Summary
The episode delves into the notorious history of the Ford Pinto, a subcompact car infamous for being a "flaming death trap" due to its unsafe fuel tank design. In the 1960s, Ford executive Lee Iacocca sought to create a competitive subcompact car to rival the Volkswagen Beetle and Toyota Corolla in the American market, which led to the development of Project Phoenix, later becoming the Pinto. Despite conducting crash tests that revealed the fuel tank's vulnerability in rear-end collisions, no safety modifications were implemented, and the Pinto entered production as-is.
These design flaws caught the attention of journalist Mark Dowie, who exposed Ford's knowledge of the safety issues and brought the Pinto's reputation to the forefront of public debate. The episode also examines how this controversy stemmed from the broader context of the American auto industry at the time, particularly how Ralph Nader's book, Unsafe at Any Speed, contributed to increased regulation and awareness of automobile safety. Amid public outrage, Ford eventually implemented new safety standards in 1977 and began recalling Pintos and Mercury Bobcats in 1978, totaling 1.4 million vehicles.
Throughout the Pinto's saga, its death toll reached 27, which, albeit gruesome, was not significantly higher than other cars at the time. However, this comparatively low statistic paled in comparison to the car's catastrophic impact on Ford's public relations. The episode concludes by highlighting the Pinto as a prime example of a massive PR failure, primarily due to the horrific nature of the accidents involving the car. Despite the nightmarish legacy of the Pinto, Lee Iacocca went on to be recognized as the 18th greatest CEO of all time, pen several books, and currently resides in Los Angeles at the age of 92.
