Firestone executives have not responded to the Pirelli offer.

He was succeeded by George W. Aucott, a longtime Firestone executive.

Severe Labor Problems Firestone executives declined to discuss the La Vergne plant.

Mario Di Federico, who retired as Firestone's president in 1979, and Frank A. Wahl, another retired Firestone executive, jointly filed suit in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

Ford also noted that even Firestone executives had agreed until the last few weeks that 26 pounds was an acceptable pressure.

Firestone executives and other tire industry officials speculated that Pirelli might soon make overtures to the Uniroyal-Goodrich Tire Company, the Akron-based concern that is the nation's second-largest tire producer, after the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

Ahmadou Kourouma (who depicted Doe's assassination in his novel Allah is not Obliged) also accused Johnson of war crimes in the form of the abduction and torture of several Firestone executives.

Firestone executives said Ford ignored evidence that indicated the instability of the Ford Explorer played a crucial role in bringing about 174 deaths in numerous accidents the last few years.

And on Tuesday, a Firestone executive told a Senate committee that the company now believes that design flaws and variations in manufacturing at the plant were chiefly to blame.

Mr. Nasser said that when he attended a House subcommittee hearing last Wednesday on tires: "I listened in disbelief as senior Firestone executives not only acknowledged that Firestone had analyzed its claims data, but also identified significant patterns of tread separations as early as 1998.