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Ford Settlement Explorer Leaves Customers High and Dry
April 17, 2008

It must be a day of rejoicing for the 800,000 Ford Explorer owners who were involved in a class action lawsuit against Ford. The plaintiffs had alleged that the nasty rolling over habits that seemed to have inflicted Explorers caused the resale value of their vehicles to plummet.

Well, they've finally found justice. A judge has approved a settlement in the lawsuit, one of the last in the Explorer series. The plaintiffs will each receive a $500 coupon from Ford to buy - wait for this - a new Explorer.

Of course it makes sense. Why would consumers not like the prospect of receiving a coupon to buy a vehicle so advanced it was killing people, or maiming them all across the country? We can almost hear the whoops of delight.

If the prospect of yet another Ford Explorer is not tempting enough, plaintiffs can choose a $300 coupon instead, to buy any other Ford model or a Lincoln Mercury. In short, you could use your hard won coupon to buy yet more vehicles that roll over, explode into flames, and have other such equally appealing features.

For Ford, it must have seemed like a blessing from the gods. The company is teetering dangerously close to the edge of bankruptcy, and any settlement that will get rid of thousands of annoying plaintiffs with a minimum of damage to Ford's bottom line is sure to be received with celebrations. After all, the entire coupon sham will cost the automaker a grand total of $500 million, and even more sales.

More importantly, it sets to rest one very major lawsuit that must have given executives at Ford sleepless nights. The settlement is actually more severe than some other Ford settlements in the past, but it's the plaintiffs who will feel the most let down by our judicial system.

The plaintiffs had complained that they had lost up to $1000 in resale value of their Explorers after the series of scandals and accidents involving the SUV. It's fair to assume that they didn't expect to be left standing, after the settlement was announced, with a $500 coupon.

It's all very well to claim this as a moral victory against Ford because now Ford will ensure that its vehicles are safer. Going by Ford's past history, we can safely assume that they won't be rushing to fix their defective vehicles any time soon. The settlement would have had some relevance if it had imposed stricter safety regulations on the company, and forced it to put better safety measures in place. Nothing of the sort has happened.

The Explorers are still out on the streets, although fewer in number than in the past. The defects remain as they were, and all people have to show for their fight against Ford is a coupon.

If you have been injured in a Ford Explorer rollover, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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