Ford Pinto Case

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The tragic death of the Ulrich sisters and their cousin in their 1973 Ford Pinto, led to the first time an American corporation had been charged for a criminal crime in a court case. Even though the women were involved in a rear-end collision, it was believed that a flaw in the vehicle, a gas tank rupture, was the cause of their deaths. After District Attorney Michael Cosentino presented his argument, a grand jury returned a criminal homicide charge, indicting the Ford Company for three counts of reckless homicide. This case, State of Indiana vs. Ford Motor Company, revolved around the discussion of “acceptable standards” and whether or not Ford was ethically correct in the responded to the Pinto’s mechanical issues. American businesses paid …show more content…

Consumers were shifting their focus to cheaper, smaller, and more gas efficient Japanese and German imports; there were more than a million imports sold and registered by 1970. These Japanese and German competitors were starting to dominate the small-car segment of the auto industry. American car companies knew they had to respond to keep up with this growing car sector.
Facing steep competition, Ford’s then President Lee Iaccoca decided that Ford had to keep up by creating their own budget, small-car. He wanted a vehicle that weighted no more than 2000 pounds, cost under $2000 and he wanted them delivered in a 25 month timeframe. By August 1968, plans for the Ford Pinto had been made and the development cycle of the vehicle had started. After over 3 years of production, the Ford Pinto went on sale on September 11, 1970. By the mid 1970’s, the Pinto was the bestselling small-car in America.
The Mother Jones …show more content…

The design flaw also meant that low impact accidents could have resulted in explosions that could have been deadly, even when they occur on low speeds. This could very well have been the factor that caused the Ulrich’s gas tank to rupture, causing the vehicle to catch on fire. The article also indicated that a study done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), found that 38 cases of rear-end collisions with Ford Pintos resulted in 27 deaths. Of these deaths, 26 people died as a result of ruptured gas tanks with that escalated into fires. The investigation estimated that Ford Pinto crashes caused 500-900 burn deaths. According to Dowie, Ford was able to continue to produce and sell the same model Pinto until 1977, thanks to successful lobbying in Washington. The article is also focuses on the “Pinto Memo” and the Cost-Benefits analysis which we will go into detail

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