Busn 623 - the Legal and Ethical Issues of the Ford Pinto Case

The Legal and Ethical Issues of the Ford Pinto Case

Paul McKnight Jr.

American Military University

BUSN623

December 12, 2015

The Legal and Ethical Issues of the Ford Pinto Case

The Ford Pinto is a subcompact vehicle that was manufactured between the years of 1971-1980. The president of Ford Lee Iacocca wanted a 1971 model that weighed less than 2,000 pounds and priced less than $2,000 (Deahl, 2007). After its design the Ford Pinto was ready for sale on September 11th 1970. At first the vehicle had a body style of a trunked fast and later back sedan with a hatch back model being available in 1971. Due to federal regulations in 1974, Ford added 5mph bumpers to the front and rear of the pinto. Throughout the decade much controversy would surround Ford’s pinto design that would cause unnecessary injuries and death that would result in eventual legal action against the company (Lee, 1998).

The Ford Pinto Case was a legal lawsuit against the Ford Motor Company based on the choice by the Ford Company not to implement a new design that would decrease the fatalities from vehicle crashes by relocating the position of the gas tanks. Ford refused to implement the changes to the placement of the gas tanks on the Ford Pinto model even though they knew that the change would save 180 more lives (Lee, 1998). The also knew that not changing the position of the gas tanks would mean that the tanks would likely explode when impacted at a speed of 20mph. Ford executives decided that a change in the design that would have costed them $11 per vehicle would not be as cost effective as allowing the death of innocent people. Ford derived that implementing the changes would cost the company $137 million and car damages, injuries and deaths would only cost them $49.5 million which made them feel justified in not implementing the new design (Lee, 1998).

In 1972 the Case of Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Company, the Ford was found liable for the damages under tort law. This meant that Ford was civilly liable for death and or damages that resulted in the accident due to the design flaw. They found that the vehicle accident that was caused when Lily Gray who was driving a Ford Pinto was struck in the rear by a vehicle while traveling about 30mph when the gas tank exploded killing Lily Gray and left thirteen year old Gary Grimshaw with horrible injuries. Ford was ordered to pay the Gray family $560,000 and the Grimshaw family 2.5 million dollars in compensatory damages and 3.5 million in punitive damages. The decision was reached due the Ford Pinto design flaws and the fact that Ford still refused to implement the design changes needed to prevent