Continental General Tire

Continental General Tire plans to announce a recall today of the 16-inch tire that was standard equipment on the 1998 and 1999 model year Lincoln Navigator. Continental and Ford Motor Co., which makes the Navigator, confirmed that they will brief federal authorities on the tire's warranty and claims data this morning.

Amid growing concern that auto and tire companies have failed to disclose critical safety hazards, lawyers for accident victims are accusing Continental General Tire Inc.

Germany's Continental, maker of Uniroyal and General tires, has purchased the tire business of Mexican industrial group Grupo Carso in a move to tap growing production by foreign auto makers in Mexico.

Higher prices for rubber and oil let the air out of earnings reported Wednesday by tire makers Continental and Bridgestone. Both companies reported smaller profits in part because of the higher prices they had to pay for raw materials, along with charges related to the closing of plants in the United States.

Freda Kay Hall died in the crash of a Ford Bronco II that flipped over after the tread peeled off one of its General GT52S tires. A 48-year-old Missouri schoolteacher, Hall was visiting Atlanta for the Olympic Games at the time of her death in August 1996.

In what might be the largest verdict involving a tire blowout, a Los Angeles jury ordered Continental General Tire on Friday to pay damages of nearly $55.