The Ford Pinto Case: An Analysis of Ethical Considerations and Impacts

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the Ford Pinto case, examining the ethical issues surrounding the car's design and the company's decisions. The report begins with an overview of the case, including the Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Company and the criminal case, highlighting the fuel tank design flaws that led to explosions and fatalities. It then identifies key issues, such as the placement of the fuel tank and the resulting vulnerability to rear-end collisions. The report further analyzes the stakeholders involved, including the drivers, passengers, and the Ford Motor Company itself. It explores the ethical issues of immoral manufacture and compliance and governance issues, focusing on the company's reluctance to implement design changes that could have prevented accidents. The report also discusses the individuals responsible for the ethical decisions made by the company, particularly the managers who conducted a risk-benefit analysis that valued human life. The conclusion emphasizes the negative impact the case had on the Ford brand and suggests an alternative approach, prioritizing consumer safety and societal needs alongside profit motives. The report underscores the importance of ethical considerations in business decision-making and the value of human life above financial considerations.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF THE FORD PINTO CASE
Analysis of the Ford Pinto Case
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ANALYSIS OF THE FORD PINTO CASE
Executive Summary
The main purpose of this report is to look in to the Ford Pinto case and to analyze the various
ethical issues surrounding this case. For this purpose, the paper first discusses about the two
cases related to Ford Pinto cars. It then analyzes the ethical consideration which arises from the
risk benefit analysis done by the organization. The report concludes with the importance of
human lives and that they cannot be compromised with under any circumstances.

2ANALYSIS OF THE FORD PINTO CASE
Table of Contents
A. Introduction.................................................................................................................................3
B. Analysis.......................................................................................................................................4
Identification of the key issues in the cases.................................................................................4
Stakeholders in the case...............................................................................................................5
The ethical issues raised in this case............................................................................................5
Persons responsible for ethical decisions identified in the case..................................................6
C. Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
Impact on the brand of the organization......................................................................................6
What would I have done in this situation....................................................................................7

3ANALYSIS OF THE FORD PINTO CASE
A. Introduction
The Company of Ford Motor manufactured the Ford Pinto car which was in the market
from the years 1871 to 1980 (Ford Motor Companies, 2019). It is a subcompact car which was
first of its kind in the region of North America. The Ford Pinto had the unique feature of being
the smallest car in North America from the year of 1907 (Smith 2016). The get up of the car Ford
Pinto was that of a sedan, hatchback and even of a station wagon. The sedan had a trunk attached
to it, the hatchback had three doors while the station wagon had two doors. The main problem
with Ford pinto cars was with regard to its safety issues. The design of the fuel tank of the car
attracted the attention of both the news media and of the government. This was the result of the
rupturing of the fuel tanks of the Ford Pinto leading to the deaths of several citizens as well as
harming the properties around the car. When the Ford Pinto cars were compared with the other
subcompact cars existing during the same time period of 1970s it was found out that the safety
features of the other cars were similar to that of Ford Pinto (Strother 2018). This raised several
grave concerns regarding the safety features other subcompact cars as well.
The first case against Ford Pinto was legally initiated in the year of 1972 (Bandura 2016).
This is known as Grimshaw v Ford Motor Company. A woman by the name of lily Gray was
with her thirteen year old son, Richard Grimshaw, travelling in their Ford Pinto car when it
collided with another car which was travelling at the speed of thirty miles an hour. The collision
resulted in a fire outbreak which killed Lily while leaving Richard with severe injuries. The case
went to the court and the judge awarded $560,000 to the Gray family (Davis 2016). Matthew
Grimshaw was paid two and a half billion dollars in compensation for the damages caused. The
jury also awarded three and a half billion dollars in punitive damages.

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Another case which was registered against the Ford Pinto cars is when three women lost
their lives in the year 1918 when the fuel system of the automobile exploded (Alwi, Ali and
Nguyen 2017). The second case is known as the Criminal Case. Their car was hit with another
car which was travelling at a low speed. The man in the other car had marijuana, beer bottles and
caffeine pills while driving but it was the Ford Pinto car which had exploded. There was a
conflict in this case as the blame was likely to fall on the river of the van as he was travelling
with several substances. However, since it was inconclusive to prove whether the driver was
travelling under the influence of the substances, the entire blame was put on the Ford Pinto car as
it were the three women who lost their lives.
B. Analysis
Identification of the key issues in the cases
The fundamental key issue in the both the cases of Grimshaw v Ford Motor Company
and the Criminal Case where the three women lost their lives, is that with the fuel design of the
Ford Pinto cars. In both the cases, the Ford Pinto cars were hit by other cars which were
travelling at relatively very low speed (Ferrell and Fraedrich 2015). However, instead of
scratches, the entire car went up in smoke when the fuel system of the Ford Pinto cars started to
leak and set fire on the passengers. The other cars, on the other hand, were not affected so
severely as that of the Ford Pinto cars. The designing of the Ford Pinto cars were put in to
question. Concern was raised over the placement of the fuel tank of these cars. Unlike other cars
where the fuel tanks are usually located above the rear axle in the Ford Pinto cars, the fuel tanks
were located behind these rear axles (Srivastava and Pandey 2016). The designers did it initially
to give more trunk space in the cars. However, upon investigation it was found out that the
placement of the fuel tanks behind the rear axle made the cars more vulnerable to collision from

5ANALYSIS OF THE FORD PINTO CASE
the rear end. This important factor made the cars vulnerable to explosion even in a slight
accident.
Stakeholders in the case
The stakeholders in this case are the people are being adversely affected by the Ford
Pinto cars. First and foremost are the people travelling inside the car. They are the ones who are
the most likely to lose their lives in the cases of collision that is the victims (Tormo-Carbó,
Seguí-Mas and Oltra 2016). The people travelling in the colliding cars are also the stakeholders
in such cases where a car of Ford Pinto is involved. When the fuel tank of a car combusts, the
fuel spreads like wildfire and has the ability to burn anything it touches upon. As a result, when
the fuel tank of the Ford Pinto car combusts, the oil from the tank spreads to the nearby areas,
even on to the second car involved in the accident. Another stakeholder is the Company of Ford
Motors itself as it is their cars which are at fault.
The ethical issues raised in this case
The ethical issues raised in the cases of Grimshaw v Ford Motor Company and the
Criminal Case is the reluctance of the Ford Motor Company to change the design plans even
after the deaths and injuries of so many people. This is the ethical issue of immoral manufacture.
The Ford Company had access to a new design which had the capability to reduce the
vulnerability of the cars of explosion. However, the company chose not to use and implement the
designs as this would have led to the rising of the input cost of manufacturing of the Ford Pinto
cars by a mere sum of eleven dollars (Brusoni and Vaccaro 2017). Another ethical issue is that of
compliance and governance issues. A private organization has the ethical obligation to comply
with the government standards of a region. Moreover, the ethical consideration of corporate

6ANALYSIS OF THE FORD PINTO CASE
social responsibility is important. The Ford Company failed to look after the societal needs and
hence, did not abide by this ethical obligation.
Persons responsible for ethical decisions identified in the case
The people who were responsible for undertaking such ethical decisions identified in the
case where the managers of the Ford Company (Reiley and Jacobs 2016). The managers of the
Fiord Company made the risk benefit analysis by looking at the cost of the new design which
was estimated at around one hundred and thirty seven million dollars and comparing it with the
price tag needed to pay in the case of death and injury which was around forty nine and a half
million dollars. This risk benefit analysis was based on the BPL formula formulated by Judge
Learned hand. According to him, if the injury caused by a firm was in excess to the
precautionary measures of the firm, then it was the responsibility of the firm to prevent the harm
from occurring (Crane and Matten 2016). However, if the expected harm caused was relatively
less than the cost of the precautionary measures then the firm had the option to opt out of the
precautionary measures. However, it is unethical to put a cost on the life of a person, no matter if
the situation is legal (Bandura 2016).
C. Conclusion
Impact on the brand of the organization
In conclusion it is observed, the incident of the immediate combustion of the Ford Pinto
cars as seen in the cases of Grimshaw v Ford Motor Company and the Criminal Case among a
few, did not have a positive impact on the brand of Ford Motors Company. The fundamental key
issue in the both the cases of Grimshaw v Ford Motor Company and the Criminal Case where
the three women lost their lives, is that with the fuel design of the Ford Pinto cars. In both the

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cases, the Ford Pinto cars were hit by other cars which were travelling at relatively very low
speed. The people who formed the consumer base of the said organization, slowly started to lose
out on the confidence that they had in the Ford Company. Moreover, another severe adverse
impact on the brand of Ford motors was the reluctance of the Company to modify the designing
plans of the Ford Pinto cars. The decision taken by the organization was solely based on the
profit motive of the organization. This had an ethical implication on the organization where the
people found the company to be unethical in its dealing with the society. The Ford Company
placed its revenue earnings at a higher standard than the lives of innocent people.
What would I have done in this situation
If faced with the same circumstances, it is important to understand that it is the
consumers who are the most important factor of any organization. If an organization loses out on
its consumers, then it would not be possible for them to earn any profit. As a result, in this
situation, I would prefer to take care of the societal needs in tandem with the profit motives of
the Company. The new designs would be implemented which would help to reduce the expenses
paid for injury as well as save human lives.

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