1. J.R. Healey, Documents imply Firestone knew of tire trouble in 1994, USA Today (October 4, 2000), p. 3B.
2. Tire maker to recall 3.5M more tires, http://www.lasvegassun.com (October 4, 2001).
3. The question of whether Firestone was actually at fault for these deaths is not germane to this paper. Firestone argued that most of the deaths could be attributed to (1) characteristics of the Ford Explorers which many of the victims were driving and (2) improper tire inflation and maintenance. For the purposes of this article, we proceed from the understanding that, fairly or unfairly, Firestone was perceived as at fault in this instance.
4. W.L. Benoit, Accounts Excuses and Apologies: A Theory of Image Restoration Strategies, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1995
5. Image repair discourse and crisis communication;Benoit;Public Relations Review,1997