Ford Pinto Gas Tank Scandal, Lessons From The Ford Pinto Case 48 Years Later

Upon impact the pintos fuel tank ruptured leaking fuel which then ignited.

Ford usa logo. The pinto then acquired a rupture proof fuel tank. Ford claimed that the pintos fuel tank design was the same as other subcompacts and that the company had done everything possible to comply with the recall once it had been enacted. The solution was a liner that was installed in the tank to keep the gas tank from cutting open during a rear end collision.

Nhtsa finally adopted a 30 mph collision standard in 1976. For more than eight years afterwards ford successfully lobbied with extraordinary vigor and some blatant lies against a key government safety standard that would have forced the company to change the pintos fire prone gas tank. Ford pinto fuel tank on june 9 1978 ford motor company agreed to recall 15 million ford pinto and 30000 mercury bobcat sedan and hatchback models for fuel tank design defects which made the vehicles susceptible to fire in the of a moderate speed rear end collision.

I believe all pintos were outfitted with this liner but yes it. The action was the result of investigations by the national highway traffic. The ford pinto scandal is now part of the lore of american culture.

Yes the gas tank could possibly be more the less cut open during a rear end crash and cause a catastrophic explosion but when ford heard word of this they did testing to see if they could fix the problem. During the 1970s there were many documented cases of ford pintos bursting into flames as a result of rear end collisions. Ford owned the patent on a much safer gas tank.

Between 1971 and 1978 approximately fifty lawsuits were brought against ford in connection with rear end accidents in the pinto. The pinto was a subcompact car manufactured by the ford motor company for the model years 19711980. Ford says that it has lost three other pinto fuel tank fire cases in recent years the largest a 3 million 1976 award in florida that is being appealed but that the grimshaw case is the first.

The pinto caught fire burning gray to death and leaving grimshaw with severe injuries. The families sued ford motor company and in 1978 the jury awarded them over 125 million in damages though it was later reduced to 35 million by the judge 11.