The Ford Pinto

Paper Summary:

This paper reports that the Ford Motor company quickly developed and manufactured the Ford Pinto automobile and knew that the gas tank on the Pinto was defective and could potentially cause fires when accidents occurred. The author points out that the company acted in a manner that was unethical when it allowed the continued manufacturing of the Pinto and did not recall Pinto cars already on the road even after there were several deaths, which occurred as a result of these problems. The paper stresses that the company acted unethically in its decision to use a cost/benefit analysis involving human life.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Ford Pinto
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"In addition to the aforementioned case, Ford was also the subject of a criminal case after the death of three teenagers. In this case, the company was prosecuted for reckless homicide and criminal recklessness. The author explains that in this case the company was being held liable for its refusal to recall the vehicles even thought they were aware that the placement of the fuel tank could result in serious accidents and had already resulted in several fatalities. In the opinion of the prosecutor the company was responsible for criminal recklessness and reckless homicide.'

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ford Pinto. (n.d.) Retrieved May 6, 2006 from; http://www.engineering.com/content/ContentDisplay?contentId=41009014
• Leggett C. (1999) Te Ford Pinto Case: The Valuation of Life as it Applies to the Negligence-Efficiency Argument. Retrieved May 6, 2006 from;http://www.wfu.edu/~palmitar/Law&Valuation/Papers/1999/Leggett-pinto.html
• Managing Product Safety: The Ford Pinto. Harvard Business School

More papers on The Ford Pinto:

• Essay # 90668 : "The Ford Pinto"
• Essay # 73120 : "Ford Pinto"
• Essay # 47590 : "Ford Pinto and Corporate Crime"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: