MEMO: FORD EXPLORER SALES DOWN FROM LAST YEAR

Ford Motor Co. said for the first time last week that the furor over Firestone tires had driven down sales of Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles, with October sales down 16 percent from a year ago.

Not only were sales of new Explorers down, but Ford said it had taken steps to shore up sales of used Explorers, whose prices have dropped sharply since the recall was announced.

In October, Ford sold 29,611 Explorers, down 5,825 vehicles from last October's total of 35,436. This year's results include the Explorer Sport Trac, a four-door pickup, that wasn't on sale last year and that accounted for about 17 percent of sales this month.4