Ford Pinto

FORD PINTO ASSIGNMENT The Ford Pinto case involved the explosion of Ford Pinto 's due to a defective fuel system. The fuel system was designed in a way that even with a small hit the car would explode. After the cost-benefit analysis, Ford decided to go with its original gas tank designed despite the crash-test result. At that time Ford thought that would be the most ethical decision for the business. But later in 1978 media paid more attention to the Pinto gas tank stories, which resulted in accidents

The Ford automobile company began producing the Ford Pinto line up in 1968. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the time of the pinto production was Lee Iacocca. The reason for the decision to mass produce the pinto in a short amount of time is because American automobiles were losing market share to smaller Japanese imports. Lee Iacocca wanted his engineers to design and manufacture a compact car that weighed less than 2,000 pounds and cost less than 2,000 dollars. Because of this monumental task

the Ford Pinto automobile accidents. On 28th May, 1972 a 1972 Ford Pinto car (manufactured by Ford Motors) burst into flames after a 30 Miles Per Hour (mph) collision caused an immediate fire burning down the car killing the driver, Lily Gray (Leggett, Christopher 1999). According to public record, more than 500 people have been killed from Ford Pinto crash burnings (Dowie, Mark 1977). The ensuing sections of this report outline the events leading up to the design and production of faulty Ford Pintos

competitive market in fuel efficient compact automobiles, Ford undaunted desire to compete with major automobile manufactures like Volkswagen and Japanese Imports. Released the compact and fuel efficient Ford Pinto in 1971, determined to be the most competitive and desirable subcompact model. Ford’s president had the vehicle designed to weigh only 2,000LBS and cost the consumer roughly $2,000. And with these strict guidelines the Ford Pinto passed federal safety standards. Unfortunately the vehicle

The Ford Motor Company faced a number of ethical dilemmas during the production of the Ford Pinto. There was a time when the “made in Japan” label brought a predictable smirk of superiority to the face of most Americans. Most Japanese products were not only low in quality but also in price. By the late 1960’s, an invasion of foreign-made goods had distressed the U.S industry. Detroit was beginning to panic because the Japanese and the German’s were starting to devour more of the subcompact auto market

Ford Pinto Case Study and Engineering Ethics The first Fundamental Canon of the NSPE code of ethics demands engineers to advocate the welfare of the public and avert transgressions of safety and health. In the 1970's, the engineers who tested the rear-end crash tests of Pinto prototype models realized that the vehicle's safety standard was only acceptable to the more lenient current regulations for safety requirements in rear-end collisions. But, the vehicle could not pass the higher and upcoming

THE FORD PINTO CASE: THE VALUATION OF LIFE AS IT APPLIES TO THE NEGLIGENCE-EFFICIENCY ARGUMENT Christopher Leggett Law & Valuation Professor Palmiter Spring, 1999 Abstract Text of Paper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abstract The cases involving the explosion of Ford Pinto's due to a defective fuel system design led to the debate of many issues, most centering around the use by Ford of a cost-benefit analysis and the

The Ford Pinto Fires Case A corporation’s social responsibility and ethical actions have long been a discussion for consumers, suppliers and the government throughout the years. “The corporations’ sole responsibility was to provide a maximum financial return to shareholders” (Carroll, 1991). This paper discusses the ethical decision process in regards to the Ford Motor Companies Pinto Case. Discussion of the different methods of ethical decision making and how Ford executives and employees might

V. Sources INTRODUCTION “For seven years the Ford Motor Company sold cars in which it knew hundreds of people would needlessly burn to death.” Mark Dowie, Author of Pinto Madness (8) One of the biggest automotive news stories in the latter part of the 1970’s dealt with tales of exploding Ford Pintos and the considerable awards civil court juries were presenting to victims of accidents involving the cars. Ford produced the Pinto automobile from 1971 to 1980. Initially the car sold

Utilitarian Analysis of the Ford Pinto Case In the 1970’s, Ford was forced to come up with a strategy in order to remain relative in the competitive auto manufacturers market that was being overrun with Japanese imports. The Pinto was Ford’s answer to this impending problem and allowed Ford to bring an affordable product to consumers that was not only easy to produce, but cost effective as well. The Ford Pinto case lead to a very controversial moment is Ford’s history that left quite a scar on its