The Ford Pinto Case

1. 2019-09-20 at 1:17 AM UTC

   #1
   

   aldra JIDF Controlled Opposition
   https://users.wfu.edu/palmitar/Law&Valuation/Papers/1999/Leggett-pinto.html
   
   TL;DR: That valuations scene from Fight Club wasn't an exaggeration. It's probably not as common as he implied, but it almost exactly mirrors the 1968 introduction of the Ford Pinto.
   
   Soon after its release, a woman took Ford to court after her car was rear-ended, the fuel tank ruptured into the passenger compartment and ignited. The woman (driver)'s daughter was killed and she was severely disfigured. The courts awarded her a significant payout as well as issuing punitive damages to Ford over their faulty design.
   
   That wasn't quite the end of it though - internal Ford documents were later leaked, indicating that this was a known issue long before the Pinto was released. Testing indicated that rear-impacts on the car were likely to rupture the fuel tank into the passenger compartment, exactly as happened after release, but Ford declined to rectify the issue for three reasons:
   
   1. Likelihood of an impact in the area that would cause an internal fuel leak was deemed low.
   2. Changes would cost $11 (~$80 today) per vehicle.
   3. Anyone caught in such a fuel leak was very unlikely to survive and hence unable to sue the company.
   
   
2. 2019-09-20 at 2 AM UTC

   #2
   

   Technologist victim of incest
   My brother had a ford Pinto. After that case became major headlines, I wouldn’t get in his car again.
3. 2019-09-20 at 2:15 AM UTC

   #3
   

   AngryOnion Big Wig [the nightly self-effacing broadsheet]
   My first car was a Pinto,you want my social security number and my mothers maiden name with that??
   The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!

   • cigreting
4. 2019-09-20 at 2:17 AM UTC

   #4
   

   Technologist victim of incest
   And your father’s email please.
   The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!

   • aldra, 
   • mmQ
5. 2019-09-20 at 2:20 AM UTC

   #5
   

   AngryOnion Big Wig [the nightly self-effacing broadsheet]
   LOL NO!!
6. 2019-09-20 at 2:22 AM UTC

   #6
   

   AngryOnion Big Wig [the nightly self-effacing broadsheet]
   I'm really baked right now sorry for weird replies.
7. 2019-09-20 at 2:23 AM UTC

   #7
   

   Technologist victim of incest
   What weird replies?😜
8. 2019-09-20 at 4:23 AM UTC

   #8
   

   vindicktive vinny Black Hole
   i dont understand why no one sued the gas [oline] company for such fires and explosions eventhough they're just as culpable.
   
   the fuels are to be blamed.
9. 2019-09-20 at 4:49 AM UTC

   #9
   

   aldra JIDF Controlled Opposition

   Originally posted by Technologist My brother had a ford Pinto. After that case became major headlines, I wouldn’t get in his car again.

   
   I was born significantly later, this is actually the first I heard about it
10. 2019-10-02 at 4:46 PM UTC

    #10
    

    Mud Hole Mania African Astronaut
    It happened agAin in 1976 to multiple people of the 1976 model of the pinto. which is a joke in the film Spirit of 76
    
    I think the AMD gremlins had the same problem and oddly enough looked like they ripped off the design. My mom owned one of the 76 pinto. Which is Why I remember this.
    
    I think a Ford pickup also burst into flames when hit from the side in a t-bone. I think the Ford f150 in the late 70s or 80s. Maybe it was a chevy.
    
    I think they fixed the problem by asking people it's best not to get into accidents. Not sure if that solved the problem of not
    
    
    Not an Onion