Dennis Gioia The Ford Pinto Fire
Estella Wright
Dennis Gioia “The Ford Pinto Fire”
Week Six (7/1/14) Written Assignment
SYNOPSIS OF THE ARTICLE
In 1968, Ford Motor Company made plans for a car that would be inexpensive, small, and appeal to all car buyers. The planned project was to meet the 2000/2000 rule, meaning that the Pinto could weigh no more than 2,000 pounds, and cost no more than $2,000. This rule was instituted because of the extreme competition from foreign car makers such as Toyota and all of the automotive companies at the time. However, the 2000/2000 rule left designers with limited ability to design a car the way it should be designed. The Pinto was brought into production faster than any other car had ever been produced; twenty five months from the inception of the idea of the Pinto to production when the industry average at the time was forty-three months. The engineers had to cut corners in the design and were rushed building the Pinto, which later resulted in many mistakes that were overlooked. The first Pinto was put on the market in 1971.
The Pinto’s problems originated with placement of the gas tank. It was customary to place the gas tank between the rear axle and the bumper to give the vehicle more truck space. However, on the Pinto the gas tank was only nine inches away from the rear axle and on the rear axles transfer case were bolts that stuck out facing the rear bumper of the vehicle. When the Pinto was rear ended, the gas tank would be forced up to the rear axle, and the transfer case bolts would puncture the gas tank. Also the fuel filler pipe was poorly designed and could easily become detached in a rear end collision, causing gasoline to spill over the ground. This was the cause of the numerous large fires and the gas tank tendency to explode. Explosions of the gas tank occurred at any collision at or above thirty one miles per hour. The doors on the Pinto would tend to jam shut when rear ended at high speeds, causing victims to burn
Dennis Gioia “The Ford Pinto Fire”
Week Six (7/1/14) Written Assignment
SYNOPSIS OF THE ARTICLE
In 1968, Ford Motor Company made plans for a car that would be inexpensive, small, and appeal to all car buyers. The planned project was to meet the 2000/2000 rule, meaning that the Pinto could weigh no more than 2,000 pounds, and cost no more than $2,000. This rule was instituted because of the extreme competition from foreign car makers such as Toyota and all of the automotive companies at the time. However, the 2000/2000 rule left designers with limited ability to design a car the way it should be designed. The Pinto was brought into production faster than any other car had ever been produced; twenty five months from the inception of the idea of the Pinto to production when the industry average at the time was forty-three months. The engineers had to cut corners in the design and were rushed building the Pinto, which later resulted in many mistakes that were overlooked. The first Pinto was put on the market in 1971.
The Pinto’s problems originated with placement of the gas tank. It was customary to place the gas tank between the rear axle and the bumper to give the vehicle more truck space. However, on the Pinto the gas tank was only nine inches away from the rear axle and on the rear axles transfer case were bolts that stuck out facing the rear bumper of the vehicle. When the Pinto was rear ended, the gas tank would be forced up to the rear axle, and the transfer case bolts would puncture the gas tank. Also the fuel filler pipe was poorly designed and could easily become detached in a rear end collision, causing gasoline to spill over the ground. This was the cause of the numerous large fires and the gas tank tendency to explode. Explosions of the gas tank occurred at any collision at or above thirty one miles per hour. The doors on the Pinto would tend to jam shut when rear ended at high speeds, causing victims to burn