Ford Pinto Quality Failure

Ford pinto and mercury bobcat model years 1971 to 1976 in order to compete with burgeoning japanese imports ford motor company mandated the production of a car that would cost no more than 2000 and weigh no more than 2000 pounds.

Ford pinto quality failure. The pinto was marketed in three body styles through its production. Ford neglected to add reinforcements to protect the easily ruptured fuel tank endangering drivers while earning the pinto a reputation for catching fire that persists today. Automobile industry in the 1970s the ford pinto is most well known and the worst disaster. It was too late to save ford s reputation.

The pinto memo which contains these dirty numbers was allegedly circulated among ford s senior management in 1968 two years before the pinto hit the streets and caused a number of. The product objectives for the pinto are repeated in an article by ford executive f g. Quality failure of ford pinto causes of ford pinto top list of quality failure. Design flaws questionable ethics decisions by top management resulting in dangerous vehicle many were considered ugly 40 50 000 miles was not unusual for major breakdowns 14.

Iacocca was fired the following month. Between 1971 and 1978 the pinto was responsible for a number of fire related deaths. Apparently the entire u s. This is a thick top secret manual in green covers containing a step by step production plan for the model detailing the metallurgy weight strength and quality of every part in the car.

Here is the aftermath of ford s decision. The smallest american ford vehicle since 1907 the pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by ford in north america. While it would be easy to nominate the whole u s. Auto industry decided to spend the 1970s resting on their laurels of building great cars that people wanted during the sixties.

The top 5 automotive quality management system failures. See wheeler supra note 4 at 15. On june 9 1978 ford agreed to recall 1 5 million ford pinto and 30 000 mercury bobcat sedan and hatchback models. The prosecutor of elkhart county indiana chose to seek an indictment against ford motor company for reckless homicide and criminal recklessness claiming that the cause of the deaths was the design of the pinto and ford s failure to remove the car from the highways before august 10 1978.

A two door fastback sedan with a trunk a three.