In today’s world, Ford cars have become safer to drive for both the driver and the occupant. This wasn’t the case in 1971 when ford motor launched the Ford pinto. A carefree small and low-cost car that was supposed to serve as a budget car. The pinto was the first subcompact car produced by Ford in North America.
The car came in three body styles which were a two-door fastback sedan with a trunk, a three-door hatchback, and a two-door station wagon. Mercury offered rebadged versions of the Pinto as the Mercury Bobcat from 1975 to 1980 (1974–1980 in Canada). Statistically, over three million units were produced during its ten-year stink before all hell was let loose with volumes of lawsuits brought against Ford in connection with rear-end accidents in the Pinto.
Pinto Power train
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For the first five years of production, only four-cylinder inline engines were offered as Pinto came with two engines options. Ford changed the power ratings almost every year. The 2.3 liters 140 cu in OHC I4 engine was introduced in 1974. It could only remain viable for a couple of years as a result of a series of updates and modifications.
Pinto started with the English 1,600 cc (98 cu in) and German 2,000 cc (120 cu in) engines tuned for performance in its initial launch. The 2,000 cc engine used a two-barrel carburetor. With the low weight (not much above 2,000 lb (910 kg)) and the SOHC engine, the car was able to make 0 to 60mph in about 10.8 seconds.
The advent of emission control requirements brought about the use of new or modified domestically sourced engines. New safety legislation had a toll on the pinto same thing with the revised SAE standards in 1972 which brought about a drastic dropped in the Pinto’s 1.6 l (98 cu in) engine to 54 bhp (40 kW) and the 2.0 l (120 cu in) engine to 86 hp (64 kW).
What could go wrong with Pinto
Lee Iacocca the president of the Ford Motor Company, was on a mission to produce a car that would be cheap and compact weighing under 2,000 lb (907 kg) and that would be priced at less than US$2,000. In archiving this, a lot of disastrous decisions were made by the company one of such was spending less than two years to conceptualize, design, and then swing into production.
The shortest production planning schedule in automotive history at the time against the automotive industry average of 43 months. Machine tooling overlapped with product development, which froze the basic design. These are processes that were supposed to be handled sequentially and not in parallel but who can stop it when all the company’s president wanted was a rush project to build the car. Thanks to his team for internally naming the Pinto as “Lee’s car”.
Secondly, to shave off weight and bulk, one of the most important parts of a car (the traditional bumper) that aids in cushioning collisions was purposefully left out without any substitute. This mind-blowing neglect left the gas tank with no protection at all. Meaning if a Pinto was ever rear-ended, the possibility for the fuel tank to get punctured was high which will likely result in a massive fire. Just like other automobiles, the Pinto doors tended to jam shut after an impact or fire outbreak with the victims trapped inside as the wreck burned. Sadly, Lee Iacocca and his team Knew about this but decided to trade with human lives for their very selfish interest.
Who bell the cat
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The car’s fuel tank placement was the result of both conservative industry practice of the time as well as the uncertain regulatory environment during the development and early sales periods of the car. Ford was accused of knowing the car had an unsafe tank placement then forgoing design changes based on internal cost-benefit analysis. It wasnt long as the Pinto’s defective design began causing serious injuries and fatalities. An official total of 27 deaths was tied to the vehicle, though some estimates are far higher. The events surrounding the controversy have been described as a “landmark narrative” after several deadly fires related to the tanks rupturing occurred in rear-end collisions.
Recall and the overwhelming lawsuits
To manage the situation and protect the brands public reputation which has been at the center of all the drama, the company agreed to a “voluntary recall” program. On June 9, 1978, days before the NHTSA was to issue Ford a formal recall order, Ford recalled 1.5 million Ford Pintos and Mercury Bobcats, the largest recall in automotive history at the time. Ford have gone into the history books twice for the very bad reasons with their “carefree” Pinto car just because they wanted to cut cost. The recall was for the sedans and hatchbacks only as Ford disagreed with the NHTSA finding of a defect stressing the recall was to “end public concern that has resulted from criticism of the fuel systems in these vehicles.”
The Ford recall placed a polyethylene shield between the tank and likely causes of puncture, lengthened the filler tube, and improved the tank filler seal in the event of a collision. Approximately 117 lawsuits were brought against Ford in connection with rear-end accidents in the Pinto. The two most significant cases were Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Company and State of Indiana v. Ford Motor Company. Thanks to the recall for taking unsafe vehicles off the streets but it was already too late as the terrible damage had already been done with the lost of human lifes.
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