...Ford Pinto: An Ethical Inferno Michael W. Daniels Excelsior College Introduction and Analysis “Pinto crashes caused the death and mutilation of 900 occupants after their cars burst into flames after rear-end collisions,” Robert Sherefkin explains in his article Lee Iacocca's Pinto: A fiery failure. The engineered design of the Ford Pintos resulted in the gas tank rupturing in low speed rear end collisions. The design flaw was recognized early in the Ford Pinto’s production. According to Dowie’s article Pinto Madness. Mother Jones, “Internal company documents in our possession show that Ford has crash-tested the Pinto at a top secret site more than 40 times and that every test made at over 25 mph without special structural alteration of the car has resulted in a ruptured fuel tank.” Dowie then explains how more than a quarter of those tests were performed prior to the initial release of the vehicle. It was estimated that just 11$ upgrade per vehicle would have remedied the problem (Dowie, 1977). On June 10, 1978, almost a decade after the first Pinto was built, Ford eventually agreed to recall the Pinto (Boyce, D, 2012). The decision was made after countless lawsuits over a span of eight years drained the Ford Motor Company of millions of dollars. The company’s President Lee Iacocca could have rectified the design flaw but deemed it too late in production to reconstruct the vehicle. His requirement of the car weighing less than 2000 pounds and cost of under...
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...Managing Product Safety: the Ford Pinto Summary: Around 1967 Ford Motor Company decided to design a small size car called the Ford Pinto. The automobile industry at the time (and still is) was highly competitive and very cyclical. In the late 1960's, America began to see the influences of foreign vehicles. Facts Around 1967 Ford Motor Company decided to design a small size car called the Ford Pinto. The automobile industry at the time (and still is) was highly competitive and very cyclical. In the late 1960's, America began to see the influences of foreign vehicles. Prior to that, cars were bigger and less fuel efficient, allowing the Japanese to gain substantial market share with the smaller, more economical vehicles, and the need to react to this pressure was even greater at Ford. Even though they held the number two spot in market share behind General Motors, they only held a 22.3% market share compared to General Motors at 46.4%, a very significant difference. There was strong competition for Ford in the American small-car market from Volkswagen and several Japanesecompanies in the 1960's. In order for Ford to stay competitive and fight off competition, they rushed its newest car the Ford Pinto into production in much less time than is usually required to develop a car. The regular time to producean automobile was 43 months; Ford took only 38 months. Before production, the engineers at Ford discovered a major flaw in the cars' design. In nearly all rear-end crash test...
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...moral issues does the Pinto case raise? The moral issues about the Ford Pinto is that they take their profit is more important than human life. They also did not inform the consumer about the facts of the Pinto. Lastly, they also lobbied the safety of the car to lowest standard.The Pinto case brought up issue of abusing human rights and behaved unethically in business. Ford had the design to reduce the possibility of Ford Pinto from exploding. However, the company refused to implement it, although it can prevent 180 deaths from happening at a cost of $11 per car according to the cost-benefit analysis. I think Pinto case raised some serious issue of abusing human rights and not behaving ethically in the world of business. Any business/service should never ever put a value on human life and not take consideration of a known deadly danger. Ford had an option as well as the solution to design the car in a way that prevented cars from exploding; however they refused to implement it. They thought that it was cost effective not to fix dangerous condition than to spend the money to save people in spite of the fact that the only added cost was $ 11 per vehicle. Suppose Ford officials were asked to justify their decision. What moral principles do you think they would invoke? Assess Ford’s handling of the Pinto from the perspective of each of the moral theories discussed in this chapter. The Ford officials would probably invoke the principles of utilitarianism. Ford had claimed that the...
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...not quarrel over the importance of profits. But they do quarrel over whether or not business firms have obligations beyond making profits. A consumer may be a pet owner who feeds and provides care for a beloved animal, a doting grandparent who buys toys and clothes for the grandkids, an individual who wears contact lenses or hearing aids, a patient who buys prescription medications, or vehicle owner. Should a consumer have certain expectations from the suppliers and producers of the products that he buys? Can we trust corporations that they will not produce what will jeopardize the human life? Was Ford to be blame in the pinto case? Must we wait for the characters like “Erin Brokovich” to fight on behalf of the helpless consumers? Who is to be blamed for the McDonald’s hot coffee case-the producer, the consumer or the regulators? Almost thirty years has passed since the Pinto accidents and what followed from it. We still don’t know how “safe” a...
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...In 1968, the Ford Motor Company, based upon a recommendation by then vice president Lee Iacocca, decided to launch a subcompact car which is Ford Pinto. In order to gain a large market share, the Ford Motor Company plans for the project was the 2000/2000 rule. The car’s designer was designed and developed Pinto could weigh no more than 2000 pounds and it could cost no more than 2000 dollar. The Product Planning Committee instituted this rule because of the extreme competition between all of the automotive companies at the time (Daniel Boyce, n.d). Due to the Ford Motor Company was implemented the 2000/2000 rule, the car’s designers had to cut corners and restricted their ability to design a car the way it should be designed. Therefore, the Ford Pinto is known to be one of the most dangerous cars produced in automotive history due to several serious design flaws. Daniel Boyce wrote an article titled “Ford Pinto Case Information”. In his article, he claimed that “Pinto’s problems originated with the placement of the gas tank. At that time of automobile production, it was customary to place the gas tank between the rear axle and the bumper, which would give the vehicle more trunk space. The only other place the gas tank would be mounted was above the rear axle, but that eliminated trunk space, and the developers of the Pinto wanted the most practical car they could produce. The gas tank was nine inches away from the rear axle. This might not seem like a big deal, but there were...
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...Ford Motor Company Pinto Case Karen Nollet, Alonso Miller, Michael Morra, Pamela Tenori MGT/216 Abstract In 1971, Ford Motor Company (FMC), on the advice of then vice-president Lee Iacocca, introduced the first subcompact vehicle, the Ford Pinto. After production, Ford discovered a defect in the design on the fuel system; the gas tank was placed in the rear of the vehicle. This error could cause the vehicle to explode on low speed rear end collisions. Ford conducted a risk/analysis to determine whether to recall the vehicles or leave the situation as is and suffer the consequences as they arise. After concluding that the vehicles could be modified for $11 per vehicle, Ford decided not to recall the vehicles. Based on their risk/analysis the cost to recall the vehicles sold would be $137 million, Ford determined that it would be more profitable to leave the vehicles as is and pay out costs in lawsuits because this figure adjusted to $49.5 million, substantially lower than the cost to recall the product. Ethics and morals would appear to be ignored for profit and gain. Ford Motor Company Pinto Case Ford Motor Company Mission Statement (1996), “We are a global family with a proud heritage passionately...
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...for Pinto Case In the automobile industry, the Pinto case is a reminder of how business decisions can cause people to act unethical when money and social pressures arise. The Ford Motor Company (Ford) sought to compete with foreign car manufacturers and expedite the production of vehicles even if it meant disregarding red flag signals. Your gut can still be useful in alerting you that something might be wrong—that you’re facing an ethical dilemma—in the first place (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). The Pinto case questions the behavior of employees who acted unethical even when presented with safety issues that would change the lives of consumers. The following summary will provide details about the Pinto case. Key factors surrounding the Ford Pinto case A key factor surrounding the Ford Pinto case was cost and safety. Ford was aware that the Pinto exploded when rear-ended. Dennis Gioia brought his concern to the committee. Because of the lack of evidence, the committee voted not to recall. Even after evidence was found, the committee again decided not to recall because in the word of Lee Iacocca “safety didn’t sell.” Ford became the topic of corporate social responsibility, unethical behavior and decision-making. At a time when fuel prices were on the rise, Ford decided to compete with foreign manufacturers by producing fuel efficient compact cars. The firm pushed to produce vehicles by breaking its ethical code and manufacturing cars that carried a safety hazard. Ford also...
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...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 ethics surrounding its decision not to upgrade the fuel system based on this analysis. ISSUE Should a risk/benefit analysis be used in situations where a defect in design or manufacturing could lead to death or seriously bodily harm, such as in the Ford Pinto situation? RULE There are arguments both for and against such an analysis. It is an economically efficient method which has been accepted by courts for numerous years, however, juries may not always agree, so companies should take this into account. ANALYSIS Although Ford had access to a new design which would decrease the possibility of the Ford Pinto from exploding, the company chose not to implement the design, which would have cost $11 per car, even though it had done an analysis showing that the new design would result in 180 less deaths. The company defended itself on the grounds that it used the accepted risk/benefit analysis to determine if the monetary costs of making the change were greater than the societal benefit. Based on the numbers Ford used, the cost would have been $137 million versus the $49.5 million...
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...Under the leadership of Ford CEO Lee Lacocca, The Ford Pinto Company introduced in 1971 in Canada, and later in U.S, had reputation as being the safety pioneer in the automobile industry. But was trouble impending, the car did not pass on the test, meaning that it failed bellow the state of the art for cars of that size. The design of the car flaws in its Pinto model could cause the car to burst into flames even in minor rear-end collisions. At the time there was no National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rear-end impact standard. Understandably American automobiles were losing market share in the 1960’s due to cheaper Japanese imports. Smaller, cheaper, better gas mileage, and lighter all meant better value to the consumers. Competition is suppose to fuel innovation and help make better products with smilier or better value. In this case Lee Iaccoca did not make a better product. Iaccoca wanted to simply compete and with the Japanese imports. In 1971 The Ford Pinto was made and produced in a accelerated fashion, so it was designed and produced in 25 months rather than the 43 months that it should have taken. Truth to be told it was a decent design it weighed under 2000 pounds and it cost less then 2000 dollars. The only really down fall was the rear-end design the Pinto was not really tested for rear-end impact, and when Ford engineers testing the rear-end impact for standard safety procedure the car failed the test. To make matters worse the rear-end testing...
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...Ford Pinto Case In the late 1960s Ford Motor Company developed the idea of the Ford Pinto. Foreign automobile such as Germans and Japanese manufactures dominated the small car market. Ford Motor Company did not want to stay behind in production. Chief Executive Officer, Henry Ford II and Lee Iococca’s rushed building new compact cars out in the market within two and half years which, was the Ford Pinto and the shortest production planning. Production and distribution of the 1970s Ford Pinto stirred controversy regarding safety concerns. Ford’s desire to compete with the foreign manufacturers led Ford to overlook known design flaws and their own ethics while in search of higher profits. Ford assigned a team of engineers to work on nothing but the Pinto. This team was required to stick to Iacocca’s goal of “the limits 2000”; this meant that the car could not weigh more than 2000 pounds. This became a challenge for the engineers and created concerns regarding the placement of the fuel tank. Because of the accelerated production the testing was not done thoroughly. Out of 11 Pintos subjected to rear end collisions, eight failed the test. Only the three with baffles between the tank and bumper and a special interior tank lining met safety standards. The project was almost complete, and it was not possible to make redesign revisions and meet the deadline for the release of the Pinto. The car met the requirements for the American public. It was not long before...
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...business, could invariably save your business far more than money. Here we will explore the ethical decisions made by Ford Motor Company after research found their Ford Pinto to be unsafe in rear-end collisions. In an effort to beat out strong foreign competition from in the small car market, Ford Motor Company produced the Ford Pinto in 1970. Before this time, Ford dominated in the production of larger vehicles and never was considered a contender in the small car market. Lee Iacocca wanted to change this, as Europe had made fast strides to match America in the automobile market by 1970. Europe and Asia benefited from the small car market, as it was easier to ship vehicles and thus expanding their business into other countries and making them very popular in the world market. America was limited in their ability to expand their current market to other countries, as shipping these excessively larger vehicles was not practical. America could only expand business to Canada and Mexico, so the Ford Pinto would be an important opportunity for American automobile market. Lee Iacocca wanted the Ford Pinto in showrooms for the new 1971 line of automobiles, which would make it the fastest produced vehicle in history. Normally, vehicles took three and half years to make from conception to production, so producing a car within two years would turn out to become Fords most disastrous and costly decision. During...
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...Identify five Relevant Facts * At its time of release, the Pinto met the required standards. * I received field reports suggesting Pintos were susceptible to “exploding” in rear-end collisions at speeds under 25 miles per hour. * Last year in San Bernardino, California a neighbor of 13 year old Richard Grimshaw’s gas tank ruptured, causing the car to burst into flames. The neighbor did not die from impact, but was killed in the fire. Grimshaw suffered third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body. * The projected costs for 180 burn deaths ($200,000 x 180), 180 serious burn injuries ($67,000 x 180), and 2,100 burned vehicles ($700 x 2,100) is $49.5 million. * Crash-test reports show that eight of the eleven Pintos tested with an average 31 mile per hour rear end collision failed fuel leak tests with the standard fuel tank. The 3 that survived the leak test because special measures were taken to prevent tank rupture or fuel leakage by using a plastic baffle between the axel housing and the gas tank, a steel plate between the tank and the rear bumper, and a rubber lining in the gas tank. * An $11.00 safety improvement on 11 million cars and 1.5 million trucks will cost a total of $137.5 million. 2. Identify ethical issues using both a deontological AND a consequential perspective. From a deontological approach, the rights of Ford Motor Company would conflict with those of people involved in the Pinto fires. An individual has the right to health and safety,...
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...an organization to disclose what he or she believes to be wrongdoing in or by the organization” (Griffin). How does one choose if wrongdoing has happened in a utilitarianistic view? To present the process of utilitarian theory in a whistleblowing case, I ran across documentation referencing Ford Motor Company’s manufacturing of the Ford Pinto the early 1970’s. Petersen and Farrell discuss the ethical dilemmas faced by engineers highlighted by the 1980 Winamac, Indiana trial of Ford Motor Company (1986, p.3). The Pinto was created as a response to the Japanese competition emerging in the US. Due to competition, Ford was eager to get the subcompact car released in 1971. Changes were made, and Ford was able to reduce the lead time of production by a year and a half to get the car on the road. Frank Capps, a principal design Engineer charged that management’s weight and price goals along with time requirements resulted in engineers having to place band aid fixes to problems that emerged during testing. Capps raised issues from the safety tests in a series of letters to upper officials and was demoted in his position. Another engineer was fired for a whistleblowing event unrelated to the Pinto fuel system error, but ended up testifying in later years as a witness for one of the burn victims based from knowledge he had. Griffin states...
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...Ford's Risk/Benefit Analysis The main controversy surrounding the Ford Pinto case was The Ford Motor Company's choices made during development to compromise safety for efficiency and profit maximization. More specifically, it was Ford's decision to use the cost/benefit analysis detailed in section 11 to make production decisions that translated into lost lives. During the initial production and testing phase, Ford set "limits for 2000" for the Pinto. That meant the car was not to exceed $2000 in cost or 2000 pounds in weight. This set tough limitations on the production team. After the basic design was complete, crash testing was begun. The results of crash testing revealed that when struck from the rear at speeds of 31 miles per hour or above, the Pinto's gas tank ruptured. The tank was positioned according to the industry standard at the time (between the rear bumper and the rear axle), but studs protruding from the rear axle would puncture the gas tank. Upon impact, the fuel filler neck would break, resulting in spilled gasoline. The Pinto basically turned into a death trap. Ford crash tested a total of eleven automobiles and eight resulted in potentially catastrophic situations. The only three that survived had their gas tanks modified prior to testing.55 Ford was not in violation of the law in any way and had to make the decision whether to incur a cost to fix the obvious problem internally. There were several options for fuel system redesign. The option most seriously...
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...In the Pinto Fires Case, I believe there are six large facts that are the most relevant to determining whether a recall is the appropriate course of action. The first fact is that Ford Motor Company discovered the issue before the Pinto was released. With many recalls, the issues are not discovered until after the products in question are released, but Ford knew about this major issue and released the car anyways. The second crucial fact builds off the previous one – Ford knew how to fix the issue. They had found three possible solutions through their testing, but did not implement any of them. The third relevant fact is that Ford had shortened their amount of preparation time to release it earlier. This was something that had never been done before, so the fact that they cut down the amount of time they were spending on preparing this car by over a year was a recipe for disaster. The fourth fact to consider is the fact that Ford Motor Company was within the legal standards at the time. While Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 301 had been proposed, it had not been adopted, so Ford’s move was legal. Furthermore as the fifth fact, in the 1970s, consumers were not nearly as concerned with safety. In fact, Ford had previously added a relatively costly safety feature only to find that it added no appeal to the consumers. The final fact is the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had as part of their regulations the cost-benefit analysis, which allowed...
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