explorer. And he says that's enough for him to make the moves he's making.

In Venezuela at least 44 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in accdents involving the Ford Explorer and Firestone tires. And in South America, as in the United States, Ford and Firestone have both gone to great lengths through demonstrations and testimonies to point the finger of blame at each other.

Frank De Armas, a Bridgestone/Firestone dealer, does not blame the tire maker for the deaths. "Ford! Ford! Ford, only, not Firestone. No Firestone!"

Ricardo Tinoco, Ford spokesman, suggested the finger of blame should be pointed in the opposite direction after looking at a bodiless Ford vehicle and the tires on it. "There is nothing in this vehicle…that could produce the tread separation."

But unlike the United States, where there has only been talk of legislation and lawsuits, in Venezuela, Firestone and Ford executives are facing a criminal investigation. The charge: involuntary homicide.

Samuel Rios, president of Venezuela's consumer protection agency says the government is engaged in a criminal action, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He says documents show both companies knew they had a problem two years ago.

"They conspired against the Venezuelan people," says Rios. It's an alleged conspiracy that could lead to criminal charges being filed, by the end of this week.

The U.S. government investigation of the huge Firestone recall has focused attention on tire safety and also helped clear the way for the first federal vehicle rollover ratings, which could be out by year's end.

Safety advocates hope the ratings eventually lead the government to require automakers to meet standards to limit rollovers. They point to federal statistics showing that while the national traffic fatality rate reached a record low last year, rollover deaths continued to climb, from about 9,500 in 1997 to 10,280 last year.

Particularly troubling is the rollover fatality rate among sport utility vehicles, which is three times greater than for passenger cars and 50 percent higher than for pickup trucks.

"I think that the public, because of Firestone, is very aware of the vulnerability of these SUVs," said Joan Claybrook, the former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who now leads the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. "They want rollover protection, and I think what will come out of this is a standard."

Automakers have resisted such standards for years, arguing it's in their best interest to design safe vehicles, so more regulation is not necessary. They have opposed rollover ratings as unfair and misleading, saying driver error, environmental conditions and other factors play a large role in rollover accidents.

But in this election year, as Congress and the highway administration investigate thousands of reported accidents linked to Firestone tires, there is pressure to adopt stricter auto safety standards.

Bills that would enhance penalties for people in the auto industry who withhold safety defect information have passd committees. And two weeks ago Sen. Richard Shelby withdrew an amendment to the transportation spending bill that had blocked NHTSA from releasing the rollover ratings.