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Was Ford's former PR chief bugged during crisis in 2001? [Detroit Free Press](Detroit Free Press (MI) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 24--Were the phone or office of Ford Motor's public relations vice president bugged back during the final months before former CEO Jac Nasser was fired in 2001? Jason Vines, Ford's PR vice president who was fired along with Nasser in 2001, writes in a new book about crisis PR that he asked a Ford security official -- unnamed in the book -- after the firings how long he had been bugged and that the person replied "a couple months." A Ford spokesperson says the company is "not aware of anything of this nature happening." Ford was a car company consumed by controversy in 2000 and 2001, most notably the Ford-Firestone imbroglio about who was to blame for tire failures on Ford Explorer SUVs. Ford recalled Explorer models, offering to exchange the affected tires for others -- and Firestone subsequently recalled millions of tires. Nasser was fired amid mounting losses and other struggles at Ford in October 2001; Vines was dismissed along with him. Vines, who has held high-level PR jobs at Ford, Chrysler and Nissan, along with Compuware and religious book publisher Zondervan, writes at some length about his days at Ford in his new book entitled "What Did Jesus Drive: Crisis PR in Cars, Computers and Christianity," available for purchase online Nov. 1. Review copies of the book have been circulating recently, prompting this statement about its treatment of the Ford-Firestone crisis from Susan Krusel of the automaker's media relations staff: "The accounts detailed in the book about the Firestone tire crises happened more than a decade ago under a very different leadership team at Ford. As with any retelling of history, memories and accuracy differ from person to person, and this account is no different," she wrote in an email Thursday. "During the events, our sole focus was on doing what was right for the safety of our customers. Jason was a key member of our leadership team at the time, and we are grateful for his tireless leadership during the time he served at Ford. We will let the book speak for itself, as we remain focused on creating the next chapter in Ford's history." When I asked specifically about the book's reference to possible bugging, Krusel replied, "We are not aware of anything of this nature happening." Vines book is a colorful tour behind the scenes of corporate controversy not only in the auto industry, but also at Compuware when it hired disgraced former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick after he resigned from office. Next weekend, Vines will discuss the book on host John McElroy's Autoline program -- along with me and AutoExtremist editor Peter DeLorenzo -- airing on PBS stations Nov. 1 and 2. Contact Tom Walsh: 313-223-4430 or [email protected], also follow him on Twitter @TomWalsh_freep. ___ (c)2014 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |