For the record (1)

January 2, 1981

The Ford Motor Company has agreed to notify owners of almost 23 million Ford cars and pickup trucks of possible problems with the gear selectors of their automatic transmissions. In a settlement negotiated with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Ford also agreed to send owners of the vehicles, made between 1970 and 1979 a safety warning label to be permanently affixed on the dashboard or sun visor or some other prominent place. As a result of the settlement, Ford was saved the expense of a recall of 16 million vehicles that could have cost the automaker millions of dollars.