Was Ford to Blame in Pinto Case?
By: velasco1983 • November 1, 2016 • Case Study • 349 Words (2 Pages) • 1,762 Views
Was Ford to Blame in Pinto Case?
Weak Arguments
The Pro Team:
The Con Team:
Strong Arguments
The Pro Team: The Pro team started out with a strong argument detailing the controversy surrounding the flawed design engineering of the Pinto, with a gas tank located between the right rear wheel well and the rear bumper. The design flaw proved negligence on behalf of Ford, affecting the overall safety and well-being of both parties involved in an accident. The team also did a good job relating the size of the subcompact vehicle with a design flaw and catastrophic results versus a design flaw with a larger vehicle, as well as provided 20-30% of most automobile accidents are by rear impact. They also mentioned product liability was disregarded throughout multiple department in one of the largest automobile manufacturing companies in the 1970s. They also proved Ford’s motive in not correcting the flow through a Machivellian approach, focusing all efforts on profitabilility and their shareholder’s interest versus overall human safety. Their strong argument of Ford’s product testing and foreseeability of human harm proved that management disregarded moral and ethical concerns which ultimately proved in over 180 fatalities.
The Con Team: The Con team had a strong case of stating that the driver assumes all risks associated with public driving regardless of vehicle type, and that it is human error of accidents that is to blame versus the design flaw. They also showed the percentage of accidents from this vehicle (27) versus the total Pintos sold (2 million) into perspective, showing a small percentage of accidents per vehicle manufacturer is common. The 1970’s data on different automotive related deaths showed that Ford Pinto’s relevance on the design flaw was skewed and overstated, which cast a spotlight on other automotive companies with a higher rate of fatal car accidents. They also stated a strong point of safety and quality of the Pinto versus a higher cost vehicle with a stronger design and more safety features, which again puts the risk and liability back on the consumer.
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